lawn care company and pushy sales gone mad!

lawns full of moss

is scarification the way?

 

Yes, either with a lawn rake or machine, which can be bought fairly cheaply from a diy store. If it's a large area or if the lawn is choked with moss it would probably be better to put down a moss killer first and then scarify.

 

I used to live next door to an old bloke who was a bit of a gardening guru. He helped me to mend my diabolical lawn. He was an old school type, who insisted that a brutal going over with a rake, by hand, and a top dressing of sharp sand was the thing to do.

I misunderstood him a bit, and did the raking, then did the sand after. He laughed, but gave some words of encouragement.

My front lawn (not the one I've just grown from seed) is in need of some serious TLC. I did the brutal raking thing that Derek had recommended when I was at my last house, and I top dressed with sharp sand. Only this time I did it slightly differently. This time I put the sand down first, then got the rake out. I couldn't believe the results. Huge clumps of moss were just lifting out without any effort, and I mean huge lumps. Dead grass was coming up too, but in smaller quantities. The healthy grass, what little was left of it, stayed put. This was a week ago, and already I can see improvement. There's still more to be done (needs aerating, and possibly overseeding in places), but I'm impressed with the results.

I came to the conclusion that the sand being abrasive was cutting straight through the moss as I raked. I mentioned this revelation to my dad, believing I'd made a new discovery. He calmly remarked, "I thought that was the whole point of the sand, and didn't Derek tell you that a couple of years ago?".