Lawn Care - which order to carry out works?

OK, so my lawn has moss that needs removing, so for a newbie can you help with the correct process and which order to carry it out in.

- Weed & feed / fertilizer?
- Scarifier / remove dead moss?
- Wait for grass to grow / cut accordingly?
- Treat poor patches, re-seed etc.

Is this the correct order (sorry for dumb questions, will get up to speed soon!). I realise that more detailed involvement may be required as I get keener & keener especially with the help on here, but just trying to asses the situation as my lawns are of a fair size so lots of hours required).

 

You can scarify now if it's not to wet. But it's to early to weed and feed, that needs to be done in the spring when grass and weeds are actively growing. The moss will turn black when it's dead and you can scarify again then.

Re-seeding should also be done in the spring as it will not germinate in the low temperatures we have at the moment.

Mowing this time of year can be done if the lawn isn't to wet and the grass is quite long. But mow on a high cut just to take the top off. If you cut it too short it will probably suffer from frost damage.

There is no such thing as a dumb question, if you don't ask you don't learn. We all had to start somewhere and gardeners never stop learning, even the professionals!

 

Spring lawn care, kill moss & weeds, scarify, feed..... - Lawn Weeds

 

Nice one!

 

I can't argue with that. Just one thing I noticed though, it looks like a maintenance plan for a good lawn. It wouldn't be enough to rectify a poorly a lawn.

In my experience, the biggest problem is usually that the soil has become excessively compacted, which makes grass struggle to grow, but also it reduces drainage, which makes it ideal for moss.

So, somewhere between scarifying and overseeding, if the soil surface is compacted or if the lawn hasn't been top dressed with anything in a while, I'd be sticking the fork, and dressing with sharp sand.

 

Thanks for the replies, I'm really liking it in here, some great advice.

This is what some of the garden looked liked at 8am this morning.......

 

How often do I need to airate the lawn, say through the season of March - September?

 

only once a year is what most do .... either in spring, or late october/early november ... you have a large garden, so you may need to hire an aerator

the lawn close to the hedges will always suffer as the hedges will block out the sunlight

 

Mmmm, decisions decisions.

Whats going through my head is the size of the garden (bottom part alone is approx 45m x 30m), the hire of a scarifier and the hire of an airator. Add this all up over a few years and it soon mounts up.

I have seen petrol scarifiers for about the £400/£500 mark which come with an attachment so you can do both. OK, they may be catered for the domestic market, but thats all I need it for, personal use.

Total the hire of items over the amount of years I will require it / lifespan of a new unit and it may be worth me buying one?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not minted and by no means want to splash out, but if it's going to make life easier over the next few years and help me to get on top of the work required and to maintain a healty lawn its worth considering perhaps.

Thats unless I get someone in to scarifier the heavy moos initially and then I concentracte on healthy maintenance?

Just thinking out aloud here, what ya' thoughts??

 

aerator hire: £102 for the weekend

HSS Hire - Powered Lawn Aerator Hire and Rent

scarifier hire: £46.80

so, total cost for the weekend will be £148.80

the aerator is a hollow tine which is the better one to use .... if you had to buy one of these new, expect to pay well over £1000-£1500+

so, total cost will be

 

WOW!!!

I was thinking more in the lines of...
Hayter New SP36 Petrol Scarifier

AL-KO 38VLB Combi Petrol Scarifier

I am barking up the wrong tree?

I was perhaps thinking of perhaps attacking the lawn in several section to see what method works best, rather than to try & carve the all the lawns at one??

 

if we look at the one corner of the garden, with the hedge and the trees in leaf, there will be a lot of shade (I'm guessing, as it depends which way is south)

I have added some similar size trees in leaf .... you may need to overseed some areas with shade loving grass?