Order of tasks for autumn lawn care

Getting ready for autumn lawn work (first time I have done it) and wonder if this is the order I should be doing things:

1. Scarify
2. Aerate
3. Moss Kill (Iron Sulphate) - will I need to rake out after a week/two?
4. Overseed entire lawn
5. Fertilise

I am wondering about top dressing and if it is essential as it is expensive. I have a few large dips that I intend to peel the turf back and raise the soil. Do I need top dressing for that or top soil?

The lawn would benefit from levelling in general but that seems a large and expensive job.

Is the top dressing needed though to cover the seeds?

 

I did mine for the first time last year. I started with weed and feed a few weeks before the scarifying so all the dead moss was taken up with that process.

 

I would moss kill first then as you listed tim091

Instead of fertilising I top dress as a final task before winter.

The other task I perform on the lawn will be to apply nematodes for leather jackets ...prob mid to late August

Liz the pot is the expert on lawns here so hopefully he will post something

 

Moss treatment
Scarify after at least 2 weeks
Look at lawn then decide if aerating is required.
Seed and dress if aerated.
If you don’t seed then a nice autumn based fertiliser will help the turf recover.

The golden rule with seed is soil contact. It helps to cover the seed in a light covering or raked in.

 

Thanks all. I will moss kill first then.

I was thinking of overseeding and applying an autumn feed with moss kill as the final task. I have a lot of moss and figure a double attack wouldn't hurt.

Or would it? Would the autumn feed with moss kill be bad for the new seed?

Additional question: if I top dress how much do I need (kg/SqM)? I've got about 200 Sq M

 

A nice easy way to work it out

Calculating Topsoil Requirements

You want around 3mm to 5mm dressing.

With all fertilisers it’s best to read the packaging for applications for new seeds. I would be in no rush to apply a fertiliser after top dressing as that will contain enough elements for a while till the new plants are established.

 

Thanks very much. I feel much more confident to tackle the task.

 

Just double checking but if you do aerate add a bit more soil to the depth to take into account the holes if you use a commercial machine that removes the plugs. You may wish a bit more depth but just don’t cover the grass.
Plenty of time to work out volume required and what your supplier offers so you can work out the soil needed ie what size bags they offer.

 

Thanks for the valuable advice as always. I am currently looking at:

Topsoil Lawn Dressing

or

Lawn Top Dressing | Topsoil suppliers Topsoilshop for top soil online.

 

Is there no one local to you for supplies?

 

A bit of an experiment really, as is my wont, but I top dress with locally produced compost. Cheap at £1 a bag....I bring my own and they are large builders’ sacks.
Just as good as anything I have used in the past, in fact better. Friable and crumbly with very few undesirable bits. Applied thickly with home made lute last October or so and repeated early in spring it has produced thick grass protected from the heat of the sun, helped retain moisture and helped maintain an even surface.
I go over the lawn a few times with the lute to help settle the compost in and around the grass.
I scarify beforehand and overseed any bare patches before top dressing

 

Not that I know of. Only B and Q, Homebase etc (who don't sell it) plus Notcutts but they only sell one size bulk bag (too much).

 

Look for a local landscape supplier in your area, if unsure phone your local Stihl dealership, if they are like my local ones they will soon put you in touch with local suppliers and they may even do the soil as my local one does.