When should i scarify my grass

You may also cause damage to your otherwise healthy grass plants thereby worsening the problem. Makes me shudder! Time your programme according to the ability of the lawn to recover. This means warmth, sun and rain whilst avoiding cold, heat or drought. Light de-thatching or scarifying and moss removal can be done in spring and or autumn.

Spring generally means sometime in April just as things warm up thereby increasing the growth and recovery rate but before the heat and dryness of summer slows things down. Autumn would generally be late August or September as the rains start but before the cold sets in. For heavy thatch or moss infestations requiring deeper scarifying or raking then try to stick to the autumn period. Heavy raking or scarifying is going to seriously thin the lawn leaving soil exposed in many places.

This makes an ideal seed bed not only for over seeding with new and improved grass seed but also for all the weed and weed grass seeds floating around. By confining this intensive treatment to August or September you will avoid the bulk of the years weed seeds.

Having said that, there are a few exceptions when spring is the best time:. Planning ahead is important. This will do three things:. Cut the lawn short at least a week before scarifying. This will help change the metabolism of the grass and will develop some strong root growth.

Then, on the day of the scarification, preferably after midday, cut the lawn again. The reason for waiting after midday is to ensure that any morning due has evaporated. Otherwise the due might make the lawn too damp and cause it to tear. Cutting the lawn before scarifying will prevent the scarifier from ripping out too many grass blades. Skip to content. When should I perform a light scarification? Light scarification will require a lot of effort if you are using a rake.

This might only be possible on small lawns or large lawns where you target specific areas. Scarifying the lawn when the ground is wet will tear out too much grass. When should I perform a heavy scarification? Prepare the lawn for scarification So you now know when you should scarify your lawn. This will do three things: It will loosen the moss from the ground, thus making it easier to scarify. Scarifying a lawn is a temporarily destructive task as it removes a lot of thatch, moss and a little grass.

The lawn will look bare however, this is normal and will recover in a few weeks. Read the guide below to get your lawn looking back to its best. The short answer to the question, when should I scarify my lawn, is mid-Spring or early to mid-Autumn. Wait until the grass is actively growing and the weather is dry, but not too hot. To understand why this is the case, you need to understand what scarifying is and what it does to your lawn.

Scarifying is the raking of the lawn to remove debris and organic matter from the surface of the soil. The removal of this debris allows more air, and therefore oxygen to reach the roots of the grass blades. It frees up space for healthy grass shoots to grow into. It also removes unsightly moss etc from your lawn so that what will remain is only a tip-top lawn.

Unfortunately, the scarification process is temporarily destructive to your lawn. As it is tearing out moss and thatch, it will inevitably remove some grass too. For this reason, when you scarify your lawn is key to success. When you should scarify your lawn depends on how much moss and thatch needs to be removed from it.

A light scarification is best carried out in mid to late spring. This is because the process will end with less of the soil surface being exposed and therefore will be less susceptible to weeds germinating in your lawn.