Scarifying, Dethatching, Mechanical Rake and Verticutting

[Elgan]

Hi
Im new to lawn care and have turfed my garden two years ago.
After heavy rainfall i have birds coming to the garden to pick on the grass and i assume feed on worms. They pick and leave divets in the grass.
I went to use a hand rake to collect what the birds have left. I was amazed to see how much dead grass which i assume must be the thatch i have been reading about.

I also have a lot of meadow grass or POA which is very unsightly considering i only turfed two years ago.

I have read up and it seems i need to treat the moss, weeds with some treatment. Allow it to do it work for a week then scarify in two directions then fertilise and re seed and water.

My question is are my assumption above correct and should i buy a scarifying machine which can rake too and do i rake first then scarify.

Any recommendations on which machine to purchase and what treatments to purchase. I have seen ‘Mowy’ advertising heavily on treatment packs but seem very expensive.

I have considered purchasing a cobra cylinder mower which has all the cartridge attachment but is very expensive and do you meed a really flat lawn to use such a machine. Mine is fairly flat and level

Look forward to any advise and recommendations.

Thank you in advance.

 

[oneeye]

Hi
Im new to lawn care and have turfed my garden two years ago.
After heavy rainfall i have birds coming to the garden to pick on the grass and i assume feed on worms. They pick and leave divets in the grass.
I went to use a hand rake to collect what the birds have left. I was amazed to see how much dead grass which i assume must be the thatch i have been reading about.

I also have a lot of meadow grass or POA which is very unsightly considering i only turfed two years ago.

I have read up and it seems i need to treat the moss, weeds with some treatment. Allow it to do it work for a week then scarify in two directions then fertilise and re seed and water.

My question is are my assumption above correct and should i buy a scarifying machine which can rake too and do i rake first then scarify.

Any recommendations on which machine to purchase and what treatments to purchase. I have seen ‘Mowy’ advertising heavily on treatment packs but seem very expensive.

I have considered purchasing a cobra cylinder mower which has all the cartridge attachment but is very expensive and do you meed a really flat lawn to use such a machine. Mine is fairly flat and level

Look forward to any advise and recommendations.

Thank you in advance.

Can you post a photo of the grass?

 

[Elgan]

Can you post a photo of the grass?

 

[Elgan]

View attachment 99937The last photos are of it cut.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Hi
Im new to lawn care and have turfed my garden two years ago.
After heavy rainfall i have birds coming to the garden to pick on the grass and i assume feed on worms. They pick and leave divets in the grass.
I went to use a hand rake to collect what the birds have left. I was amazed to see how much dead grass which i assume must be the thatch i have been reading about.

I also have a lot of meadow grass or POA which is very unsightly considering i only turfed two years ago.

I have read up and it seems i need to treat the moss, weeds with some treatment. Allow it to do it work for a week then scarify in two directions then fertilise and re seed and water.

My question is are my assumption above correct and should i buy a scarifying machine which can rake too and do i rake first then scarify.

Any recommendations on which machine to purchase and what treatments to purchase. I have seen ‘Mowy’ advertising heavily on treatment packs but seem very expensive.

I have considered purchasing a cobra cylinder mower which has all the cartridge attachment but is very expensive and do you meed a really flat lawn to use such a machine. Mine is fairly flat and level

Look forward to any advise and recommendations.

Thank you in advance.

You need to buy a lawn service and simply watch what they do chemically and physically for 18 months. Or sign up to one of the internet services that feed you the bags of stuff to put out when it is time to put it out. You will need to tell them what kind of grass you "turfed" and some other details. Geophysical location for sun and rain and average temps would be typical info given and helpful. You are next to a field and will have a continual fight on your hands for windblown seeds for example. The lawn damage can be from a rooting animal like a hardshell armadillo or other source since your lawn is in a rural foeld location. Typically the rooting is actually for underground grubs like japanese beetle larvae. That is not typical for birds. I am not being cruel when I say that not being able to describe the grass type puts anyone attempting to help at a impossible disadvantage. It is better to not follow internet generalization advice and to employ locals that have the information you seek. In a short time they will have you informed and moving toward the next level you seek.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

The birds are probably starlings after leather jackets, crane fly grubs, daddy long legs. This is good as the grubs eat grass roots, mind I have had green woodpeckers on my lawn, they look for ant's nests.

 

[Elgan]

You need to buy a lawn service and simply watch what they do chemically and physically for 18 months. Or sign up to one of the internet services that feed you the bags of stuff to put out when it is time to put it out. You will need to tell them what kind of grass you "turfed" and some other details. Geophysical location for sun and rain and average temps would be typical info given and helpful. You are next to a field and will have a continual fight on your hands for windblown seeds for example. The lawn damage can be from a rooting animal like a hardshell armadillo or other source since your lawn is in a rural foeld location. Typically the rooting is actually for underground grubs like japanese beetle larvae. That is not typical for birds. I am not being cruel when I say that not being able to describe the grass type puts anyone attempting to help at a impossible disadvantage. It is better to not follow internet generalization advice and to employ locals that have the information you seek. In a short time they will have you informed and moving toward the next level you seek.

The birds are probably starlings after leather jackets, crane fly grubs, daddy long legs. This is good as the grubs eat grass roots, mind I have had green woodpeckers on my lawn, they look for ant's nests.

You need to buy a lawn service and simply watch what they do chemically and physically for 18 months. Or sign up to one of the internet services that feed you the bags of stuff to put out when it is time to put it out. You will need to tell them what kind of grass you "turfed" and some other details. Geophysical location for sun and rain and average temps would be typical info given and helpful. You are next to a field and will have a continual fight on your hands for windblown seeds for example. The lawn damage can be from a rooting animal like a hardshell armadillo or other source since your lawn is in a rural foeld location. Typically the rooting is actually for underground grubs like japanese beetle larvae. That is not typical for birds. I am not being cruel when I say that not being able to describe the grass type puts anyone attempting to help at a impossible disadvantage. It is better to not follow internet generalization advice and to employ locals that have the information you seek. In a short time they will have you informed and moving toward the next level you seek.

The company who turfed my lawn are only up the road , I could ask them for the type of grass seed they used to grow the turf? I live on Anglesey north coast so quite exposed to wind and plenty of rain in winter, well generally all year.
The sun is on 98% of the garden from dusk till dawn, therefore gets plenty of sunshine. Obviously in summer months last two years in the dry spells the garden may have been scorched. I do try use sprinkler when i’m home but work away during the week.
Im not looking for a perfect bowling green or golf green just a better looking than it is now. As per Oliver suggestion there are starlings in the area and crows too who seem to like the garden.
I have for 12 months subscribed to a green thumb type service but I dont think its making much difference at all. I even asked them to top dress areas and overseed this spring and it didn't work at all and made it worse.
I have looked at doing this treatment myself and bought some iron sulphate and lawn weed treatment. I wanted to use this asap and then scarify early October then fertilise and overseed.

Looking at the photos is anyone able to say if my lawn could handle a cylinder lawn mower. As I've seen the have interchangeable cartridges for verticutting. I cannot find a machine which verticuts only apart from the one from Bosh.

Any advice on some machinery and treatment would be welcome.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I wanted to use this asap and then scarify early October then fertilise and overseed.

You are cutting it fine, but should be okay, think about a second application in April.

Looking at the photos is anyone able to say if my lawn could handle a cylinder lawn mower.

When I was made redundant I bought a mower and went round cutting grass, but there was one elderly gent who insisted I use his cylinder mower, It was a very dense lawn of fine grasses, and hard work. It definitely worked on a lawn like that, but I found that with a decent blade a rotary mower did a good job on normal lawns. I used to get calls from people who hadn't touched things for ages so they were completely overgrown with brambles and all sorts, so I used to change the blade fairly often, but it shouldn't be a problem for you.

P S. They both leave lines on the grass, but the cylinder does it better.

 

[Elgan]

You are cutting it fine, but should be okay, think about a second application in April.

When I was made redundant I bought a mower and went round cutting grass, but there was one elderly gent who insisted I use his cylinder mower, It was a very dense lawn of fine grasses, and hard work. It definitely worked on a lawn like that, but I found that with a decent blade a rotary mower did a good job on normal lawns. I used to get calls from people who hadn't touched things for ages so they were completely overgrown with brambles and all sorts, so I used to change the blade fairly often, but it shouldn't be a problem for you.

P S. They both leave lines on the grass, but the cylinder does it better.

Thanks Oliver appreciate you reply.

I’m not particular about leaving the lines once but. I’m particularly keen on trying to grow a better lawn and try cut/ feed and grow this wide thick blade grass I’ve highlighted below out. I thought verticutting would help on this over time seasonal overseeing with finer grass type. I know this is not a quick fix as the lawn is covered in this type of grass and with a field next door I’ll never be able to avoid nature just want to try limit it and give a greener healthier looking lawn.

From the photo can you tell if there isA lot of thatch in the lawn?

 

[Oliver Buckle]

The grass in the foreground looks like it might be cooch, does it have thick, fleshy, spreading roots? I would worry more about that than meadow grass, which is a common addition to seed mixes. I am not sure your plan of gradually introducing finer grasses will work, I think the others may simply outgrow them. My uncle used to tell a joke about the American tourist asking a gardener how they got such a beautiful lawn outside Canterbury cathedral, he takes them all through preparing the ground and planting seed and then finishes "And then you mows and you mows, for about four hundred years.". There is a bit of truth in it, frequent, regular mowing is the key element.

If you rake out thatch then there is thatch, a wire lawn rake is a bit much work for any large area, but it is a useful tool for investigating and small bits, and I find it does a better job than the mechanical one, just too much work.

 

[milevaa]

I want to improve grass quality in my garden but I have to install water pipes there. What is the best solution for it?

 

[tyronee]

When it comes to installing pipes, it's important to find a reliable home service. I'd suggest giving Best Pick Reports a try when searching for home service providers. They offer excellent customer service and provide thorough insights and reviews to aid your decision-making process. I've personally had a positive experience with them and found their recommendations to be dependable and helpful.