How far do you take scarifying.

cairnoscar

I scarified in autumn, spread an autumn dressing and have scarified again today. There was not as much thatch as in autumn but I can still see dead grass. My question is how much scarifying to do? Do I keep going till all the thatch is gone and have next to no grass or feed it and see how it does? Thanks.

Borderline

Scarifying process is labour intensive. I find it surprising you had very little dead grass from the process last autumn. Even on a healthy lawn, the autumn process can create bucket loads. There is no need to do any scarifying now, it's still too cold and damp. Not only that, the grass will be very weak and will rip if you try it now. 

The process should get between the grass blades and rake off a built up thatch. The grass can end up looking dull, grey and half gone. Once you have done it, run the mower over to cut the grass again because many of the blades will have been pulled up and needs cutting.

Not always visible to the eye, but with constant cutting throughout the year, grass will fill in the gaps and eventually prevent water getting down into the soil. That's the main reason to add this into the yearly program. 

cairnoscar

Thanks.

hogweed

I normally scarify in early summer and do it until I have 12 black bags of 'stuff'! My total lawn area is not that big - about 80-90sq yds.