Scarifying the lawn removes thatch and moss and promotes good lawn growth. We show why it's worth it and give precise instructions.
Caring for a lawn is like taking care of your he alth: Eating fruit and vegetables regularly is far less strenuous than curing a long-lasting cold or flu. It is up to each lawn owner to decide whether he or she wants to put in a little effort to take care of the lawn or whether it is better to wait until the tedious lawn repair becomes unavoidable or even impossible at some point. Therefore, we recommend scarifying the lawn before it gets into a worse condition.
The following are detailed instructions on how to scarify your lawn, as well as maintenance tips to help your lawn recover well after the rigors of scarifying.
Why scarifying the lawn is worth it
Possible soil, lack of nutrients or lack of care can lead to the formation of moss and thatch in the lawn. Moss and felt impair the growth conditions for lawn grass. Water and air are less able to penetrate the soil and, in the worst case, the grass roots suffer from a lack of water and oxygen. This weakens the grass and leads to even more moss and felt formation. To break this vicious circle, moss and thatch are removed during scarifying. This means that lawns that are not matted or covered in moss do not need to be scarified. Most hobby gardeners can hardly imagine this dream scenario, but in sunny locations with loose, nutrient-rich and well-aerated soil, i.e. on ideal lawn locations, moss formation actually rarely occurs.
Why is it worth scarifying the lawn?
- Moss and thatch are removed
- This improves the growth conditions for the lawn grasses, as water and air can penetrate the soil again and permeability is increased
How often should you scarify the lawn?
The scarifying is done as needed and therefore not incarried out at regular intervals. Unnecessary scarifying weakens the grasses more than it promotes them - at least if they enjoy good growing conditions without the intervention. Even in the worst possible location and unfavorable soil properties, scarifying should be carried out at most once a year. In the long term, annual scarifying is of course tiresome, so if possible, efforts should be made to combat the causes of moss and thatch formation. Here you can read how to remove moss in the lawn in the long term.
When should you scarify the lawn?
The best season for scarifying is spring, when grass is already starting to grow. Then you should start scarifying and then carry out the spring fertilization with a primarily organic lawn fertilizer such as our Plantura organic lawn fertilizer. With this care, your lawn is optimally prepared for the warm season and has the chance to use the wounds that have occurred at its roots for branching. The increasingly longer days also give it the energy to be one step ahead of the weeds and also the shade-loving moss. If you have the choice, you should definitely scarify in the spring.
Early autumn until the end of September is not quite as suitable for scarifying. But because the lawn still grows slowly even at temperatures of over 8 °C, it can still use the autumn to close the wounds in the lawn. After scarifying in autumn, the lawn can be fertilized in the autumn - it is essential to use a potassium-rich, low-nitrogen autumn lawn fertilizer to avoid frost damage to the lawn. We have developed our Plantura organic autumn lawn fertilizer especially for this purpose, which protects your lawn against crisp cold temperatures. Here you will also find more information on how to properly winterize your lawn.
Because their leaves and roots are injured when scarifying, the lawn plants then have to fight to regulate their water balance. Warm and humid weather, i.e. growing weather, optimally supports the lawn in its regeneration and ensures that it does not dry out. So if it's too dry and no rain is forecast for the coming day either, you should rather leave the scarifier - or use the lawn sprinkler.
When should you scarify the lawn?
- The perfect time to scarify is spring when the grass is already starting to grow
- The scarifying in autumnim possible, but not ideal
- To ensure that the regeneration of the lawn is not unnecessarily difficult, scarifying should take place in warm, humid weather
Instructions for scarifying the lawn
In order to really do something good for your lawn, the correct scarifying procedure is crucial. A previous deep mowing to about 2 cm and the removal of the lawn clippings is absolutely necessary so that the grass is not pulled out when scarifying. A scarifier should scratch the turf slightly and not mill the ground. The working depth of the blades must not exceed 2 to 3 millimeters, because the turf is severely damaged even when working 4 to 5 millimeters deep. When scarifying, the lawn should be worked at least once lengthways and once across. Of course you can also use a manual scarifier for this. Between work steps and at the end, the thatch is removed with a rake, which is also much easier to do on a short-cut lawn.
How to properly scarify the lawn?
- Mowing before scarifying (about 2 cm deep)
- The scarifier is adjusted so that it engages only 2 to 3mm of the soil surface; otherwise the grass roots may be damaged
- The lawn should be scarified at least once lengthwise and once crosswise
- In between and finally, the worked out material is removed with a rake
Care for the lawn after scarifying
If the device is set correctly, scarifying only damages the grass roots as much as is necessary. Nevertheless, it presents the lawn with special, exhausting tasks. In order to promote the regeneration of the lawn, a few other care measures follow the scarifying.
Aerating the lawn after scarifying
Like scarifying, aerating the lawn also serves to improve the air and water permeability of the soil. But while scarifying only removes the thatch layer on the surface of the soil and stimulates the turf to branch out by lightly scratching it, the tools used to aerate the lawn penetrate 10 cm or deeper in order to "air" the soil in the truest sense of the word. When aerating the lawn, the turf is punctured deeply at certain points, allowing water, nutrients and oxygen to enterbetter to the turf roots, which encourages their branching. The lawn is aerated to remove soil compaction near the surface and can be carried out 2 to 12 times a year as required, as the entire turf remains intact. After aerating, the resulting holes are filled with sand.
Tip: The lawn can also be aerated independently of scarifying and also much more frequently.
Sanding the lawn after scarifying
On heavy, cohesive soil, sand the soil after scarifying. By adding sand such as our Plantura Premium lawn sand, the proportion of air-carrying coarse pores in the soil is increased and the soil structure is permanently improved in line with the requirements of the lawn. The soil organisms are also much better off with a better oxygen supply. The sanding of the lawn prevents the renewed formation of moss and thatch by promoting lawn plants and soil organisms.
Reseed and fertilize the lawn after scarifying
It is normal for the lawn to look a little plucked after scarifying. With good care, an evenly thinned lawn area will soon be densely covered with new green again. However, if there are larger bald spots, which are particularly common in damp, shady and compacted areas in the garden, they are overseed after scarifying. This is important so that a closed turf is formed again and renewed moss and weed infestation is prevented. Plantura Lawn Reseeding or Plantura Lawn Repair are ideal for treating bare spots in your lawn. Because the lawn did not have it particularly difficult in these areas for nothing, you should prepare the seedbed well, loosen compacted soil well, mix it with sand and primarily work in organic fertilizer. Here you can read again how to seed the lawn.
Fertilize the lawn after scarifying
Fertilize the lawn after scarifying. Now the soil is exposed and the fertilizer can be easily incorporated. A good nutrient supply now gives the heavily consuming lawn plants the decisive advantage over unwanted weeds. You should, especially if you have overseeded at the same timeHowever, avoid too high concentrations of nutrients: If the soil solution contains too many nutrients, this leads to soft, vulnerable and poorly rooted young lawn plants. You can hardly go wrong with a primarily organic lawn fertilizer. The slow release of these lawn fertilizers not only leads to a he althier emergence of the plants, but also soil life is promoted by the introduction of organic material and a continuous release of nutrients.
We have developed our Plantura organic lawn fertilizer and our Plantura organic autumn lawn fertilizer as biological and long-term lawn care. They ensure an active soil life, which converts thatch into nutrients and humus. The even supply of nutrients prevents unchecked moss growth. The primarily organic fertilization after scarifying ensures a dense lawn without weeds in the medium and long term, which needs to be scarified less often.
How to properly care for the lawn after scarifying?
- Very heavy soils are aerated in addition to scarifying; ventilation can also be carried out independently of scarifying, even monthly if necessary
- Sanding is mandatory after aeration and also has a beneficial effect on lawn growth after scarifying
- Bleed areas caused by scarifying should be improved and overseed
- After scarifying, primarily organic fertilizers should be used to prevent moss and felt formation in the long term; we recommend our Plantura organic lawn fertilizer in spring and our Plantura organic autumn lawn fertilizer in autumn - for a frost-hard lawn
You can find more about proper lawn care all year round here.