The use of a scarifier is absolutely essential pour beautify a lawn because that’s how we renovate it. This is part of the maintenance of the garden. Scarification is ideally done twice a year with a specific device. Let’s take stock of its many advantages, the best times of the year to choose for restore your lawn and finally see, step by step, how to go about obtaining an impeccable result thanks to scarification.
Why scarify a lawn?
A beautiful lawn, without weeds, without moss and of an even green, magnifies the garden. But you can plant all the plants possible there, if the grass is in poor health, the outdoor space will seem neglected. However, after a few years, the lawn loses its resistance and is damaged. Passing the mower is no longer enough to maintain its original beauty because various factors promote the deterioration of the quality of the lawn over time, namely:
- The weeds which are becoming more and more extensive,
- The mosses that choke the lawn,
- Grass clippings that accumulate,
- The rains that make the earth too compact…
To this is generally added the trampling which is not done to fix the state of a lawn. A felting forms on the surface, making the soil more impermeable so that the lawn can no longer draw in the air, water and nutrients it needs to stay healthy. Became fragileshe degraded. It is urgent to take it seriously in hand. This is where the scarifier proves its usefulness.
Similar in appearance to a lawn mower, a scarifier is a manual, gas-powered or electric tool that is equipped with perfectly sharp teeth, claws or knives. Scarifying your lawn allows:
- To cut the accumulated plant debris, that is to say the felting, to a depth of between 5 and 10 cm, by making incisions.
- Claw the ground in order to scrape the superficial layer.
These different actions promote the absorption of water, air and nutrients by the soil. This being less compact but also less humid, the mosses cease to develop. The lawn is redensified, more resistant to trampling, and it is also much more beautiful. The garden regains its neat aspect so welcoming.
When to use the scarifier on the lawn?
You shouldn’t wait until the lawn is too damaged to take care of it. However, the first scarification should only be carried out three years after sowing the lawn, never before. Thereafter, we stick to it every year, once a year to keep the lawn healthy, even twice a year if the lawn is in very poor condition. The two best seasons to pass the scarifier are:
- Spring : as soon as the first two mowings of the year have been carried out and the risk of frost is no longer to be feared.
- The very beginning of autumn, at the end of September, before the first frosts: do not start too late to allow the scarified lawn to have had time to regain good resistance. Dry grass and grass clippings are thus eliminated before winter and the lawn being fortified by scarification, it will be better able to spend the off-season without batting an eyelid. In addition, if it is necessary to resow grass after the passage of the scarifier to fill holes, autumn is the ideal period.
Whatever the time of the year chosen, we always pass the scarifier on wet ground. It should neither be dry nor soggy.
How to scarify your lawn?
Pour repair a damaged lawnit is necessary to follow all the following steps.
- Mow the lawn above all, very close, that is to say about 2 cm high.
- Raking carefully to pick up mowing waste and some of the moss,
- Adjust the scarifier on a depth of 3 to 4 mm. Shorter, there is a risk of tearing the roots of the plants that make up the lawn. To find the right height, it may be useful to carry out a preliminary test on a square of 1 mx 1 m.
- Make sure the soil is just moist.
- Pass the scarifier in the direction of the length then in the direction of the width so as to cross the passages for optimum efficiency.
- Raking again to pick up all plant residues as well as the excess soil, even if the scarifier is equipped with a collection tray because the ideal is that there is no debris left on the newly scarified lawn. The lawn broom is ideal.
- Water the lawn.
- Spread special lawn soil or even a fertilizer that also contains an anti-foam.
- Spread a thin layer of sand evenly with a rake if the soil is clayey and heavy.
- If necessary, one can carry out a sowing of refilling on the stripped zones and watering in fine rain as indicated on the packaging. We then proceed to this reseeding just before spreading the soil so that the seeds take advantage of this fertilizer.
Subsequently, once the scarification is complete, do not hesitate to feed the soil. One can then perform one or more of the following tasks depending on the needs and/or the time:
We emphasize the importance of clean the area that has just been scarified because it is one of the secrets of success. The lawn must be able to breathe but also finally soak up the light it could no longer benefit from because of the felting. Finally, it should be noted that lawns located near large trees particularly need to be scarified twice a year because these areas are insufficiently light for the lawn and, moreover, they retain humidity, which promotes the development of moss. These also tend to proliferate more in acidic soil.