Garden Q&A: What is the right time of year to scarify my lawn?

Whether you're a gardening beginner or expert, Irish Examiner columnist Peter Dowdall has the answer to your questions

QUESTION

Is it the right time of the year to scarify my lawn, it has a lot of moss on it?

ANSWER

The two best months to scarify a lawn are March and September. 

The scarifier acts like a mechanical rake, pulling up all the thatch and moss from the soil surface. 

Thatch is the build-up of decaying plant tissue and horizontal growing grass and allowing it to build up leads to ideal conditions for the development of fungal infections and also moss.

Do be aware that the lawn will look much worse before it looks better and I would apply a winter lawn feed to help the grass to strengthen and recover quickly. 

Lawn Gold Winter Protect is an Irish-made product that as well as maintaining an alkaline pH which moss cannot tolerate also delivers potassium to the rootzone which is important for root development over the winter months.

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