Scarification has recently begun to grow in popularity among the body modification community, but did you know it’s good for your lawn too? Lawn scarification is also sometimes referred to as lawn dethatching.
Thatch is a layer of dead plant material that has collected on the top of the soil, in between the roots and leaves of the living plants. A small quantity (up to around half an inch) of thatch is beneficial to the health of your lawn. It can provide cushioning, protection from temperature extremes, and can help to keep moisture within the soil.
Why should you scarify your lawn?
If you are serious about your garden, you should be scarifying your lawn at least once per year. This removes the layer of thatch and moss at the top of the soil level to promote healthy and even grass growth.
If you allow the thatch to build up, no nutrients will be able to enter the soil. This means that the grass and any other plants will die off and your lawn will look very sad. In essence, you will be suffocating your grass.
If you do not remove the thatch, then the roots of your grass can also begin to grow through this layer. There are no nutrients here and the grass that grows will be very brown and straggly.
When should you scarify your lawn?
Ideally, you will scarify your lawn twice a year, during autumn and spring. These are the optimal times as the weather conditions tend to be quite mild.
Spring scarification should be done in April. This is when the weather first begins to get warm and provides the best conditions for regrowth and recovery of your lawn. This is a particularly good time to scarify lawn areas under the shade of trees.
This is because this time of year is when there is the most sunlight travelling through the tree into the grass. This will give your lawn the best chance of healthy grass regrowth.
Autumn scarification is when you can go in hard on your lawn. If you need to do a serious bout of scarification, this is the ideal time of year. This often leaves large patches of soil exposed, where the removed plant growth used to be.
Scarifying in late August and early September means that there is less chance of weeds invading the exposed area. This offers the highest chance for just grass seeds to grow.
When should you not scarify your lawn?
You should not scarify your lawn in the rain. This is partly because of the water levels decreasing the strength of the grass roots. It is also partly because the rain will reduce the efficiency of your tools.
They are likely to get wet and dirty, meaning that the job will be sub-par. Allow your lawn to dry out a little before scarifying.
If you have a boggy lawn, we do not recommend scarification. This will irreversibly damage the structure of the soil, making it very compact. This will mean that new root systems cannot form and therefore there will be no new growth.
We do not recommend scarifying your lawn in March or October. These are too early and too late, respectively. The temperatures are relatively low and the soil will be cold. This will mean that there is not much opportunity for growth.
October is often quite wet as well, meaning there is very little potential for grass germination. March is a good time of year to begin planning for scarification, and you can apply weed killer at the end of the month.
Summer is not a good time to scarify your lawn as it is often too dry and warm. The lack of moisture will slow down the growth of new grass, meaning you are likely to be left with bare patches on your lawn. You will leave the soil exposed to the heat, further drying out the lawn. This can make the lawn appear very brown and dehydrated.
It is also a bad idea to scarify your lawn during the winter months. This is particularly important between November and February. The temperature during these months is very low.
This means that if you rake the grass and damage the root system, the plants may not be strong enough to grow back. Scarification will also open up the soil and can leave it vulnerable to frost heave and an invasion by moss.
Preparing to scarify your lawn
If you are planning to use a commercial weed killer formula on your lawn, we advise you to do this at least a week before scarification. This will ensure that any dead or empty patches created through the scarification process do not become overrun with moss or weeds.
You should also mow your lawn about a week before you wish to scarify it. This reduces the amount of grass that you need to work through, making scarification easier. As well as this, it can help to reduce the patches of thatching.
Your lawn should be hydrated, but not wet when you wish to scarify it. This is because the grass roots are incredibly easy to remove when they are wet. This means that you may accidentally uproot patches of grass instead of just thatch.
This can leave large empty patches on your lawn, which will appear hugely unsightly. We advise watering your lawn a few days before you start the scarification process, or waiting for a couple of days after rainfall.
Some final notes
If your lawn still seems a little bare after you have scarified it, you can sow some additional grass seeds. These will germinate quickly and give you a luscious and full lawn.
You will not see immediate results from scarification. Stay calm, your lawn will initially look a little worse for wear. Provided you have followed the instructions correctly, your lawn will be looking better than ever in just a few days.
