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Scarification

What is scarifying?Lawn Scarification Professional Machine

Scarification is a thatch control and pruning technique which helps to keep the lawn healthy and promotes a thicker, lush lawn, reducing the risk of disease, weeds and moss issues.

What is thatch ?

Over time your lawn develops thatch – a fibrous matter made up of dead parts of the grass plant including the crown, stolons and rhizomes. Without removing this dead matter your lawn will quickly deteriorate, making it especially vulnerable to moss, disease, weeds and stress in periods of drought.

What is the purpose of thatch?

Thatch keeps the grass plant cool in hot weather and helps your soil retain warmth when it is cold. Without thatch your lawn will be baked dry when it is hot and become muddy in the wet.

How much thatch should my lawn have?

As a general rule of thumb we’re looking for a quarter to half an inch of thatch at the start of the year.

Why can too much thatch be a problem?

If your lawn has too much thatch not only will it suffer from disease, weeds and poor water and nutrient penetration, left to its own devices thatch will start to build in your lawn where the grass starts rooting to it.

A lawn with a lot of thatch might feel spongey under foot, it could also be difficult to cut as the mower will sink into the lawn potentially causing scalping issues.

Once this happens your lawn is at a critical situation as the grass grows roots into the thatch to survive because this is where the water a nutrients are stored, not in the soil which will be dry and nutrient deficient.

What are the benefits of scarification?

  • Encourages a thicker, lusher and more resilient lawn
  • Reduces your lawns susceptibility to disease
  • Removes the dead matter from the surface of the lawn, helping it breathe
  • Refreshes a lawn, helping it to absorb water and nutrients more effectively
  • Helps reduce moss & weeds
  • Stops it becoming ‘spongy’
  • It is one of the most beneficial treatments that can be done to your lawn

Regular scarification will strengthen your lawn against moss and weeds, encouraging thicker growth.

Get rid of the moss after scarification

Renovation scarification is an essential part of the autumn work for moss heavy lawns, (September is usually best) in preparation for the winter months. At this stage of the year, if lawns are showing signs of moss, the scarification process is used before a moss killer has been applied. There is a common misconception that the moss needs to be killed before scarification. It is unlikely that all the moss is killed when applying moss killer, so scarifying after applying moss killer puts your lawn at risk of spreading moss spores, which are invisible to the eye, back across your lawn  – rather counter intuitive!

When is the best time for scarification?

Simply, the perfect time to scarify is when the grass is growing strongly. We’d avoid scarifying your lawn when frost may occur and in dry conditions as it will take your lawn longer to recover, putting it at unnecessary risk to deterioration.

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Our services

  • Fertilisation
  • Moss control
  • Weed management
  • Overseeding
  • Wildflower meadow creation
  • Scarification
  • Aeration
  • Topdressing
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Lawn Crew Limited,
8 Rosemount Avenue, West Byfleet, Surrey, KT14 6BD

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5 week checkup after some autumn lawn care tlc for 5 week checkup after some autumn lawn care tlc for a client in Chobham. Regular cutting now as required will encourge tillering/thickening. Good  pre-winter progress!
Lewis core collecting after some hollow tine aerat Lewis core collecting after some hollow tine aeration. #surreylawncareservices
We're seeing some beautiful autumn colours this ye We're seeing some beautiful autumn colours this year at our client's lawns across Surrey.
Monday morning commute. #swanningaround Monday morning commute. #swanningaround
All in a day's work. #surreylawncare #turfing All in a day's work. #surreylawncare #turfing
Stripes and more stripes. #lawncaresurrey Stripes and more stripes. #lawncaresurrey
Starting to see some red thread, weather condition Starting to see some red thread, weather conditions are perfect at the moment. Looks worse than it is, very rarely causes long term damage.
Phew. It's getting toasty. For those who are wate Phew. It's getting toasty.

For those who are watering their lawns do it long and infrequently; give the roots a good soak! 
Apply minimum 1/2 inch water for clay lawns and 1 inch of water for sand lawns.

Use a tuna can to measure how long this means for your sprinkler(s). Some more tips on watering here:

https://lawncrew.co.uk/advice/#watering
New residents in the bug hotel. #solitarybees New residents in the bug hotel. #solitarybees
Finally it's starting to feel like spring! Finally it's starting to feel like spring!
We're very excited to have joined @1percentftp 😁

A fantastic organisation where their members commit to donate 1% of annual sales to environmental causes.
Brrrr. Winter is here but we're still keeping the Brrrr. Winter is here but we're still keeping the lawns nice and healthy with some moss control and aeration.
🍁🍂 🍁🍂
3 week progress check. Just had its first cut and 3 week progress check. Just had its first cut and a bit more seed applied. Progressing nicely.
We've been busy bees renovating before it gets too We've been busy bees renovating before it gets too cold. Looking forward to seeing the results for this lawn in a few months. #surreylawncareservices
A burnt out lawn with over 2 inches of thatch. So A burnt out lawn with over 2 inches of thatch.

Sometimes it's better to start again when scarification doesn't cut it.

Removing the old lawn using a turf cutter creates the perfect thatch free surface to create a new lawn from seed, and no need to use herbicide!

Watch this space for progress pictures.
She's an odd one, but we love her. #LCdog She's an odd one, but we love her. #LCdog
Collaborating with Jason Hunter from The Groundsma Collaborating with Jason Hunter from The Groundsman Surrey - @siphoxolo1

We were approached to create a lawn from seed suitable for the client's children to play football throughout the year. 20 tonnes of sand was applied to the inherited claggy soil. 
Results looking great with a double bay cut.
Beautiful day for topdressing yesterday in the Sur Beautiful day for topdressing yesterday in the Surrey sun.
"We are really happy & wanted to share with you & "We are really happy & wanted to share with you & your team the results of all your hard work, thank you !!" ..... We're seeing (and hearing about) great results from our spring work, it was a tricky spring but lawns are starting to kick on now.
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