Johannesburg - If you haven’t done it already, there’s still time – and no reason not to – to get your lawn into tip-top shape for the coming summer season, and all those lovely outdoor entertaining sessions you’ll be having.
Firstly, you need to take into account what kind of grass you have. Do you have grass with runners – cynodons such as Bermuda or Kikuyu – or clumping grass – those cool weather types, such as an all-season evergreen or shady mixture? This determines whether you scarify or not.
Secondly, you need to understand what thatch is. This is that layer of organic residue that amasses just above the soil surface which hasn’t decomposed.
Dethatching – or scarification – will remove the excessive build-up of organic matter, dead roots, and other lawn debris which slowly kills your patch of green heaven off. The aim is to go as deep as possible without disturbing the surface of the soil.
Now, scarification needs to be done with your runner grasses; not with the clumping varieties. Initially, your lawn is going to look worse as it’s a really harsh process, but it will ultimately make it much better – so have faith.
Scarification is best carried out when the lawn is a little moist – not too wet or too dry. If you’re using a hand-held rake, wear leather gloves with talc in them to prevent blistering. Only moderate pressure is required, and rake repeatedly to lift out the moss or thatch. The easier option, obviously, is to use a scarifier, or your lawnmower.
You need to set it to its lowest setting (6 to 10mm) – and then mow, mow, mow, scalping the lawn once in one direction and repeating the raking at a slightly different angle – don’t rake at right angles as this causes too much damage – until you’re left with something that essentially has no leaves left on it.
You will probably have to go over it a few times to accomplish this. You should now have a lawn that is very brown, with 6mm to 12mm of stubble, a network of “runners” on the surface, and just a little bit of soil showing through. Then it’s time to rake all that dead thatch off and let in the air, to encourage new growth. Use a large plastic rake to remove the bulk of the debris.
If afterwards you see some bumps or depressions in your lawn area, fill in with top dressing (3-4 kilos per square metre) and it’s also a great time to overseed, too. There are a couple of schools of thought here – some say seed, then top dress, and others, top dress, then seed. I’d go with the latter.
Now to assist the lawn to recovery, get some water and fertiliser into the lawn. Just look for the bags with the pictures of lawn on them, and you won’t go wrong!
Those containing potassium help the grass fight off the stress of the scarifying, and will help protect against disease.
And then – just pray for rain!
* Don’t miss Melanie in Gardening 101 on The Home Channel (DStv 176) on Tuesdays at 9pm, with seven repeats throughout the week.
Saturday Star