18/08/2026
Now is the time (before sustained rainfall) to scarify/rake your lawn.
You may say ‘nah, it’ll grow back ok’. It will … and it won’t. It’ll look ok for a while, green to begin with, but then it will become more and more mossy, the kind of moss that doesn’t allow grass to survive.
Under that thatch of brown grass lie millions of moss spores against the concrete hard soil surface. When it rains for the first time, the water won’t soak into the soil, it will just create a damp surface, dark and cool under the thatch, and those spores will be activated to grow in perfect conditions.
Scarifying and mowing low with a powerful mower will clear out the thatch and a large percentage of the spores. But even better it will break up the hard surface allowing water pe*******on, and create conditions for light to get to the base of the grass. In these conditions the grass will thrive, and miraculously it will grow back (but you can add some seed, maybe a modern ryegrass blend that’s tougher in dry weather, to complete your efforts.
You could put on a spring feed (high in nitrogen) if you do it now, but don’t use a spring feed after mid-September, use an autumn feed high in phosphorous to encourage strong roots to overwinter.
The rain is coming.
