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Styles Of Lawn Rake

Lawn Rake

Moisture Meter Guide

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What is a lawn rake? The lawn rake is a rake that is very similar in appearance to the typical and common leaf rake. What distinguishes a lawn rake fro the leaf rake are the blades. The blades on a lawn rake are a lot more sharper, look like small sickles and are 2 sided.

The lawn rake has been solely designed to assist in helping you obtain a healthier and thicker lawn by being able to remove any thatch or other types of debris from the lawn surface or between the grass blades without causing too much damage.

Thatch is an ongoing problem for all gardeners. Living and dead organic materials continually build up in a lawn and if not dealt with, a thatch layer will be created that prevents air, water and nutrients from reaching your grass roots. This can have disastrous consequences for your lawn. Thatch can be removed using a lawn scarifier. A suitable alternative to the lawn scarifier is the lawn rake.

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Much garden care work invariably involves cleaning up debris. The type of debris we are talking about is naturally produced mess from falling leaves and dead plant matter blown on to your lawn by the wind. As well as making your lawn look messy this debris can pose a threat and it can result in a thatch build up in your lawn. And no one who cares about their lawn will want that. Cleaning up should be done regularly and one tool that is well worth having in your garden shed is the lawn rake. These lawn rakes come in many shapes and sizes, each designed for a specific job at hand. The lawn rake is perhaps the simplest of designed garden tools, yet it is one of the most widely used garden tools.

The standard lawn rake just basically has a series of tines at the end of a long handle. The tines are angled in a way to be effective at collecting matter when the rake is pulled back towards the user. Every tine on a lawn rake can move independently, so they work together getting in to grooves and areas as they are pulled along. By having a long handle the user has the ability to force the tines in to the ground to get to the underside of such matters as moss. Because the tines are thin and work independently, the lawn rake scrapes up almost anything in it’s path whilst leaving your lawn virtually unscathed.

The lawn rake, though designed to be used on your lawn, can be used for other gardening jobs as well. In our experience they are effective on bare light soil and even on decorative rocks and delicate flower borders. So the lawn rake can be quite versatile in our opinion but it has been purchased with the intention of up keeping your lawn. So to eliminate any risk of damaging your lawn rake it is better to buy other rakes for other gardening jobs.

The lawn rake can prove to be a suitable alternative to a lawn scarifier when it comes to removing moss and thatch. However if your moss and thatch situation is quite serious then you need to step up on the lawn rake and acquire yourself a thatching rake. These thatching rakes have extra thick rigid tines that force their way in to the ground. They are more purposeful and tougher than a standard lawn rake.

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History Of The Lawn Rake

L.Gibbs received the first patent for raking apparatus on September 8th 1896. His invention was a rake head which was made out of metal which had holes in it so that tines could be inserted to form a U shape. These types of rakes came on to the market in the early 1900’s and the Gibbs Lawn and Rake Company was formed in Ohio, United States of America.

During the olden days rakes and other gardening tools were the targets of thieves. They were valuable and an essential means of survival where people lived off the land or made their living from selling grown produce. To prevent gardening tools from being stolen many people used to bury them in the ground to hide them from any probing thieves.

The early day rakes were stiff framed models but as people began to cultivate lawns and such a different type of rake was required. Soon flexible headed rakes emerged but at first they were extremely expensive. Many poor used to contain their grass areas using grazing sheep or cattle.

Today the lawn rake comes in many varieties. They can be constructed from different materials and have numerous uses. There are even rakes that can be folded up for convenient storage and transportation. Though a simple tool, the lawn rake has evolved considerably from the early days. Whether there is more to come in this rake evolution we are not too sure. However we can say that the lawn rake is here to stay.

If you use a back and forth motion with your lawn rake you will see that more thatch and moss is collected. Yes this will save you labour and time but it can cause damage to your grass roots. If you opt to do it this way then try to be as careful as possible. But in all honesty it is better to take more time and work an area with just the pull back method. Any moss or thatch that you have pulled up should be disposed of properly. Never leave it in clumps on your lawn because it may well work it’s way back in to the thatch layer.

When To Lawn Rake

Using a lawn rake to remove thatch from you lawn is, unlike with a lawn scarifier, a relatively gentle process on your grass. The damage is minimal so you can rake your lawn whenever it requires it. The best times to remove thatch are in early Spring and late Autumn.

Post Raking

Once you have finished your lawn with the lawn rake this is a good time to add fertilizer, lawn food or actually reseed areas that require it. Always water your lawn after you have been over it with the lawn rake.

Using A Lawn Rake

Pre raking

Before using your lawn rake on the lawn you need to cut the grass. By having shorter grass there is less resistance to the rake and it can get deeper in to your lawn. Cut your grass low. Something like down to 1 inch is ideal. The soil needs to be wet when you use a lawn rake. So if no rain is expected, water your lawn properly the night before you plan to use your garden rake. Check your lawn thoroughly. If you have large amounts of moss there it is best to apply a moss remover of some sort prior to raking. Using a lawn rake is effective at removing moss, but it will struggle with large amounts. Using a moss remover will help with the clearing process as well. Limp moss is by far, easier to rake away.

Using The Lawn Rake

You will use it in the same fashion as any other rake. All you do is place the tines of the rake on your lawn. Apply a little pressure and pull the tines back towards you. What you are aiming for is for the tines to just break the surface of the soil. By doing this the tines will pull up any thatch or moss as they pass. When working a particular area with the lawn rake, in order to achieve better results you should go over the area a couple of times but in different directions.

Raking Vs Scarifying

Scarifying

The lawn scarifier uses steel blades to remove thatch from the lawn. The scarifier will rotate and use a cutting action. It is easier to remove thatch with this cutting action. And by cutting out the thatch you end up with a firmer lawn. The lawn scarifier can also be used to cut in to the soil itself. Just set the blades at the required length and operate, By cutting in to the soil you are making it easier for air, water and nutrients to enter the soil. Many people also use the lawn scarifier in this fashion to prepare lawn areas for new grass seed.

The blades of a lawn scarifier also prunes grass. It does not cut grass like a lownmower with it’s cross cutting action. The scarifier has a downward cutting motion. By pruning the grass you will encourage new and extra shoots to grow.

The lawn scarifier cutting action is also a good way to control any weed grasses such as Annual Meadow Grass. It wil also help with controlling creeping weeds.

Raking

The lawn rake uses wire tines as opposed to cutting blades.

When it comes to removing moss from your lawn raking is the better option. Moss, in case you didn’t already know, is not rooted. This means it can be pulled away quite easily.

Raking is easier on the lawn and also can remove other small debris at the same time.

Some lawn rakes employ a flail system with their wires. They are not fixed and swivel around a central axle. So if they hit any hard objects they just move out of the way. These flail wires are actually excellent for moss removal and rarely damage your lawn.