Nick.

I totally agree with you, but I find that the fork is far more effective
than the spiked roller.

Regards,
Emrys Davies.






NWalch" wrote in message
...
I have one of those that you push with spikes on a roller (about £20
full price). It is hard work but much quicker than using a fork (which
is also hard work by the time you've finished).

Nick

"Jan" wrote in message
...
Regarding those manual lawn aerating machine things that you push along,
spikes on a roller. Are they any good and do they make the job easier?
Or
is a garden fork just as effective? The machines are on sale at B&Q right
now and I wondered if I should buy one.

Thanks.

Bought those lawn spiking sandals (on impulse) last year but haven't
finished screwing the spikes onto them yet :-)

In theory you just wander around the lawn improving it as you go.

Anyone tried these?

If so, how fast did you move and how often did you sprain your ankle?

Cheers
Dave R

On Thu, 5 Feb 2004 02:12:18 -0000, "Jan" wrote:

"Jane Ransom" wrote in message
...


Jane, B&Q has a large tool that has a handle with 6 small hollow thingies on
the bottom that remove plugs of earth. You hold the handle and I assume
stand on a metal bar to push the hollow thingies into the soil. Is that the
tool you mean? It's a big metal thing about 3'x1'. I almost bought it
today but I thought that if it's anything like my bulb digger that the plugs
of soil would just get jammed up inside each hollow thingie.

You were right not to buy it. The hollow tines do get bunged up very
easily and unless you have perfect conditions under the grass it can
be very difficult to reach any depth. I managed to buckle mine trying
to penetrate heavy soil.

Rowdy

On Thu, 5 Feb 2004 11:23:44 -0000, "David W.E. Roberts"
wrote:


"Jan" wrote in message
...
Regarding those manual lawn aerating machine things that you push along,
spikes on a roller. Are they any good and do they make the job easier?
Or
is a garden fork just as effective? The machines are on sale at B&Q right
now and I wondered if I should buy one.

Thanks.

Bought those lawn spiking sandals (on impulse) last year but haven't
finished screwing the spikes onto them yet :-)

In theory you just wander around the lawn improving it as you go.

Anyone tried these?

If so, how fast did you move and how often did you sprain your ankle?

Isn't it like playing golf, but less exclusive?
--
Martin

In message , David W.E.
Roberts writes

"Jan" wrote in message
...
Regarding those manual lawn aerating machine things that you push along,
spikes on a roller. Are they any good and do they make the job easier?
Or
is a garden fork just as effective? The machines are on sale at B&Q right
now and I wondered if I should buy one.

Thanks.

Bought those lawn spiking sandals (on impulse) last year but haven't
finished screwing the spikes onto them yet :-)

In theory you just wander around the lawn improving it as you go.

It's filling the hole afterwards with sand that does the improving.

Anyone tried these?

If so, how fast did you move and how often did you sprain your ankle?

Cheers
Dave R



--
hugh
Reply to address is valid at the time of posting

On Thu, 5 Feb 2004 12:14:27 +0000, hugh ] wrote:

In message , David W.E.
Roberts writes

"Jan" wrote in message
...
Regarding those manual lawn aerating machine things that you push along,
spikes on a roller. Are they any good and do they make the job easier?
Or
is a garden fork just as effective? The machines are on sale at B&Q right
now and I wondered if I should buy one.

Thanks.

Bought those lawn spiking sandals (on impulse) last year but haven't
finished screwing the spikes onto them yet :-)

In theory you just wander around the lawn improving it as you go.

It's filling the hole afterwards with sand that does the improving.

What sort of sand do you recommend?
--
Martin

In article , Jan
writes
"Jane Ransom" wrote in message
...
The best thing is a tool that removes a plug of earth, rather than
squashing the soil to one side, to make a hole.

Jane, B&Q has a large tool that has a handle with 6 small hollow thingies on
the bottom that remove plugs of earth. You hold the handle and I assume
stand on a metal bar to push the hollow thingies into the soil. Is that the
tool you mean? It's a big metal thing about 3'x1'. I almost bought it
today but I thought that if it's anything like my bulb digger that the plugs
of soil would just get jammed up inside each hollow thingie.

That's the thing.
You will notice that the tines are of a smaller diameter at the bottom
than the top, the theory being that as new stuff goes in the bottom it
shoves the old stuff out of the top. It works quite well if your soil is
not too stoney or dry or wet!!!!!!!!!! You can either sweep up the plugs
and put them in the compost or leave them to work their way back into
the soil. As spiking should be done in autumn this isn't as stupid as it
sounds - no worse than worm casts!
The only problem with the things is that they are not very robust. The
spousal unit has had to have ours re-welded several times
--
Jane Ransom in Lancaster.
I won't respond to private emails that are on topic for urg
but if you need to email me for any other reason, put ransoms
at jandg dot demon dot co dot uk where you see

"Jane Ransom" wrote in message
...
That's the thing.
As spiking should be done in autumn this isn't as stupid as it
sounds - no worse than worm casts!

Thanks, Jane. You say that spiking should be done in autumn? My lawn is in
a sorry state, inherited it 3 years ago and not done a thing with it since.
So, can I spike it this spring? I'm all gung-ho; armed with moss killer,
weed killer, fertiliser, horticultural grit, new scarifier and new spiker.
I'll be most upset if I can't use my tools until autumn!

Regards,

In article , Jan
writes

Thanks, Jane. You say that spiking should be done in autumn? My lawn is in
a sorry state, inherited it 3 years ago and not done a thing with it since.
So, can I spike it this spring?

Wait until the grass is growing strongly or you are likely to do more
damage than good. I don't know where you are in the country, but, here
in Lancaster, we seldom do anything, other than give it a long haircut,
before mid April and often not until the beginning of May.

I'm all gung-ho; armed with moss killer,
weed killer, fertiliser, horticultural grit, new scarifier and new spiker.
I'll be most upset if I can't use my tools until autumn!

The supposed 'correct' technique is:
1 in spring when grass starts to grow strongly, give it a haircut
using a high lawn mover setting. Too low a setting will set
back the early growth
2 do your weed/feed/mosskill stuff, complying with the weather
conditions specified on the packet (and that is hard enough
to do as it is )
3 do the scarifying bit a few weeks after the weed/feed/mosskill
exercise (if your lawn is really bad then you will end up with
something with bald patches at this stage - we just let them
fill in naturally but some people go to the trouble of
applying grass seed - but this, then, gives you a problem with
subsequent mowing as new grass can't be mowed the same as old
grass as it is not tough enough)
4 mow at least once a week through the growing season
5 scarify once every 4-6 weeks depending upon summer weather
conditions (some weed/feed/mosskill treatments
recommend a second application at some stage)
6 in autumn (we usually do it in September but have done it in
early October depending upon the autumn weather conditions)
spike the lawn
7 After spiking, apply top dressing (at which time
you can level off any dents with top dressing) which includes
sharp sand/peat/loam to supply drainage and nutrients to the
soil at the grass roots
8 repeat from 1 next spring!

After repeating the above sequence for a few years you will find your
lawn improving dramatically. Even so, after a wet winter spell like we
have had this year, the moss will come back unless your lawn is *very*
well draining . . . . but if it is very well draining, it is likely to
die back and go brown in a dry summer . . . sigh we just can't win
with lawns in this country (((((((((((

Having said that, I suppose there is no reason not to spike your lawn
this spring. It's just that it is usual to apply the top dressing after
the spiking so that the top dressing can fall into the holes over the
winter whereas if you apply it in the spring you will mow/scarify it all
back up!!!!!!!!!
--
Jane Ransom in Lancaster.
I won't respond to private emails that are on topic for urg
but if you need to email me for any other reason, put ransoms
at jandg dot demon dot co dot uk where you see

In article , Jan
writes

Thanks, Jane. You say that spiking should be done in autumn? My lawn is in
a sorry state, inherited it 3 years ago and not done a thing with it since.
So, can I spike it this spring?

Wait until the grass is growing strongly or you are likely to do more
damage than good. I don't know where you are in the country, but, here
in Lancaster, we seldom do anything, other than give it a long haircut,
before mid April and often not until the beginning of May.

I'm all gung-ho; armed with moss killer,
weed killer, fertiliser, horticultural grit, new scarifier and new spiker.
I'll be most upset if I can't use my tools until autumn!

The supposed 'correct' technique is:
1 in spring when grass starts to grow strongly, give it a haircut
using a high lawn mover setting. Too low a setting will set
back the early growth
2 do your weed/feed/mosskill stuff, complying with the weather
conditions specified on the packet (and that is hard enough
to do as it is )
3 do the scarifying bit a few weeks after the weed/feed/mosskill
exercise (if your lawn is really bad then you will end up with
something with bald patches at this stage - we just let them
fill in naturally but some people go to the trouble of
applying grass seed - but this, then, gives you a problem with
subsequent mowing as new grass can't be mowed the same as old
grass as it is not tough enough)
4 mow at least once a week through the growing season
5 scarify once every 4-6 weeks depending upon summer weather
conditions (some weed/feed/mosskill treatments
recommend a second application at some stage)
6 in autumn (we usually do it in September but have done it in
early October depending upon the autumn weather conditions)
spike the lawn
7 After spiking, apply top dressing (at which time
you can level off any dents with top dressing) which includes
sharp sand/peat/loam to supply drainage and nutrients to the
soil at the grass roots
8 repeat from 1 next spring!

After repeating the above sequence for a few years you will find your
lawn improving dramatically. Even so, after a wet winter spell like we
have had this year, the moss will come back unless your lawn is *very*
well draining . . . . but if it is very well draining, it is likely to
die back and go brown in a dry summer . . . sigh we just can't win
with lawns in this country (((((((((((

Having said that, I suppose there is no reason not to spike your lawn
this spring. It's just that it is usual to apply the top dressing after
the spiking so that the top dressing can fall into the holes over the
winter whereas if you apply it in the spring you will mow/scarify it all
back up!!!!!!!!!
--
Jane Ransom in Lancaster.
I won't respond to private emails that are on topic for urg
but if you need to email me for any other reason, put ransoms
at jandg dot demon dot co dot uk where you see

In article , Jan
writes

Thanks, Jane. You say that spiking should be done in autumn? My lawn is in
a sorry state, inherited it 3 years ago and not done a thing with it since.
So, can I spike it this spring?

Wait until the grass is growing strongly or you are likely to do more
damage than good. I don't know where you are in the country, but, here
in Lancaster, we seldom do anything, other than give it a long haircut,
before mid April and often not until the beginning of May.

I'm all gung-ho; armed with moss killer,
weed killer, fertiliser, horticultural grit, new scarifier and new spiker.
I'll be most upset if I can't use my tools until autumn!

The supposed 'correct' technique is:
1 in spring when grass starts to grow strongly, give it a haircut
using a high lawn mover setting. Too low a setting will set
back the early growth
2 do your weed/feed/mosskill stuff, complying with the weather
conditions specified on the packet (and that is hard enough
to do as it is )
3 do the scarifying bit a few weeks after the weed/feed/mosskill
exercise (if your lawn is really bad then you will end up with
something with bald patches at this stage - we just let them
fill in naturally but some people go to the trouble of
applying grass seed - but this, then, gives you a problem with
subsequent mowing as new grass can't be mowed the same as old
grass as it is not tough enough)
4 mow at least once a week through the growing season
5 scarify once every 4-6 weeks depending upon summer weather
conditions (some weed/feed/mosskill treatments
recommend a second application at some stage)
6 in autumn (we usually do it in September but have done it in
early October depending upon the autumn weather conditions)
spike the lawn
7 After spiking, apply top dressing (at which time
you can level off any dents with top dressing) which includes
sharp sand/peat/loam to supply drainage and nutrients to the
soil at the grass roots
8 repeat from 1 next spring!

After repeating the above sequence for a few years you will find your
lawn improving dramatically. Even so, after a wet winter spell like we
have had this year, the moss will come back unless your lawn is *very*
well draining . . . . but if it is very well draining, it is likely to
die back and go brown in a dry summer . . . sigh we just can't win
with lawns in this country (((((((((((

Having said that, I suppose there is no reason not to spike your lawn
this spring. It's just that it is usual to apply the top dressing after
the spiking so that the top dressing can fall into the holes over the
winter whereas if you apply it in the spring you will mow/scarify it all
back up!!!!!!!!!
--
Jane Ransom in Lancaster.
I won't respond to private emails that are on topic for urg
but if you need to email me for any other reason, put ransoms
at jandg dot demon dot co dot uk where you see

In article , Jan
writes

Thanks, Jane. You say that spiking should be done in autumn? My lawn is in
a sorry state, inherited it 3 years ago and not done a thing with it since.
So, can I spike it this spring?

Wait until the grass is growing strongly or you are likely to do more
damage than good. I don't know where you are in the country, but, here
in Lancaster, we seldom do anything, other than give it a long haircut,
before mid April and often not until the beginning of May.

I'm all gung-ho; armed with moss killer,
weed killer, fertiliser, horticultural grit, new scarifier and new spiker.
I'll be most upset if I can't use my tools until autumn!

The supposed 'correct' technique is:
1 in spring when grass starts to grow strongly, give it a haircut
using a high lawn mover setting. Too low a setting will set
back the early growth
2 do your weed/feed/mosskill stuff, complying with the weather
conditions specified on the packet (and that is hard enough
to do as it is )
3 do the scarifying bit a few weeks after the weed/feed/mosskill
exercise (if your lawn is really bad then you will end up with
something with bald patches at this stage - we just let them
fill in naturally but some people go to the trouble of
applying grass seed - but this, then, gives you a problem with
subsequent mowing as new grass can't be mowed the same as old
grass as it is not tough enough)
4 mow at least once a week through the growing season
5 scarify once every 4-6 weeks depending upon summer weather
conditions (some weed/feed/mosskill treatments
recommend a second application at some stage)
6 in autumn (we usually do it in September but have done it in
early October depending upon the autumn weather conditions)
spike the lawn
7 After spiking, apply top dressing (at which time
you can level off any dents with top dressing) which includes
sharp sand/peat/loam to supply drainage and nutrients to the
soil at the grass roots
8 repeat from 1 next spring!

After repeating the above sequence for a few years you will find your
lawn improving dramatically. Even so, after a wet winter spell like we
have had this year, the moss will come back unless your lawn is *very*
well draining . . . . but if it is very well draining, it is likely to
die back and go brown in a dry summer . . . sigh we just can't win
with lawns in this country (((((((((((

Having said that, I suppose there is no reason not to spike your lawn
this spring. It's just that it is usual to apply the top dressing after
the spiking so that the top dressing can fall into the holes over the
winter whereas if you apply it in the spring you will mow/scarify it all
back up!!!!!!!!!
--
Jane Ransom in Lancaster.
I won't respond to private emails that are on topic for urg
but if you need to email me for any other reason, put ransoms
at jandg dot demon dot co dot uk where you see

"Jane Ransom" wrote in message
...
Wait until the grass is growing strongly or you are likely to do more
damage than good. I don't know where you are in the country, but, here
in Lancaster, we seldom do anything, other than give it a long haircut,
before mid April and often not until the beginning of May.

Jane, many thanks for your detailed instructions on lawn care. I've printed
it off for future reference. I really have to give my lawn aerator a quick
try because I told B&Q that I'd return it if it didn't work properly! I'll
just do it a couple of times, though, and hope I don't bend it!

Thanks again.

"Jane Ransom" wrote in message
...
Wait until the grass is growing strongly or you are likely to do more
damage than good. I don't know where you are in the country, but, here
in Lancaster, we seldom do anything, other than give it a long haircut,
before mid April and often not until the beginning of May.

Jane, many thanks for your detailed instructions on lawn care. I've printed
it off for future reference. I really have to give my lawn aerator a quick
try because I told B&Q that I'd return it if it didn't work properly! I'll
just do it a couple of times, though, and hope I don't bend it!

Thanks again.

In message , martin
writes
On Thu, 5 Feb 2004 12:14:27 +0000, hugh ] wrote:

In message , David W.E.
Roberts writes

"Jan" wrote in message
...
Regarding those manual lawn aerating machine things that you push along,
spikes on a roller. Are they any good and do they make the job easier?
Or
is a garden fork just as effective? The machines are on sale at B&Q right
now and I wondered if I should buy one.

Thanks.

Bought those lawn spiking sandals (on impulse) last year but haven't
finished screwing the spikes onto them yet :-)

In theory you just wander around the lawn improving it as you go.

It's filling the hole afterwards with sand that does the improving.

What sort of sand do you recommend?
Sharp sand, NOT builders sand.
--
hugh
Reply to address is valid at the time of posting