Lawn spring clean

Firstly, cut the grass down to about 2cm then remove the moss and thatch with a special grass rake and lots of energy. Better still, use a scarifier, which should be adjusted to touch the top of the ground but not cut in deeply. Scarifying is best done both up and down and across the lawn. Remove all the debris for composting.

To improve the condition of the soil it needs to be aerated. This can be done the hard way with a garden fork at 4cm intervals or the easy way with a hollow tine aerator which brings out cores of soil. Once these have been swept up a lawn dressing can be applied to help the grass grow strongly again.

Weeds can be treated with weed killer applied with a spreader which can also be used to apply fertiliser after treatments to the lawn.

Good machines are expensive so it is worthwhile hiring them.