lawn rakers !!!!!!

Benidormqueen

I'd like to buy a lawnraker,to get rid of all dead grass, moss etc,
anyone tried them,are they any good,and what to look for if i buy one,
got the old fash rake now but it's too much hard work. thanks!!!!!!!!!

feival

Yeh I got one in the sale from Argos a few years ago - the Blackj and Decker one. Pretty simple thing so don't worry about which one to get -focus on the price. Amazing though- SOOOOOOOOOOO much eaier than doing it by hand. I guess you need to amke sure you can vary the height of the rake otherwise not much else to it.

Doonhamer

Don't be so lazy do it with a hand one!

Yes I agree, get a cheap one for all the use you will make of it. A tip is to take it easy, little and often is best in the spring.

Don't bother collecting with it, mow it afterwards and collect with the mower.

Benidormqueen

Thanks to you both the one I'd been looking at, had three height adjustments,
cheapest one Iv'e seen up to now is £40.00 but it would be used for three gardens all with quite a lot of grass.

Mr_Meanie

I borrowed a Qualcast one from a friend to test one out, it worked like a dream, on the strength of that I bought a Black & Decker from the local free ad paper, not quite as good but still does the job.
The only real difference between the two is that the Qualcast has metal prongs.
Either one is worth its weight in gold in saving time and effort in my opinion.

Benidormqueen

Mr_Meanie wrote:

I borrowed a Qualcast one from a friend to test one out, it worked like a dream, on the strength of that I bought a Black & Decker from the local free ad paper, not quite as good but still does the job.
The only real difference between the two is that the Qualcast has metal prongs.
Either one is worth its weight in gold in saving time and effort in my opinion.

Thanks, Iv'e never used one, but I think my lawn will benefit the use of one,
got a lot of patchy moss, dead grass,(even though it looks quite good )
Will it leave a lot of bare patches, and will I have to re-seed.

rsvtoddy

From my experience it will look a real mess when you've finished but it soon recovers and looks much better!

You shouldn't have to reseed unless you have large clumps of daisies that are killed off then rake the lawn.

No idea what make the one is I use - it's my dad's!

feival

According to my manual you give a light rake in Spring and a heavy rake in Autumn - apparently the grass shoots ytou require after the heavey rake aka scarify only grow in autum time. You will be simply amazed at how much stuff it brings up... really.

Lord_Gardener

You can also get conversion kits for electric mowers such as Qualcast for ~ £10 - £15. These work a treat - my neighbours are always borrowing mine!

eg

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/QUALCAST-LAWN-RAKE-KIT-FOR-CONCORDE-RE-X-MOWERS_W0QQitemZ290008930937QQihZ019QQcategoryZ20540QQcmdZViewItem


NB Always rake before you cut - this will raise the stems of weeds such as clover and buttercups, allowing them to be cut much more easily and reduce their clumps spreading!

Benidormqueen

Thanks rsvtoddy, feival, Lord_Gardener, for all the helpfull information, I'm going to get one, It's made my mind up, ok so it will look a mess for a while but it should be worth it in the end. (I hope)
please keep any information and tips coming, It will be weekend before I get one.

pjran

Its worth buying one with a very long extension lead.If you decide not to use the collection box please where long trousers 'cos it throws up stones, and believe me they hurt!!!!!
Pj