Spongy lawn?

[ricflairandy]

Any ideas what would cause a spongey lawn? Whent mowing now its a nightmare as the wheels sink into the lawn to thepoint its like pushing a mower without any wheels.

 

[JohnD]

moss, due to damp.

unless you are on wet peaty soil, or perhaps quicksand.

show us some pics (and preferably a small hole)

 

[DeusXM]

Probably moss and excess thatch. Have a look up close - is there lots of feathery green stuff that looks a little bit like tiny Christmas trees? That'll be moss.

Your best bet is to give your lawn a really thorough raking. Do yourself a favour and get yourself an electric raker - something like the Black and Decker GD300 will do the job and they're only £60 or so.

Cut the grass as much as you can in the first instance - and then go over the garden with the raker. I'd recommend leaving it on the weakest setting at this time of year - save the scarifying and deep raking for the autumn. Just push it in rows along your lawn. If your lawn is anything like mine, you will be staggered at the amount that is ripped out without any noticeable difference to the amount of lawn left over. I'm talking heaps. The first time I ever did this (which was probably the first time the lawn had been raked, ever), the amount of thatch and moss I pulled out was roughly 10-15x the amount of grass clippings I'd get from a standard mowing.

Don't overdo it at this time of year - this is about getting things manageable for the meantime. In autumn, stick the rake on the lowest setting and properly go to town on your lawn before winter sets in. You should then have a great lawn for next year.