[Paulj]

As the topic title says really. We just moved house a few weeks ago and I noticed there's a lot of moss in the lawn.  The garden is something in the region of 250sqm - 300sqm, and I was wondering what will be the best way of aerating it effectively?

Factors for consideration are:

1) cheapish...having just moved and requiring a new bathroom and cooker we are not cash rich.
2) our last garden was prone to this issue and I did fork it but that was only 40sqm and I hated it!  Maybe that was due to the clayey soil we had which made the forking a nightmare.
3) I don't know what our soil is like in the new garden.

Are the shoes with spikes any good?  They seem to be the cheapest option, but are they really long enough to make a serious difference?

The cheapish rollers-do they work?  I assume none of them are really heavy enough to do the job based on their own weight?  If this is the case are they just back breaking in terms of forcing the spikes into the oil?

Another more extravagant alternative is to hire a petrol aerator to do the job over a weekend (£60 to hire for a couple of days).  How often do you need to aerate?  If lots then this might be good for the first time, but I certainly cannot afford to do it more than once, at least I cannot justify it to my OH.

[Paulj]

Surely someone has an opinion on this that could help me?

[Gwiz]

Righto,
The shoes do work, but their effect is rather limited (Best used during the year as part of the regular maintenance)
The small rollers are ok, Alko make a reasonable all metal one that you can fill with either water or sand, but they shouldn't be used if you aren't going to regularly do all the other maintenance tasks as well-because you will cause compaction and could exacerbate your existing problem with moss.....
Edit:
Sorry, I read your post incorrectly. You mean those little do-dads with the rotating spiky things don't you?
Forget it, They fall apart and are jolly hard work. They're also damn near impossible to get in the ground deep enough to do any good job.
save your money or invest it in a good quality brand of teabags so you can at least enjoy something whilst scowling at the moss.
Edit ends.....
There used to be a great little machine you could hire from most Hire shops that was about 14" wide, made, I think, by Sissis, and was a petrol powered roller with decent spikes on it for a good penetration into the soil. Unfortunately, I haven't seen one for a long while now and I expect that good old mainstay of defunct machines (Namely Self and Hafety) is to blame for it's demise.
You can go back to the good old garden fork, or you can also get a person powered, four hollow tined device for the job.
Alternatively, go and chat with the local hire shops and see what is around these days, as you have already suggested. There might be a modern machine that will be suitable for domestic use (The only ones I see to repair these days are to go behind tractors, or are for quite large areas and are very heavy)
I hope this helps in some way....
2nd Edit:
you ought to be aerating once a year to keep the moss at bay, and a good scarify each autumn with perhaps a little light raking in the spring....

Sorry about edits, I've recently had a molar removed due to an abscess under it and might mind keeps wandering to thoughts of painkillers.........

[R Tallentire]

I hesitate to reply to this one as I run on the “moss is green and grows slower than grass, so less mowing, leave it alone” branch of gardening, but I would have thought scarifying was more important than aerating to get rid of moss. Anyway, I use Merry Tiller aerator rotors when I have some in stock and they do make large slots in the lawn. I haven’t noticed any great difference in years that I have done this to years that I have not. Though my front lawn was so soggy in early June that I aerated, and it has been less wet since then. Sorry I can’t be of more help.