Worked example
A spring renovation, step by step
Scalp, dethatch, aerate, level and feed, with the gaps that matter between them, as a project file you can import and move as a chain.
Suits: A tired warm season lawn going into its growing season, with a few weekends to give it.
Day 1
Scalp
Lowest setting, bag everything. It looks terrible and it is meant to.
Day 2
Dethatch or scarify
Take out the dead layer that water and feed cannot get through.
Day 3
Core aerate
Relieve the compaction while the surface is already open.
Day 4
Topdress and level
Fill the hollows thinly. The leaf must still show through.
Day 5
Feed and water in
Recovery needs food and moisture from the day it starts.
Day 19
First mow after recovery
Let it come back before taking anything off it.
Take it, do not copy it out
This is the file, not a picture of one. Copy it, open the import screen, and it lands as dated entries you can look over before anything is saved. Change your mind and the whole import comes out in one click.
- The gaps are what makes it a chain. Move one step because of rain and the rest keep their spacing rather than needing to be dragged one by one.
- Hire the aerator and the scarifier before the weekend. Attach them to their steps and the plan reminds you by the date it needs booking.
- Do it when the lawn has months of growing weather ahead, not as it slows down.
spring-renovation.json
{
"kind": "project",
"name": "Spring renovation",
"description": "Strip it back, open it up, level it, then feed it hard",
"startsOn": "2026-10-03",
"steps": [
{ "title": "Scalp", "category": "scalp", "gapDays": 0, "notes": "Lowest mower setting, bag the clippings" },
{ "title": "Dethatch", "category": "dethatch", "gapDays": 1, "minGapDays": 0, "maxGapDays": 7 },
{ "title": "Core aerate", "category": "aerate", "gapDays": 1, "minGapDays": 0, "maxGapDays": 7 },
{ "title": "Topdress and level", "category": "topdress", "gapDays": 1, "minGapDays": 0, "maxGapDays": 5 },
{ "title": "Feed and water in", "category": "fertilize", "gapDays": 1 },
{ "title": "First mow after recovery", "category": "mow", "gapDays": 14, "minGapDays": 10, "maxGapDays": 21 }
]
}A plan is easy. Keeping up is the hard part.
Measure your lawn once and this becomes dates that move with the weather, jobs that know what to buy, and photos that show whether any of it worked. Free.