Dethatching The Lawn
Overview:
Dethatching the lawn
is essential for maintaining a lush and healthy lawn. Thatch
is the layer of built-up grass (dead grass) that lies
between the green top growth and the roots of grass.
It
develops naturally as the grass grows and lawn mowing clippings bed
themselves around the root system. Some amount of thatch is
good as it helps protect the roots; however, excessive
thatch prevents moisture, oxygen, and nutrients from
penetrating the soil. To much thatch will require
dethatching the lawn.
Some homeowners
bag the clippings to avoid excessive and unsightly build up.
It is better to cut the lawn more often and leave the
clippings on the surface of the lawn to decompose. The
decomposed clippings contain many nutrients including the
nitrogen fertilizer you applied in the spring and fall.
Bagging the clipping and throwing them in the recycle bin
for garden compost may be good for the garden but they are
equally as good for the lawn by just leaving them in place
and let them decompose. Cut
the lawn frequently to avoid a thick layer of thatch from
building up.
A thick layer
of thatch prevents newly sowed seed (over seed) from
germinating in the soil. Some, if not all the seed will
germinate in the thatch and not the soil. The new grass will
quickly die out because it cannot get the insulation it
needs to survive the hot summer heat unless you water every
day.
If there is
more than a half inch of thatch between the top of the grass
and the soil there is too much thatch on your lawn. Although
this measurement should be done annually you probably will
only have to dethatch every two or three years if you are
cutting the lawn frequently.
Most homeowners
use a spring rake attached to their lawn mower to remove
thatch. Although this works well it is not the best way as
the tines do not penetrate the thatch sufficiently. A
thatching rake works better for removing thatch than a
spring rake because it penetrates the thick layer of thatch
and removes vast amounts of dead material.
It is best to
remove excess thatch in the summer or fall. Removing thatch
in the spring upsets the active growth transition period
when the nutrients in the root system are low. I recommend
that dethatching be done in the fall and followed by fall
fertilizing and over seed. Do not use a weed killer
fertilizer if you intend to over seed as it will prevent the
new seed from germinating.
Dethatching your lawn
will give your lawn a lush appearance by
allowing the nutrients in the soil to get into the root
system and require less watering during the summer months.
To prevent thatch from becoming excessive cut the lawn
frequently, allowing the clippings to decompose on the lawn,
adding needed nutrients.
See more
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