Dethatcher

Improve Your Lawn by Dethatching

What Is Thatch?
Thatch is the build up of dead and living organic matter along the soil surface, including grass roots. It keeps nutrients from reaching the soil and roots inhibiting even grass growth. Some thatch is normal, but if it reaches ½-inch or more, then it's time to take action.

How Do I Know If I Need To Dethatch My Lawn?
If your lawn is green on top, but brown underneath or if it looks dead and scalped when you mow, it may be time to dethatch. If your lawn is off-colour and thinning, and you can't see bare ground, between the plants but instead see matted, fibrous material, it may be time to dethatch. If your lawn is thick, rich and deep green, and you can't see bare ground between the plants but instead see matted, fibrous material, it may also be time to dethatch.
To determine whether your lawn has too much thatch, remove a plug of lawn, and measure the layer of thatch between the top growth and the root zone. If it measures more than 1/2" in depth, you should dethatch the lawn. You may need to perform this chore only once every two to three years.
 
What Time of the Year Should I Dethatch?
Depending on where you live you can remove thatch in summer, Autumn and even when the lawn is dormant in winter. Dethatching isn't recommended during the transition between dormancy and active growth because at this time the energy and nutrient stores in grass roots are low. The best time to dethatch a cool-season lawn is early Autumn or early Spring; for a warm-season lawn, early summer.

How Do I Remove Thatch?
To remove thatch from a lawn, use a Dethatcher, which will slice into the lawn and bring up vast amounts of dead material.

1. Adjust the blades to about a quarter-inch above a concrete surface. (Dethatching should not pulverize the soil surfaces).
2. Make between one to five passes through your lawn until most thatch is removed.
3. Then rake it all up. You will probably end up with one to three pick-up loads of thatch from an average-size lawn. When the task is finished, your lawn will look terrible, but don't panic. It's supposed to look that way. Wait three or four weeks, it will look much better.
4. After dethatching, fertilize the lawn with a nitrogen fertilizer to stimulate regrowth. To slow down thatch build up avoid over-fertilizing and over-watering, as these may contribute to thatch build-up. Products containing natural enzymes and micronutrients can be added to the soil to aid in the natural breakdown of thatch materials.

Regular use of a spiked roller will eliminate future thatching by aerating the grass roots.