Lawn Care Tips: De-Thatching

Spring is just around the corner, and it’s time to start thinking about lawn care. One of the tasks that you may need to do to your lawn is to de-thatch it. De-thatching doesn’t need to be done every year, every other year or even every two years will probably be fine.

Over time, a layer of dead grass and other organic material can build up in your lawn. This creates a thick mat of material called thatch that makes it difficult or even impossible for water and nutrients to get into the soil to keep the grass healthy. In some cases, the roots of the grass will start growing in the thatch instead of the soil, making it easily damaged. Do not confuse thatch with mulch. A thin layer of mulch is desirable in a lawn. It helps to protect the roots and hold in moisture. Mulch will allow water into the soil, while thatch does not. De-thatching is simply a process of breaking up the thatch and removing it.

If you have a small lawn, or if you have a large lawn but also have a lot of time or help, you can de-thatch the lawn with a garden rake. You don’t want to use a flimsy lawn rake for this as it isn’t heavy enough to break up the thatch. Take a garden rake, and go over your lawn once or twice to break up the thatch and rake it into piles for removal. Don’t worry about removing every bit of thatch from the lawn. If you go over the lawn thoroughly with the rake, the thatch that doesn’t get raked up will at least be broken up to allow water to get to the soil.

If you have a larger lawn, you may want to rent a power rake. This does the same as a garden rake, but it does it much more quickly and efficiently. Simply start up the power rake, and go across the lawn a couple of times. Go over the lawn once in one direction, then go over it a second time 90 degrees to your first pass over the lawn. This will break up the thatch, and leave it on the surface of the lawn, where it can be raked up and discarded.

If you have a compost bin, you can go ahead and throw the thatch in. It’s organic material; it will break up and become compost. De-thatching is usually done in the spring as the grass starts growing. Every other year should do it for most lawns. De-thatching your lawn on a regular basis will help it to stay lush, green and healthy


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