Like most major lawn projects, such as planting new lawns or overseeding existing lawns, dethatching should coincide with peak growth times for your grass type. Active grass growth helps speed your lawn's recovery. Dethatch cool-season grasses, such as Kentucky bluegrass, in late summer or early fall.
Dethatch warm-season grasses, such as Bermudagrass or Zoysia grass , after spring green-up, as they enter early summer's peak growth. Never dethatch when your lawn is dormant or stressed; you can damage it beyond recovery. Lawn aeration and dethatching are two different processes, but they can work together to help your lawn.
Aeration removes cores of soil, including their thatch layer, and creates paths for water and nutrient to penetrate thatch and compacted soil. This helps prepare thatch for removal and speeds the breakdown of existing thatch. Dethatching helps slice through thatch into soil and remove the barrier of thick, accumulated organic matter. How to Dethatch Your Lawn If your thatch is over 2 inches thick, you may want to consider hiring a professional for the job.
If DIY is more your style , you can dethatch your lawn in three ways: Manual dethatching rakes are heavy, short-tined rakes with curved blades designed to dig into your lawn and pull up thatch as you rake. Dethatching rakes are good for light thatch and general thatch maintenance on small lawn areas. Power rakes are mower-like devices with rotating, rake-like tines that dig into thatch at the soil level and pull it up. Power rakes work well for lawns with thinner thatch layers and grass that can withstand intense raking.
Vertical mowers , also called verticutters, have vertical blades that slice down through the thatch layer and into soil, pulling thatch—and often grass roots—to the surface as they go. Verticutters are best for thick thatch layers on lawns in need of renovation. Blades adjust to control how much thatch you remove at once. What to Do After Dethatching With dethatching done, it's an ideal time to overseed your lawn and get it back on track for thick, lush, green beauty.
By choosing premium grass seed such as water-conserving Pennington Smart Seed , you improve your lawn's sustainability as you overcome thatch. For a quick, easy fix to thin grass, turn to Pennington Lawn Booster; this all-in-one product combines Smart Seed, professional-grade fertilizer and soil enhancers, all in a single, easy-to-use package.
To prevent future thatch problems, test your lawn soil every 3—4 years and follow soil test recommendations to keep soil pH and nutrients at optimal levels for thick, healthy grass growth. Your lawn may need lime to restore soil pH balance, which also promotes beneficial activity of thatch-reducing microorganisms.
If you are planning to apply preemergence herbicides, do so after dethatching. The reason for this is that the dethatching equipment will pull the soil and tear at the roots instead of slicing and lifting the thatch. After dethatching your lawn it is a great time to aerate your lawn.
It should take about weeks for the lawn to recover and show signs of new growth. Dethatching causes a lot of damage to your grass and should be done at a time when the grass is growing so it can fix the damage before the next dormant period. Warm-season grass can be dethatched in late spring or early summer after it starts to grow. It is best not to do it in the middle or late of summer. To check, just work your fingers into the grass and note the depth of the thatch layer. Dethatch cool-season grasses in fall, warm-season types in early spring.
Thatch develops in your lawn when organic debris is produced faster than it can be broken down. Low biological activity due to nutrient-poor soil with low humus levels in the growth layer of the grass. A too low pH-level, often caused by using fertilizer with high acidity. Aeration service, however, works differently. The equipment, called a core aerator, removes small cores of soil throughout the lawn.
Aeration helps loosen the soil and helps decompose the excessive thatch layer at a faster rate. In short, raking the grass will not have much of an effect on the growth of your grass but this does not mean that raking is an unnecessary task.
Within 48 hours after you aerate you should over seed, fertilize, and water your lawn. The seed, fertilizer, and water will have the best chance to get down into the holes made by the aerator if applied soon after aeration.
Give it at least two weeks before walking on the lawn after aeration. Much like the weight of a lawnmower, walking on an aerated lawn can cause a host of issues. Both power raking and dethatching aim at removing excess thatch in the lawn. Power raking is a more aggressive process of removing thatch and dead matter in the lawn while dethatching is a light process that removes just a thin layer of debris that makes fertilizer absorption poor.
However, there are lots of services that your lawn care specialist will recommend to get your yard looking its best. After dethatching, thatch should be removed and put in the compost pile. If you do not already have a compost pile, then you should seriously consider adding one.
After this has been done, high-quality grass seed. This helps the seeds remain moist, and it provides essential nutrients, which enhances germination. Remove as many weeds as possible by hand and fertilize the area with a fertilizer. Spread the new grass seed and lightly water it right away. Irrigate the seed often, using a sprinkler to lightly irrigate three times a day or as often as needed to keep the seeds moist but not wet or soggy.
This is especially important during summer overseeding. Switch to deeper irrigation sessions when the seed is established, wetting the soil to depth of 6 to 8 inches during each watering and allowing the top 2 inches of soil to dry between waterings. Remove any weeds that appear in the lawn by hand and avoid using chemical weed control until the new seed has grown enough to be mowed four or five times.
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