Excess thatch can make your lawn shabby and weak. You can remove it in two ways: dethatching and aerating.
If your lawn falls short of expectations despite regular feeding, the root causes can be compacted soil and thick thatch. In both cases, the lawn grass bears the brunt as the nutrients, air, water do not move as freely as they should. If you cannot easily insert a screwdriver into the soil, it is surely compacted. When the thatch is thick, the lawn will feel spongy. Sticking a finger through to the soil will also be difficult.
Maintaining about ½ inch of thatch is beneficial for lawns. However, when thatch exceeds ¾ inch, it can hinder water and nutrient absorption, leading to pest problems and diseases.
In either case, it is important to take action. Compact soil needs proper aeration. For thick thatch affecting the soil, dethatching is the way out. Here’s how to proceed.
What Is Lawn Aeration?
Lawn aeration is also called coring, or aerifying. A core aerator discards plugs of soil and loosens compacted soil. This allows nutrients, air, and water to reach the roots of the grass. Aerating the lawn can be done personally, or you can hire a lawn service provider. For DIY jobs, renting an aerator is a good option.
Lawns experiencing heavy foot traffic should be aerated annually. For sandy soils with less traffic, aeration every 2-3 years is sufficient.
When to Aerate Your Lawn
Ideally, you should aerate the lawn when the grass is growing fast so that it recovers without delay. Aerate during early spring or fall if there is cool-season grass. Early summer would be the right time for warm-season grasses. Aerating the soil every year is necessary for lawns experiencing excess foot traffic. If the soil is sandy and foot traffic is less, aerating the lawn every 2-3 years should suffice.
How to Aerate Your Lawn
The day before aerating, apply around 1 inch of water to soften the lawn soil.
Mark the utility lines and sprinkler heads to avoid running over them.
If you want to aerate lightly compacted soil, cover the entire lawn area once using the aerator.
For heavily compacted soil, you should go over the entire area twice, varying the direction.
The aerator will eliminate plugs of soil. Leave them on the lawn so they those can gradually break down, returning nutrients to the soil.
After you finish aerating the soil, water it well.
Apply products like Scotts® Foundation Soil Improver to reduce compaction and achieve better results. Then apply a suitable fertilizer to provide nutrients to the soil.
Water the newly aerated lawn twice or thrice a week for several weeks.
What Is Dethatching?
Thatch denotes a thick layer of dead and living grass shoots, roots and stems that exist between the soil surface and green grass blades. Maintaining approximately half-inch of thatch will benefit your yard. It helps safeguard the lawn from temperature fluctuations, offering a cushioning layer and helps retain moisture. The problem starts when the thatch exceeds ¾ inches of thickness. Excess decaying plant material paves the way for pest invasions and diseases. It also prevents moisture and nutrients from reaching the soil and plant roots. So, discard excess thatch by all means.
Dethatching Timing: The optimal time to dethatch cool-season grasses is in early spring or early fall, while warm-season grasses should be dethatched in late spring to early summer
You can either dethatch the lawn yourself or hire a professional service.
When to Dethatch Your Lawn
Planning to dethatch your lawn? The best time is when the soil is moist and the grass is growing actively. Early spring or early fall is the best time for cool-season grasses, whereas late spring to early summer is ideal for warm-season grasses. During these periods, the grasses grow vigorously.
Steps to dethatch your lawn
If you have a small lawn, you can use a dethatching rake. For large lawns, you will need to rent a dethatcher, also known as a verticutter, vertical cutter or power rake.
Before you start dethatching, mow the lawn to half of its normal height. Do not fertilize the lawn before dethatching.
The dethatching rake functions just like a regular rake. You have to dig the tines into the thatch and pull them upward. This loosens and removes the build-up. While raking, ensure that the thatch separates from the soil.
For renting and using a dethatcher on a large lawn, mark the sprinkler heads, shallow irrigation lines and buried utility lines before dethatching.
The rental agency will adjust the cutting depth and spacing for the grass type on your lawn. The blades are set so they will cut not deeper than ½ inches into the soil. Learn how to use the dethatcher carefully. As the dethatcher is heavy, you might need help with loading and unloading it. You will also need a truck to move it.
Post-dethatching, the lawn will look scruffy and uneven. Use a leaf rake and remove all the loosened-up thatch.
For bare spots revealed during dethatching, use quality patching products to repair them.
Feed the rest of the grass well. Finally, water the lawn so that it can recover quickly post-dethatching.