Controlling Saint Augustine Thatch With Lawn Mowing

Controlling Saint Augustine Thatch With Lawn Mowing
By Wade Garrett

St Augustine grass is a wonderful lawn type in so many ways, with its most known positive characteristics being its excellent shade tolerance, as well as wonderful leaf softness traits which are being bred in the newest generations of this popular home lawn type.

The major drawback for Saint Augustine grass lawns is its thick thatch layer which continues to build higher and higher each and every year. These turf types will most often begin showing signs of its thickening thatch layer from year three after the sod was first established, and from this period forth we can expect our St Augustine lawns to continue to thicken their thatch layers.

So just what is the best way to control thatch in St Augustine grass?

We know that due to the fact that this grass type has no underground runners to regenerate from - that regular de-thatching methods are often inappropriate, can risk damaging the turf, and often will not be offered as a service for this lawn type.

One method of de-thatching St Augustine turf is via lawn aeration options such as lawn coring, which is actually very good for all turf types, and will in fact remove some thatch from all lawn types. However when it comes to Saint Augustine grass, lawn coring just will not remove enough thatch to control this problem effectively. So we must look for another method of thatch control for this grass type.

The best way of controlling thatch in St Augustine grass is by using our humble home lawn mowers. Each year in Spring, we want to cut down deep into the increasing thatch layer. We really do want to scalp the turf quite severely, while still being careful not to remove too much of the upper layer of the sod. If we aim for two thirds removal of leaf and thatch matter in these lawn mowing sessions, we should remain well within the safety limits for this turf type.

When removing lawn thatch in this way we need to keep a couple of things in mind for the safety of the turf so it doesn't become damaged from this process. The first is to only ever conduct this type of lawn repair in the Spring when the weather is still mild and not too hot, and never to utilise this process in the Summer when it's too hot, or in the Fall when the sod is beginning to go into dormancy and will then not be able to repair itself in time for Winter.. Secondly is that we do not want to mow St Augustine grass too short on a yearly basis, as this will not aid in thatch control at all, but will instead leave the turf open to other problems such as increased wear and tear, and increased risk of weeds and diseases.

Wade Garrett is a turf professional with over 10 years experience in the field of lawn care. With these many years of experience, backed up by training and ongoing research. Wade now shares his knowledge with readers on The Buffalo Lawn Care Site, where all matters of buffalo grass lawn care are discussed, such as Buffalo Grass Shade Tolerance, as well as the highly respected Buffalo Grass Review, plus discussions of all other aspects of this specialised field of lawn care.

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