Easily De-Thatch A Lawn With Lawn Mowing

Easily De-Thatch A Lawn With Lawn Mowing
By Steven Garrett

All lawn types will naturally build up their thatch layers over the years, in fact, thatch is a normal part of every lawn, and is what provides that nice soft cushioning feeling underfoot. If it weren't for the thatch layer of turf the sod would very quickly wear out when exposed to everyday use, and the soil would rapidly dry out from the heat of the day, as it is the turf thatch layer which is responsible for insulation of the lawn soil against moisture loss from evaporation, and from wear.

Over the years, all warm season grass types, and most especially when these grasses are grown in full sun, will continue to build up an excessive layer of thatch which will then cause other problems for the home lawn. An overly thick thatch layer will most often scalp when normal lawn mowing is undertaken, will increase the difficulty of lawn mowing, will prevent much of the water being applied to the lawn from ever reaching into the soil, and will trap this water in the thatch layer - thus promoting lawn diseases and other pest problems. The list of problems of an overly thatched lawn just keeps going on, so if our lawns do become thatched over the years, it will need to be eventually dealt with in order to keep our lawns in their best health possible.

The easiest way to control thatch in lawns is by regular maintenance routines which control the thatch on an ongoing basis, and the good news is that doing so is really very easy. Once a year in the Springtime while mowing the lawn, we simply lower the mowing height to deliberately cut deeply into the thatch layer of the sod. Sometimes this process will require going over the lawn area twice to finish the job properly.

If de-thatching a lawn using the lawn mower, it is important to remember never to mow the turf too low, as this can possibly damage the lawn or even kill it in some circumstances. Instead we must find a balance between the sponginess of the sod and how much thatch we remove in one of these lawn mowing sessions. For a heavily thatched lawn, we may need to do a less perfect job and remove only a portion of the thatch in the first mowing. After which, the lawn should be left to fully recover back to full health, at which time the lawn can be cut low again to remove an even greater amount of thatch. Using this method of careful thatch control really is the safest and surest way to safely remove any excess thatch buildup in home lawns.

The lawn mowing method of thatch control should never be a highly aggressive treatment on the lawn, we never want to mow so low to the soil that all is left of the sod is some prickly brown stems. Instead, the process should be mild in nature, regular lawn mowing, mowing at a lower height, and at a height which we can see is biting into the thatch. When the job is complete the sod should still be green and look relatively healthy, while still looking scalped from the low mowing.

Be sure that the turf is receiving adequate water for the week or two following the lawn mowing thatch control, while monitoring the turf for any developing brown patches. Should any brown patches occur in the sod, the best response is to keep ensuring the affected lawn is getting plenty of water until it fully recovers. A very light application of a quality lawn fertilizer can also be applied at a reduced application rate of around 25% of what is normally applied, but this fertilizer application is not necessary.

Good yearly thatch control is a great practice we should all get into when we own a warm season lawn type. Such lawns can include Zoysia grass, Bermuda grass, St Augustine grass, and Kikuyu as examples. The only final consideration we must provide for anyone undertaking these practices is to never use this thatch control method at any time when the weather is expected to be hot. Hot weather in the heat of summer can cause severe damage to a scalped lawn. Alternatively, we also don't want to undertake thatch control too late in the Fall, as the lawn may not have time to repair itself fully before the onset of Winter. The best times to undertake thatch control in turf is early to late Spring, or early in the Fall.

Steven 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. Steve now shares his knowledge with readers on The Lawn Guide, including organic lawn care topics such as Organic Lawn Fertiliser, as well as the very popular article Organic Weed Control, plus many more original lawn care topics for homeowners wanting a beautiful home lawn.

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