How to Rid that Lawn of Thatch!

Article by: Kevin Whiteside

You know that brown patchy debris in a lawn , Front Yard Landscaping Ideas - How To Plant And Care For Shrubs that accumulates on top of the soil , US State Flags but below the grass , Discount Patio Furniture line? That's thatch.

Thatch consist of grass , Bonsai Trees For Sale: What Are Your Options? clippings, grass , Planting Summer Flower Bulbs stems, roots, , Types Of Orchids and other debris that either decomposes or accumulates on a lawn , Dandelions, Friend or Foe? over time.

A few reasons thatch can occur are

1) A lawn , Wicker Patio Furniture or Teak Patio Furniture is Great in a Gazebo has never been aerated

2) Cutting high grass , Wicker Patio Furniture or Teak Patio Furniture is Great in a Gazebo frequently and leaving the clippings on a lawn.

Thatch is not always a bad thing as it can hold moisture , Let Life and Energy Flow from the Garden to protect the lawn , Make The Most From Your Vegetable Garden from extreme heat , Garden Delights For Midsummer and lack of water. , Transplanting Tips

Questions to be asked before removing thatch(dethatching)

1) Is there enough thatch on the lawn , Water Ponds and Wildlife - How To Attract More Animals to Your Backyard to justify dethatching?

2) If so, what process should I use to dethatch the lawn?

Lawn business owners and homeowners need to measure the amount of thatch in a lawn , Spring Wedding Flowers to determine if dethatching needs to be done. I prefer to take a pencil and stick it in the thatch until it touches the ground.Mark the pencil with your fingernail where the thatch comes up to.

After doing this a few times you will be able to eye it and know whether or not to dethatch. The first couple of times you can measure with a ruler.

As a guide, anything over 1/2 inch should be dethatched as this prevents adequete nutrients, air, , Discount Patio Furniture and water , Types of Gardens from reaching the soil. Excessive thatch can also encourage pests , Compost Tea – Tea Time For Your Garden and lawn diseases.

Dethatching can be done in 3 ways depending on the size of the lawn and the amount of thatch accumulated.

1) Aeration- For lawns , Teak Patio Furniture Is The Perfect Choice For Your Terrace that have less than an inch of thatch. This is done with an aerator. Always use an aerator that pulls plugs from the ground as opposed to the ones that poke holes.

2) Rake the lawn , A Quick Overview of Outdoor Hot Tubs manually- using a leaf rake, garden , Five Key Factors that Affect your Potted Plants in Winter rake, or thatching rake. Raking is fine for small to medium size lawns with thatch less than 1 inch. Raking does take some time, but less stressful on the lawn , Types Of Orchids than a Power , Wicker Patio Furniture or Teak Patio Furniture is Great in a Gazebo Rake.

3) Power , Park Benches Rake- Also called a Power , Teak Patio Furniture Is The Perfect Choice For Your Terrace Dethatcher. Use this when there is more than 1 inch of thatch on the lawn. , Wicker Patio Furniture or Teak Patio Furniture is Great in a Gazebo Power , Handcrafted Garden Bridges Builds Traditional Arched Span Bridges with Modern Flair Rakes are a stout piece of equipment that uses an engine like a lawn , Garden Delights For Midsummer mower to drive vertical blades or tines to cut the surface of the soil. , Henry Doubleday Research Association These blades or tines can be adjusted to certain depths.

You can rent either a power , New Ideas For Your Backyard Landscaping Project rake or an aerator from Home , Discount Patio Furniture Depot or another equipment rental store in your area.

If you decide to dethatch using a power , Compost Tea – Tea Time For Your Garden rake mow the lawn , A Beautiful Garden of Flowers to about half of its regular mowing height.

The blades of the power , The Basics of Plant Growth; Part 1 Hormones rake should be adjusted to cut about 1/2 inch into the soil , Make The Most From Your Vegetable Garden to remove thatch. Always go over the yard twice and change , Handcrafted Garden Bridges Builds Traditional Arched Span Bridges with Modern Flair direction of your paths. , Caring for Your Water Garden Pond For example, (long ways and short ways) or (diagonal one way and diagonal the other way).

After dethatching, rake up all the debris and thatch.

If you would like to fertilize or reseed the lawn, , New Ideas For Your Backyard Landscaping Project this is a good time as roots , Front Yard Landscaping Ideas - How To Plant And Care For Shrubs are exposed.

Water when you are finished dethatching.

Since some power , Bird Baths in Your Yard dethatching can make a yard , For The Most Luxurious Dining Outdoors: Ready Or Not, Outdoor Kitchens Are Here! look bad, remember to dethatch when a lawn , Spring Wedding Flowers can recover the best such as right before the prime growing seasons. , Hedge Trimmers Are Tools Not Toys Different types of grasses , A Few of My Favorite Backyard Birding Tips have best and worst times to dethatch because the growing seasons , Water Ponds and Wildlife - How To Attract More Animals to Your Backyard vary.

Having a healthy , Handcrafted Garden Bridges Builds Traditional Arched Span Bridges with Modern Flair lawn can can definitely improve the look of the landscape , Compost: Food for the Soil and the curb appeal.

If you need any questions answered, please ask them at http://www.LawnForum.com so the other members can benefit.

I'm here to help!

Kevin Whiteside is the owner and editor of LawnForum.com Monthly, an online , The Perfect Beginner Perennial Flower newsletter for lawn , For The Most Luxurious Dining Outdoors: Ready Or Not, Outdoor Kitchens Are Here! and landscape , Henry Doubleday Research Association professionals. Get a FREE subscription here LawnForum@aweber.com

He is also the author of "Turn High Grass , Lawn Diseases Can Be Deadly Into Cold , Discount Patio Furniture Cash- How to Start the Ultimate Lawn , Teak Patio Furniture Is The Perfect Choice For Your Terrace Service" http://www.grasstocash.com/adtrackz/go.php?c=areathatch

What's Inside
Discount Patio Furniture – An Easy Way to Get the Best - Buying discount patio , How to Create a Wildflower Garden furniture is an economical way to obtain quality furniture , Location, Location, Location: Where to Put Your Water Garden for your patio. , Location, Location, Location: Where to Put Your Water Garden ...
Create the Perfect Patio: Finding Great Furniture - Of course, most importantly, you will always want to be sure that your patio , Your Step By Step Guide To Planting The Perfect Lawn décor is weather , Your Step By Step Guide To Planting The Perfect Lawn resistant, even though it is recommended that you bring your patio , What Does A Brassia Orchid Plant And A Spider Have In Common? décor to shelter when bad weather , Fish Health in Hot Summer Heat occurs, you may want to consider that bad weather , Fertilizing Your Lawn for a Beautiful Landscape ma...
How to Naturally Dry Hydrangeas - Beautiful, colorful hydrangeas are amongst the most popular flowers , Vegetable Container Gardening to be used in dried floral arrangements. The most important step in preserving and drying hydrangeas is choosing the right time to cut them. Follow the helpful steps below and you...
Orchid Care - What The Root Tells Us - Orchid Care Part 4 Diseases , Tips on Outdoor Patio Heaters of the RootsOur final part in orchid , Working with Landscape Contractors care part 4 is about the roots , Furniture Benches Are Perfect For Every Outdoor Space of the plant. , Finding the Right Landscaping Company This is the heart and soul of the plant. , The Garden Beckons If these are not healthy , Introduction to Botany then the whole plant , Garden Sheds: Wood Finishing and Weatherproofing Tips will show the effects.Loss Of...
Invite Spring Early - Grow in Your Basement - Now's the time to get ready to grow , The Garden in Winter your own seedlings! It's not really difficult, and can extend your growing season , Wicker Patio Furniture or Teak Patio Furniture Look Awesome With Patio Chair Cushions by many weeks. For example, by planting brassica's (cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower) in February in your basement , Resin Patio Furniture - Robust Furniture Ranges For Outdoor Areas under grow-l...
Ideas On How To Use Container Gardening To Decorate Your House And Garden - Nearly every house , Small Garden Bridges You'll Love To Cross! and garden , Flowering Trees - How to Make Your Shady and Beautiful at the Same Time presents numerous attractive settings for container plants. , Stone Garden Benches Suburban gardens, , Rose Tending in June estates, small city backyards, , Remove the Gorilla if You Want to Sell Your House and summer , Stone Garden Benches cottages—all can be enhanced by this type of gardening. , Hydroponics - An Introduction To Hydroponics Gardening For Beginners (Part 15) Ozone A few of the seemingly endless possibilit...
Hydroponics Gardening - An Introduction To Hydroponics Gardening For Beginners (part 4) Environment - THE BASICS OF HYDROPONICS.The Success or Failure of Your Plants , Are There Really Black Roses? Depends On Their EnvironmentThe environment, , 5 Fengshui Ways to Increase Curb Appeal or climate, , You Can Grow Your Own Herb Garden - Part 4 in which your plants , Giving Seeds What They Need In Storage are grown is one of the most im...
Daylily 'When My Sweetheart Returns' - By now most of us have heard of everblooming daylilies or at least the most popular one - Stella De'Oro. New daylilies are always being introduced, but many of the new and old daylilies bloom only once a season. , The History of the Gnome There are a handful of new daylilie...
Cordless Blowers - Cordless Blowers are portable units normally intended for homeowners in indoor , Five Key Factors that Affect your Potted Plants in Winter or light , Guaranteed Gladioli, Summer Colour that Returns duty outdoor , The Endearing Language of Flowers maintenance. Even though they are less powerful in comparison to gas-powered or electric-powered blowers, they are perfect for sawdust or grass , Organic Gardening - A Growing Trend cl...

How to Rid that Lawn of Thatch!

Landscape Gardening

Seasonal Gardening