On Tue, 13 May 2003 19:54:49 -0400, John wrote:

I'd like to hire a lawn company to take care of my lawn but I seem to be
getting conflicting views from the ones I've talked to. One guy looked
at it and said it needed dethatched. Another who didn't look at it said
they tend not to dethatch because it stresses the lawn too much, they
prefer aeration. I was under the impression that these two treatments
served separate purposes and that each was good for a specific problem.
These guys make it seem like the two choices are alternate methods to
achieve the same goal. My lawn is only two years old (Grown from seed)
and looks great from the street however while mowing I can see many week
spots. Straw was used to cover the seed when it was planted. The straw
was never removed, I was told it would degrade over time. I use a
mulching mower which might add to the thatch along with the straw that
may be remaining. I used a hand rake in one of the week areas and pulled
up a lot of thatch.
This leads me to believe that the thatch is indeed a problem. The
question is what is the best way to deal with it? Thanks very much for
any help.
sniped

Aeration is best fit to reduce compaction of the soil and to encourage
water/air penatration. It will help to reduce thatch by punching holes in
the thatch layer. The soil microbes will benefit from the air and water
and they will be better suited to 'eat' the thatch that remains.

Thatching is best suited to renovate a lawn that's been neglected. It will
remove the thatch layer and the majority of weeds in the lawn.

Thatch is necessary for a healthy lawn. It helps the soil to retain water,
keeps the soil temp. down and it harbors bacteria/fungi that keep the
thatch at a healthy level. It's best to multch your lawn to add to this
thatch layer through out the season, but if you see the thatch getting too
thick, then bag it for a few mows untill the bacteria/fungi catch up. Too
much thatch will reduce water/air penatration and will ultimately smoother
the lawn. The areas that look weak, I would thatch those areas by hand (
With a thatching rake,even a garden or lawn rake will do ), over seed it
and cover the seed with peatmoss.
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