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.

John

Hi John:
I too am under the same assumption that aeration and dethatching are for two
separate purposes. Unless they think that aerating will poke deep enough
holes thru the thatch to allow beneficial watering, seeding and fertilizing.
Dethatching can stress a lawn but there are different settings in a thatch
machine - My one neighbor dethatched and I see holes in his lawn, my other
neighbor dethatched and his lawn looks fine, he wasn't as aggressive. If
you're sure it's thatch - you will need to rake it or use a machine - then I
would aerate and seed before the hot weather arrives.
Remember - some people think they need to dethatch because they see yellowed
or dead grass "under" their green grass but sometimes it just the grass
"coming back" from the winter - that's what my landscaper said and sure
enough my yellow grass is gone.
Maybe you need another opinion from a landscaper. They need to see your
lawn.

Good luck!
Brandi
"John" wrote in message
...
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.

John

"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.

Both will reduce thatch. Aeration does it by bringing soil microbes to
the surface of your thatch layer(in the form of soil plugs).
This accelerates the rotting of the thatch layer. (non-invasive)

Power raking (dethatching) is mechanical removal of live and dead plant
material,and is only needed if your thatch exceeds 1/2 inch. (very
invasive)

Aeration is a good way to mimimize your thatch layer,and reduce soil
compaction.

Mulching doesn't really contribute to your thatch layer, so long as you're
not taking off too much blade at once.

(hope this makes sense)

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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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