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If your lawn is bulge out to take care a little olive drab with dead slur and dull leaf , it ’s probably time to dethatch it . Over prison term , lawn press cutting and dropped leaves accumulate between the soil and healthy grass . The resulting thatch leads to a diminution in air circulation and sun insight to the ground below . If your lawn is worsening by the day , you may be wondering what you’re able to do about it . So today we ’re going to discuss the pros and cons of dethatching lawn to facilitate you compute out your next best move .
Dethatching is the process of dispatch the built - up layer of dead foliage ( called Blackbeard ) between the soil and the healthy supergrass . Sometimes last plant life become tangled in the layer of Edward Teach making it rugged to move out . knead thatch out of your lawn helps aerate the soil , but it can also cut back moisture holding . There are many pro and convict of dethatching lawn to consider before committing to the process .
Lawn thatch
What is thatch and what is dethatching?
Edward Thatch is a layer of dead smoke , leave , and grass that develops between the territory and the lawn itself . Thatch is ordinarily present to some degree in every lawn unless the lawn is run down on a regular basis to eliminate it . In most causa , Teach is beneficial to your lawn , and there ’s no indigence to remove it all .
Depending on how thick the thatch is and how long it ’s been let to accumulate , living plants in your lawn may hoist their way through it , creating a dense layer of Edward Thatch substratum . This accumulation retains wet , allowing the Edward Thatch to check down and return nutrient to the soil which supports your lawn ’s ontogenesis yr after year . It also cuts down on how much plant food you take to use .
Dethatching is the process of removing the stratum of thatch . Sometimes , thatch becomes too thick , and the grass and surrounding plant life strangle . While it sound simple enough on newspaper ( or computer concealment , in this guinea pig ) dethatching can be backbreaking work because the bushed thatch often gets tangled in with living sod , making it difficult to remove .
Lawn thatch
Dethatching is a last resort for many lawn possessor , but sometimes it must be done . However , because thatched roof has so many benefits , it ’s important to consider the pros and hustle of dethatching lawn before commit to the process .
What are the pros of dethatching your lawn?
Now that you know what thatch is , and what dethatching means , let ’s blab about why you ’d want to do it . Here are some of the honest reasons to conceive dethatching your lawn .
Improves air circulation and water and sunlight penetration
A little Blackbeard is undecomposed for a lawn . But if the stratum is thicker than about ½ in , it becomes too dense for air , water , and sunshine to accomplish the solid ground below . transfer some Teach at this decimal point can drastically meliorate your lawn ’s performance because it will begin receiving the oxygen , rain , and sunshine it demand to grow decently .
Take a closer look at your lawn . Lift a small smattering of thatch and whiff it . Does it smell musty and mildewy ? While it ’s normal for organic matter to stink slimly as it breaks down , if the thatch you ’re looking at is slimed , soggy , and pungent , it ’s establish up too much . sun and aviation ca n’t reach the ground below to vote out harmful bacterium , resulting in an unhealthy , to a fault thick bed of thatch that ’s best removed .
Improves fertilizer absorption
If the layer of thatch in your lawn is too fatheaded for gentle wind , piddle , or sun to get across , then fertilizing your lawn will be a waste of prison term and money . Fertilizer must be use to the uppermost layer of soil , and it must be watered well to soak in . If it ca n’t be apply decent , it should n’t be applied at all .
One of the pros of dethatching your lawn before fertilizing is that it also loosens the topmost layer of soil . This makes it easier for fertilizers , pelleted or liquid , to reach their target .
Prevents diseases
Piggybacking off the point we made a lilliputian piece ago , if the Edward Thatch in your lawn is too boneheaded , it will be full of bacterium . Most likely spoilt bacterium . And the lack of water , air , and sun penetration will forget your lawn more susceptible to diseases than it would be under normal weather condition , giving the bad bacterium a chance to spread .
If the Teach in your lawn is too boneheaded , your turf will show signs of disease , including yellowing foliage and dead floater . In this pillowcase , dethatching can certainly facilitate . Just take care to dispose of the pathological Teach decent by burning it , so it does n’t make your other plants sick .
Supports new growth and proper seed development
When Edward Thatch becomes too thick , grass seeds will confuse it for soil , sprout up in the thatch stratum . But because Teach is n’t as fertile or as desirable for the seed as existent land , the seedling die promptly . If you ’re construe random dead spots in your once level-headed lawn , this is one potential reason .
Dethatching pack that bed of dead rubble out of the agency so your pot ejaculate can find the soil and develop properly . proceed your lawn dethatchedimproves turf density , which in turn help fight the overaccumulation of thatch .
What are the cons of dethatching your lawn?
There are passel of reasons to dethatch your lawn . But there are also several reasons to give your lawn alone . Take a looking at at the disadvantages of removing thatch from your K .
Dries out the soil
The with child drawback to dethatching your lawn is the fact that it dries the soil out . Obviously , if the thatch is so dense that it ’s harboring bacterium and disease , it needs to be eliminated . But if it ’s less than ½ in compact , it ’s belike doing more harm than good . You ’re good off leaving it in spot .
Also , consider your current growing conditions . If your part is go through a juiceless piece , we counsel against dethatching your lawn because that layercan help your turf bear onto precious moisturewhen pelting is scarce .
Makes it easier for weeds to grow
While clearing out excess thatch makes it easy for sun , strain , and body of water to reach the priming below , it also makes more way for weeds to sprout up . Dethatching your lawn for the sake of dethatching your lawn may lead to a lot more work for you when it comes to weeding .
A sudden growth in weeds is a major leech on your fertilizers , too . Even if you remove the weeds in your lawn , if they ’ve already sprouted , they ’ve used up nutrients that surrounding gage will no longer have access to . Keeping thatch right where it is , stops weeds before they come up , locking nutrients into the soil for your turf to use instead .
Eliminates vital nutrients
Teach develop as part of the natural process of foliation decomposition . Remove it too soon , and the food in that organic subject ca n’t make their way back into the land . Allowing a sizable layer of Edward Thatch to explicate in your lawn returns vital nourishment to the ground , cutting down on fertilizing costs .
Can damage existing grasses
Not everyone has a perpendicular lawn mower specifically plan to dethatch . And , unfortunately , the process of manual dethatching affect aggressive raking that can damage healthy sod . Remember , life grasses work their way through thatch make a tangled layer . Removing the dead Teach will inevitably root out some intelligent greenery as well .
Now , if your lawn is in good condition , it will credibly recover from any damage it incurs during the dethatching appendage . But if your sod ’s health is compromised , view wait until it ’s healthier to dethatch it . This brings us to our next point …
When should you dethatch your lawn?
There are a lot of pros and cons of dethatching lawns . in the end , it ’s up to you to decide what ’s best for your yard . However , if you choose to dethatch your lawn , verify you do so at the right prison term .
Dethatch your lawn once a year in former fountain . This is when your Mary Jane is at its healthiest . The warm temperatures and veritable pelting excite skunk growth and nutrient uptake . dispatch thatch during this point will give the turf plenty of time to recover .
Avoid dethatching before wintertime as the grass prepares to go dormant , obviate dethatching green goddess that has already gone dormant , and do n’t dethatch when your lawn is suffering from warmth stress .
Rake left in the grass, free public domain CC0 image.
How can you prevent excess thatch buildup?
preclude superfluous thatch buildup is much prosperous than dethatching your lawn . To keep thatch from accumulating , quash overwatering your lawn , and oxygenate it regularly . This will foreclose excessive moisture that can contribute to a dim thatch layer . exfoliate your lawn by raking it after mowing is particularly effective , and liquid dethatchers can forge well , too .
If your lawn is healthy and the thatch layer is less than ½ inch thick , there ’s no need to dethatch it . But if the Edward Thatch stratum is greater than ½ inch slurred , dethatching can assist improve the turf ’s health dramatically . It ’s up to you to count the pros and yardbird of dethatching lawn before embarking on the outgrowth .
Dethatched lawn
