Greg Peker
An Expert in Sodding, Gardening & Landscape.
Maintaining a perfect lawn is all about doing the right thing at the right time. Spring is the most important time of year for lawns – as it awakes from winter hibernation, providing it with the optimal conditions may determine how healthy, thick, and vigorous your lawn will be this year.
Spring care lawn activities include Aeration, Fertilizing, Dethatching, and over-seeding. This post talks about Dethatching.
What is thatch in the lawn?
Thatch in the lawn is a layer of dry grass clippings, dead roots, and other materials – that builds up over the summer between the grass roots and blades. Richard Hentschel, a Horticulturist at Illinois University does a great job identifying in his video.
How bad is thatch?
Thatch is a powerful insulator, which deprives the grassroots of water and nutrients. A thick layer of thatch may cause significant damage, and have a very negative effect on the health of your lawn.
- The stronger and greener your lawn, the more thatch it will build up over the summer.
- Thatch is of particular concern for newly installed lawns.
Following up on our sodding works from previous years, as well as well-maintained mature lawns, we can see the thatch build-up – it often looks like a lot of dry or dead grass. Thatch must be addressed from time to time before the layer becomes too thick.
Dethatching – restoring health to your turf
Dethatching, also known as power raking is the process of removing the layer of thatch from your lawn. This is accomplished by using power rakes and extracting the dead material from the soil. Removing thatch allows for air, moisture, and essential nutrients to penetrate below the ground and feed the roots. In addition, dethatching makes room for new grass blades to grow.
The benefits of dethatching are:
- Proper root nourishment
- Vigorous growth
- Natural thickening of the lawn
- Great potential to become the greenest lawn on the street!
The city of Calgary Parks had a great video about how to dethatch your lawn.
Our dethatching Service
The team at Niko’s Gardening is delighted to offer professional dethatching services. We are equipped with quality power rakes, powerful blowers, and a highly motivated team. Contact us today for your Dethatching needs!
