Are you looking at some common lawn problems? How did the thatch
get in your grassy area to begin with? After all, when you rolled out
the sod, you had the best of intentions, watered it three times a day
and forbade little feet from even touching the blades. The University of Rhode Island
defines thatch as a "tightly intermingled layer of living and dead
stems, leaves and roots." Contributing to this mess are improper mowing
habits - too often, not often enough - and faulty equipment.
Lawn Maintenance Errors
When was the last time you had your mower blade sharpened? If you
cannot answer this question, the odds are good that your mower is an
active participant in thatching. Striving for an ueber-green lawn is
another problem that leads to thatch buildup. The overuse of fertilizer
results in disrupted grass growth cycles. Renewal is greater than
breakdown. The result is the tangled mess of living stems and dead bits
and pieces all matted together. Combine an overage of nitrogen in the
soil with frequent watering sessions that fail to fully penetrate to the
root level, and you now also note why shallow roots - some actually
only reaching into the thatch - are becoming the norm.
After dethatching: How to care for the Lawn
- Add a quarter inch of top soil to the lawn. Take a soil sample first and do not mix and match pH levels. The top soil evens out any holes in the grass surface and gives shallow roots a new habitat.
- Change lawn mowing habits and equipment. Sharpen the mower blade or replace it. Set it to a height of 2.5 inches. Do not go shorter than this height, unless the cultivar of grass you have specifically requires it. If you are using a mowing service, discuss these changes with the professionals.
- Fertilize with grass clippings only. Throw out the bags of the nitrogen-rich lawn fertilizer your neighbors swear by. They are a waste of money and did not result in green lawns for you. Instead, use the mulching attachment for your mower - it does have one, right? - and leave the grass clippings behind after a cut. The clippings contain a lot of nitrogen and break down quickly. Best of all, they are free. It is a common fear that grass clippings create -- or contribute to -- thatch; this is an old wives' tale. I have been leaving the mulched clippings on my grass for years - in lieu of artificial nitrogen - and have never had another problem with thatch.
- Water deeply. You might run the sprinklers morning, noon and night, yet still fail to reach the roots. Go for depth rather than frequency. Water once, but make sure the water penetrates the soil all the way to the deepest roots.
- Cultivate earthworms. The slimy critters are your friends. They voraciously dine on building thatch and invite their friends to join them. Unfortunately, scalping the lawn, failing to water it down to the root level, and applying pesticides to the area send them slithering away to greener pastures. So water deeply, mow as needed, and spot-treat - rather than blanket -- with pesticides only if absolutely necessary.
