While some people are trying to combat dead lawn patches, others have to contend with lawn thatch. What is lawn thatch, and how do you deal with it? You can find this information (and more) below!

What Is Lawn Thatch?

Lawn thatch is a layer of living and dead vegetation nestled between your grass blades and soil surface. In its most basic form, it consists of roots, crowns, stems, and leaf sheaths that haven’t broken down. A small amount of lawn thatch is a good thing. But, as you know, you can have too much of a good thing – and the same goes for thatch.

When you have too much thatch, your lawn can be at an increased risk of succumbing to insects and disease. It can also increase the chances of damage from drought conditions.

Why Does My Lawn Have So Much Thatch?

Some people are continually battling thatch, while others barely have to give it a second thought. Does it matter where you live? Why does thatch affect some lawns more than others? Many factors can determine whether your lawn will have a thatch problem, such as:

• The soil conditions

• Soil aeration

• Pesticides

• Nitrogen levels

• Compacted soil

• Grass variety

These factors not only determine how quickly thatch develops but also the rate at which it breaks down – if at all.

Do I Need to Worry About Thatch?

Yard-proud homeowners want their lawns to be the envy of the entire neighbourhood. In this case, you do want to worry about thatch. The more thatch you have, the more unhealthy your lawn can sometimes be, putting it at risk of several other problems you might need to address in the future. Therefore, if thatch is becoming a problem, now might be the right time to start the removal process.

If you’re unsure if your lawn has a suitable or unsuitable amount of thatch, finding out is an easy process. Simply cut a slice out of your lawn as if you were serving a piece of pie. You likely won’t need to take action if you have about one centimetre of thatch or less. If it exceeds one centimetre, consider dethatching sooner rather than later. Most homeowners with lawns older than 10 years most likely have at least 30-40mm of thatch.

How to Remove Thatch

Even if you don’t consider yourself all that savvy with lawn care, you’ll be surprised at how straightforward dethatching is.

After cutting your lawn short and collecting the clippings, you can use a scarifier unit with blades to get the job done. Scarifiers typically have flail blades that rotate down into the soil and remove the thatch with ease. However, you can also use spring tines on ornamental lawns to prevent grass damage.

Once you’ve finished scarifying your lawns, you can remove the thatch and compost it. Help your lawn bounce back by applying fertiliser before top dressing and watering it.

Can I Prevent Thatch?

While dethatching is a reasonably straightforward process, that doesn’t mean you’ll want to be dealing with it all the time. So, you might be wondering if there’s a way to prevent it from becoming a problem in the first place.

Remember, some thatch is beneficial, but you might be able to prevent excessive accumulation in some of the following ways.

Fertiliser

Fertiliser can help ensure your lawn is healthy and strong. However, it can also help your thatch decompose. Don’t forget to perform a soil test to determine what your soil is lacking and what fertiliser will best suit your lawn.

Soil Aeration

If you have pets or children or love spending your free time outside, you’ve likely got a problem with soil compaction. When your soil is compacted, thatch can build up quickly.

You might be able to combat this problem by aerating your soil to ensure the ground gets the air, moisture, and nutrients it needs. When your soil wants for nothing, microbes can get to work decomposing the thatch and preventing build-up.

Soil aeration is straightforward with a machine or hand-powered lawn core aerator. You can also purchase aerating soil spike sandals to aerate small areas.

Mulching Mower

How you mow your lawns might determine just how much thatch accumulates in your lawns. Mow your lawns regularly to ensure that no more than a third of the lawn’s leaf height is removed with each pass. You might also be able to keep thatch to a healthy level by using a mulching mower to ensure even coverage of lawn clippings across your lawn.  

Give Thatch Its Marching Orders

Don’t let thatch weaken your lawn any longer. Try some of these tips and tricks above, or why not hire a lawn care expert from Crewcut to take care of it for you? Our expert team will be more than happy to scarify your lawn so that you can sit back, relax, and enjoy a healthy, lush, green lawn.