When to dethach

[mrklean]

I was going to dethach my lawn this weekend but my coworker told me it does more harm in the spring and should hold off a month or so, anyone ever heard this before?

[LwnmwnMan2]

The classes I just took through the U said the thatch is not an issue unless it's more than 3/4 of a inch thick. The only way to know that is to get a core sampler and pull plugs out of your yard.

They also said that 90% of yards that were power raked would be much better served being core aerated, with 20-40 core per sq ft. Yes that was 20-40 per sq ft.

They said when you think you have enough plugs pulled, to do it again.

[fishersofmen]

They also said that 90% of yards that were power raked would be much better served being core aerated

I agree. About 90% of the time when customers ask if they should dethatch their lawn I recommend an aeration instead.

Mrklean if your lawn is already on the greener side like most are I wouldn't do it. We try to do them when things are still relatively brown early spring or late fall. Also there are many different kind of dethatch jobs that can be done. I've seen some truly pathetic dethatch jobs where very little thatch is pulled up.

[Jared_P]

Has the suggested thatch gone from 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch now? I was always under the understanding that you don't want anything over 1/2 inch...For the last couple of years I have been dethatching in the spring with a front mount tine thatcher that hooks up to my walk behind mower. I have been running it a little higher to not rip up the lawn a ton. I have seen(also guilty of it a couple years ago) some lawns ripped to pieces after using a power thatcher to deep.

When I plug my lawn I usually go one direction and then the opposite. Seems like my lawn gets compacted with dog traffic and kid traffic. Good information, thanks...

JP

[Shack]

If I dethatch generally I will do it in the later summer/fall. If for some reason (heavy matted area or matted leave matter) I dethatch in the spring I will pull a light unweighted dethatcher to break up matted leave matter and "fluff" the thatch some. I heavy dethatch areas in the spring prior to to re/overseeding.

Down side to dethatching in the spring is many people do over do it and it really does not hurt good stable grasses but opens up areas to instant weed growth whereas a solid thatch layer helps prevent quick and sudden weed growth. If dethatching in the spring be prepared to put down weed control shortly after. This also messes people up because most will dethatch and want to seed so you have to take that into consideration.