When to de-thatch lawn?

[fishfinder72]

With the warm up last week lots of people were out doing yard work. I did a little yard clean up but thought it was early for some of the work going on.

Is there a certain time when de-thatching is most beneficial? Can mowing up leaves and debris too early harm your yard?

[H2O Milfoil]

FF:

I think it's a bit too early yet. You want the soil to thaw and dry out enough, and be firm enough, so you aren't ripping crowns and rhizomes out of the soil. That's really the key. Ditto with hand raking, if the leaves are dry enough to lift out easily, then go ahead. And use a leaf rake, not a heavy garden rake. Different sites with different exposures will dry out at different rates. Just don't be too eager and do a lot of damage. If you have a very thick layer of thatch, you may want to dethatch in a couple of steps, spring-fall or even spring-spring. Fertilize to help the lawn recover, green up, and build some density back. But let the grass recover for a couple of weeks before hitting it with a lot of herbicides.

[bobberineyes]

It might look awkward but I always check the yard on my hands and knees, if their is any sign of moisture better wait. A guy down the street raked his whole yard today, obviously he doesn't care. If anything you can always use a blower and fluff the lawn up and get leaves up off but detaching is best when dry.

[Powerstroke]

Both of those replies are dead on. You want the yard to dry and firm or else you will rip out healthy grass.

Raking and dethatching are two different things and if you're not sure why you need dethatching than you probably dont need it. Most people pay for it and its not needed or only needed every few years.

[gunner55]

When I was in the business,we did most of it & with better results in the fall.

[bobberineyes]

When I was in the business,we did most of it & with better results in the fall.

I've always wanted to wait til fall since it seems there's more opportunities to do it. This year I'm going to, today I'm taking the blower put it close to the ground and pry as much dead grass up as I can, hit the dog burns good and perhaps throw some gypsum down before the next rain.

[delcecchi]

You must have gotten less rain than we did. My yard is squishy.

[gunner55]

Yeah too wet here & at Mom's(Austin)

[otterman91105]

Did my lawn last weekend it's nice to have it done.