How to Remove Thatch From a Lawn By Kevin Whiteside You know that brown patchy debris in a lawn that accumulates on top of the soil but below the grass line?
That’s thatch. Thatch consist of grass clippings, grass stems, roots, and other debris that either decomposes or accumulates on a lawn over time. A few reasons thatch can occur are 1) A lawn has never been aerated 2) Cutting high grass frequently and leaving the clippings on a lawn. Thatch is not always a bad thing as it can hold moisture to protect the lawn from extreme heat and lack of water. Questions to be asked before removing thatch(dethatching) 1) Is there enough thatch on the lawn to justify dethatching? 2) If so, what process should I use to dethatch the lawn? Lawn business owners and homeowners need to measure the amount of thatch in a lawn to determine if dethatching needs to be done. I prefer to take a pencil and stick it in the thatch until it touches the ground.Mark the pencil with your fingernail where the thatch comes up to. After doing this a few times you will be able to eye it and know whether or not to dethatch. The first couple of times you can measure with a ruler
