Lawn Care & Landscaping : How to De-Thatch a Lawn

Thatching a lawn requires utilizing a thatching rake to comb through the grass and weed out dead, unwanted material. Thatch a yard every other year or so with advice from a professional landscaper in this free video on lawn maintenance.

Expert: Dan LeSieur
Contact: www.dklesieur.com
Bio: Dan LeSieur performs both residential and commercial work, specializing in landscaping, painting, home repairs, remodeling and corporate re-imaging.
Filmmaker: Lisa Fenderson

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• lawn
• care
• landscaping
• grass
• edging
• mowing
• mowers
• push
• flower
• beds
• seed
• fertilizer
• planting
• gardening
• green
• maintenance
• yard

[urboboy]

@gmondragonmorales

They could....but no one does. Same with De-thatching. The term everyone uses is to De-Thatch. I have never hear anyone else refer to it as thatching a lawn. It doesn't make sense. We need to "weed out" how we use incorrect terms. :)

[nashvillestevie]

@urboboy Correct..."thatching" refers to roof building made of thatch (straw, grass, etc.) Wikipedia!!!

[gmondragonmorales]

you know how some people pull out weeds from their garden and call it "weeding" ? same could apply to "thatching"

[CoolBreezeClub]

It's like combing my hair as it was thinning out -hey he just said that...

[PunaniLicker69]

i have a big lawn, so this might take some time. i do small areas everyday, and by the end of the month i will be done. should i fertilize where i de-thatched? or should i finish all the lawn and fertilize at the same time?

[Bafflepitch]

@ilikecandy11211 Moss is hardier than grass and can handle poor soil. Healthy grass will push out moss and weeds. I would dethatch, then put moss killer on any remaining moss, then pull out when dead.

Plan to aerate right before the growing season for your type of grass. At the same time you can fertilize and over seed. Remember, this process will damage the grass so water a little more frequently (every 2 days). Then go back to 0.5 inch of water every 3 days to promote deep roots.

[ilikecandy11211]

@Bafflepitch great video, but lets say i have moss, and then i aerate....should i put fertilizer after or should i powerake first, and then apply fertilizer?

[Bafflepitch]

Best time to de-thatch is right before the growing season. It does damage the grass some and will take a bit to recover, but will recover quickest right before growing season. You can also aerate you lawn instead. Make sure you fertilize and water afterward. Don't do it when the weather gets too hot either as it can increase evaporation out of the soil slowing down recovery (this rule especially goes if you decide to aerate the law).

[yuex100]

thanks a lot for the video...it helps a lot...I'm frm Malaysia...have a zoysia lawn which thatch up easily.....

[urboboy]

@ThatsWhatsUploaded

Yes! Isn't Thatch what you are trying to remove? The "dead unwanted grass" is called "Thatch". You remove the Thatch, that is why it is called De-thatching! Also, you don't remove the dead grass with your hands. The faster/better way is to push the rack back 2-3 inches after you rake. Pushing it backwards, removes the grass and leaves a nice line that is easily raked up later.