Does My Lawn Need Dethatching Or Power Raking
The Minnesota lawn care experts at our lawn mowing and maintenance company know that dethatching lawns is an important chore that most homeowners overlook. Every lawn has a layer of thatch at its base, made up of both living and dead grass stems and roots. As this layer becomes thicker and more compacted over time, necessary nutrients, water, and air can be blocked.
The result is grass that looks green on the top, but is brown and dead looking near the bottom of the blades. Grass with too much thatch often looks brown and has a scalped appearance after being mowed. It can also feel spongy when you walk on it. Since water isnt properly absorbed, a lawn with too much thatch is hard to keep watered and will dry out easily. Without proper treatment, the problem will keep getting worse.
In Minnesota, the ideal time for power raking is in the fall, just before grass goes dormant. However, this service should not be done while the soil is wet and spongy, to avoid pulling up grass by the roots. We can advise on the right time to have this service done.
We offer affordable pricing for power raking. Our service area covers most of the Hennepin county, including Minneapolis, Plymouth, Minnetonka, Maple Grove, Wayzata, Golden Valley, St. Louis Park, Blaine, Coon Rapids, New Hope, Edina, Bloomington, Eden Prairie, Crystal, Richfield and Brooklyn Park.
Is Raking Bad For Your Lawn
Although people often rake and bag leaves to prevent their lawns from being smothered and to make yards look better, in most cases, youre fine not moving them. In fact, many environmental experts say raking leaves and removing them from your property is not only bad for your lawn but for the environment as a well.
Dethatching Vs Aeration What Is The Difference
Many new homeowners cant tell the difference between dethatching and aeration. Are the two the same? Absolutely not!
When you are dethatching your lawn, you remove the dead layer of grass roots found between the grass and soils top layer.
On the other hand, aeration involves punching holes in your lawn, creating passageways for air, water, and nutrients.
While you might remove some thatch when aerating, you dont remove much of it as when dethatching.
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Dewinterize Your Sprinkler System
If you own a sprinkler system, then you winterized it before the first frost. If you didnt then you probably have much bigger problems on your hands.
Locate your systems power box and check to make sure all the valves are working and sprinkler heads are operating correctly. You also want to make sure no pipes froze and broke over the winter.
When Should You Dethatch Your Lawn In Minnesota
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. Hereof, is dethatching a lawn necessary?
In the north, late summer or early fall before the grass goes dormant are good times to dethatch, and late spring in the south. For small areas, you can use a hand dethatching rake. Thatch builds up over time, so it’s not necessary to dethatch every year. Plan on doing it every five years or so if your lawn needs it.
Beside above, how do I know if my lawn has too much thatch? Walk on the lawn to see if it feels firm or spongy.The first thing that gives you a hint at whether or not your lawn needs to be dethatched is the feel of it. Walk around for awhile and see if the ground feels firm. If it feels spongy, or almost bouncy, that’s a sign that the thatch has gotten too thick.
Just so, when should you Dethatch a lawn?
The lawn should be dethatched when it is actively growing and the soil is moderately moist. The best time of year for dethatching is the same as for aerating: early spring or early fall for cool-season grasses, and late spring through early summer for warm-season grasses.
Is it better to dethatch or aerate?
Thatching is sometimes called dethatching. It removes a dead layer of roots and stems that is found between the grass base and the native soil. This is more stressful to your lawn than aerating is, and is generally only done if your lawn is thinning out due to thick thatch, according to Organic Lawn DIY.
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Assessing Your Thatch Layer
To determine if your lawn has an excessive amount of thatch, look at, feel, and even measure the thatch layer. What you’re looking for is a thatch layer that’s thicker than 1/2- to 3/4-inch, which means it’s time to dethatch.
Get down on your belly and comb your fingers through the grass. You should be able to see some soil through the grass blades. You should also be able to poke your fingers through the thatch layer and into the soil fairly easily. If the soil is very hard to see or get through, you probably have an excessive thatch layer. Also check how the turf feels underfoot springy and spongy means too much thatch. Finally, you can take a “core sample” of your turf by opening a vertical slice of it with a shovel and measuring the thatch layer with a ruler.
Dethatching Machines Tools Techniques
Dethatching machines come in various forms. And although some lawn services and rental companies use the terms interchangeably, the machines perform dethatching by different means, with varying levels of intensity.
Here are some of the most common dethatching techniques, and the power dethatchers that perform them. What they have in common are spinning metal pieces that pierce and lift the thatch from the lawn. Some employ slicers, others metal tines . Some are stand-alone, powered units, others are made to be dragged behind a tractor or riding mower.
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What Is The Best Aerator To Use On A Minnesota Lawn
Rent a core aerator from your local hardware store. These machines do the best job because they remove cork-shaped cores of soil from the ground and drop them on the lawn surface. This promotes true soil decompaction, breaks up thatch, and allows nutrient and water penetration.
Spike aerators wont do the job nearly as well. By driving a spike into the soil you are actually compacting all the soil around the spike. This a negative in the long run. If you want a healthy lawn, go with a core aerator.
Enjoy An Amazing Lawn Without Lifting A Finger
Your lawn gives you so much from perfect sunrises withcoffee to memories of your kids laughing and playing. Make sure it always looksgorgeous by performing regular aeration and overseeding. Contact ourprofessionals at Lush Lawn for expert advice and assistance in keeping yourlawn healthy all year long. We take care of everything so you only have toworry about relaxing and enjoying the view.
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When To Schedule Lawn Maintenance
It is important to schedule your lawn care maintenance during times that match the life cycle of the turfgrass.
- Do not add fertilizer too early in the spring. This may encourage the grass to grow during a time when it should be slow or dormant.
- Do not spray to control weeds when temperatures are warm. This increases the likelihood of damaging the lawn.
- Do not fertilize in hot mid-summer months. This can cause irreversible damage to your lawn.
- Crabgrass doesn’t develop until late spring or early summer, so don’t apply herbicide used to prevent pre-emerging crabgrass in the fall.
See Water-saving strategies for home lawns for information on how and when to water.
How To Get Your Yard Ready For Spring In Minneapolis Mn
Minneapolis has had a particularly harsh winter this year, and if youre not fond of that chill, you cant wait for springs warm embrace. A lot of Minneapolis gardeners want to get back outside and tend to our gardens and flowers. Once the snow and ice thaw, these early spring lawn care tips will help you get to work and get your yard and garden ready for the season in Minneapolis.
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When Should You Dethatch Your Lawn
As previously mentioned, a small amount of thatch can be good. Be sure to check your thatch layer before you decide to dethatch. You can do this by digging up a small amount of your lawn grass and soil. Then measure your thatch. If your thatch is more than an inch, itâs time to dethatch.
However, like most lawn health initiatives, the timing must be right. You should try to dethatch your lawn around your grassâ peak growth time. When your grass is growing, it helps your lawn to recover faster from dethatching. For cool season grasses, this is going to be early spring or early fall. For warm-season grasses, itâs best to dethatch in late spring through early summer.
Why Aeration Is Important
Aeration helps prevent soil compaction and increases water absorption and root development, which results in greener, healthier, stunning lawns.
If your yard receives heavy use as a playground for your kids or your dog running in circles, your soil will be compacted over time. Or if you have a new build, the construction traffic will have compacted the subsoil of your yard. Soil compaction results in poor nutrient uptake and water absorption.
Aeration also helps reduce excess thatch or soil layering. If your yard dries out easily and has a spongy feel, you may have a thatch problem. Soil layering happens when new finer soil, like when installing new sod, is layered on coarser soil. This finer layer traps water and which prevents deep root growth into the lower coarser layer. Aeration helps the water reach the lower layer.
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What Is The Best Time To Aerate A Lawn
Late summer and fall is the optimum season. Why fall? Blame it on summer. Thats when many lawns become compacted from heightened activity, foot traffic and dry weather. Fall aeration alleviates the compaction, preparing the soil to grow healthy grass the following spring.
Spring aeration is an alternative, but if you aerate in the spring, you could unearth weed seeds and cause unnecessary weed growth. And if youre applying a crabgrass preventer in spring, punching holes in your lawn after treating with a pre-emergent herbicide can compromise the chemical barrier it creates to prevent crabgrass and other weeds.
The absolute worst time to aerate is during hot, dry weather, which could quickly dry out the grass, causing undue stress to your lawn.
When Is The Best Time To Dethatch Your Lawn
With most lawns in Minnesota being a cool season turf, it is recommended to dethatch your lawn in the early spring or early fall. Timing is everything, especially in the fall because you need to give your lawn ample amount of time to grow and re-establish its roots before frost begins to form on your lawn.
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Prune Trees And Shrubs
Prune branches when buds start to appear. This will strong, healthy growth into the fall. Apply fertilizer and mulch around the base of your trees and aerate if necessary. Any plants that were planted last year should be watered regularly.
Now that your yard is cleaned up and ready for spring its time to start thinking about a lawn care schedule. Get ahead of your friends and neighbors by setting up regular service without all the hassle. Visit our Minneapolis lawn care page and we can help you get your yard ready for spring.
How To Dethatch Your Lawn
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How Often To Dethatch
How often you should dethatch depends on how fast the layer builds, and this depends on several factors. For example, lawns that are over-watered, growing in heavy clay soils, or are over-fertilized can accumulate thatch layers more rapidly than lawns receiving proper care and maintenance.
The grass species also influences thatch buildup. For example, the Missouri Botanical Garden states that bermudagrass , hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 7 through 10, can build a thick thatch layer within several months and require annual dethatching. Perennial ryegrass species, such as English ryegrass , hardy in USDA zones 3 through 8, produce little thatch and only require dethatching every few years, says the Missouri Botanical Garden.
Is It Better To Dethatch Or Aerate
Dethatching and aerating seem to do the same thing, but theres time for each. So should you dethatch or aerate? Core aerating not only breaks up thatch buildup but also relieves compacted soil.
Dethatching mostly loosens the top layer of soil and also removes the layer of debris from the soil. Dethatching can really help when overseeding your lawn.
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When Is The Best Time To Aerate A Lawn In Minnesota
This is a common question we receive from both residential and commercial clients. Aeration can be done any time during the growing season as long as temperatures are not too hot. However, we typically perform one round of lawn aeration services in the spring and fall. The first core aeration takes place after the spring clean up, lawn dethatching and first fertilizer application, most often this is mid-April through mid-May. The second core aeration is performed from mid-September to early-October to provide the turf ample time to recover before winter arrives.
If you have any additional questions about our core aerating services, get in touch with our friendly staff today by requesting a quote!
Beginners Guide To Lawn Dethatching
- Beginners Guide To Lawn Dethatching
Lawn dethatching can be crucial to keeping your grass and soil healthy. Even if you are mowing and doing everything else necessary for your lawn, thatch can build up. Over watering and over fertilization can cause excess thatch. Detaching removes the thick layer of dead plant material . This allows air, water, and nutrients to reach your plants and soil again. Dethatching allows your lawn to drain better as well. By learning why dethatching is important, as well as when and how to dethatch, it will be easier to keep your lawn healthy.
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What Fertilizer Should You Use After Fall Aeration
If you do not plan to overseed your lawn after aeration, spread a fertilizer engineered for mature lawns in the northeast region. These typically contain high levels of nitrogen with some phosphorus and potassium. If your next step after aeration is to overseed, apply a lawn starter fertilizer that is high in phosphorus.
- Use this northeastern lawn fertilizer if you do NOT plan to overseed this fall.
- If you plan to overseed, spread this lawn starter fertilizer to help your seedlings establish themselves before winter.
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What Is The Best Time Of Year To Dethatch Your Lawn
Your lawn should be dethatched when it is actively growing and the soil is moderately moist. The best time of year to dethatch is early spring or early fall for cool-season grasses, and late spring through early summer for warm-season grasses.
Give Coty a call for an estimate on dethatching your lawn! 320.292.3982
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When Should You Aerate Your Lawn In Minnesota
Several factors determine the rate of thatch development in your lawn:
- Choosing vigorously growing grass varieties
- Applying excessive amounts of nitrogen, especially in spring
- Growing species that are known to produce large amounts of tough, fibrous tissue
- Compacted soil conditions leading to shallow root development
These factors decrease the rate at which thatch decomposes:
- Acidic soil conditions
- Poor soil aeration and waterlogged soils which limit microorganism activity
- Pesticides such as insecticides or fungicides that restrict microorganism or earthworm activity
Signs Your Lawn Needs Dethatching
So how to break up that dense layer of thatch without ripping your lawn to shreds? And how do you know when you need to?
You must dig down in your lawn and see what you have. With a trowel or other tool, dig out several patches. If you see a half-inch or more, consider dethatching.
Your lawn will likely exhibit other symptoms if it needs dethatching.
Signs of excess thatch include:
- Dry spots.
- Increased insect problems.
Dont remove thatch when the turf is weak or under stress, warns the Penn State Extension. That increases the chance youll injure the turf and decreases chances for its healthy recovery.
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