I wanted to talk about lawn thatch buildup today because it is one of the top 5 reasons why home lawns look poor, brown and thin. Yep, that’s right, excessive thatch in your lawn is a huge problem and will cause all kinds of issues down the road if you don’t get it under control. So let’s talk about it and how we can take care of it. Good news: it’s an organic process!!

What Is Lawn Thatch?

The thatch in your lawn is a layer of organic materials that reside just above the soil line at the area of the grass crown. (grass crowns are the part of the plant where the blades grow from, like your hair grows out of the crown of your head ) Thatch is a GOOD thing in the lawn if it is managed properly.

The thatch in this lawn is thinning out the turf

Thatch is good because:

1) it shades the root system of the turf, helping the roots stay cooler in the dead of summer

2) it prevents soil erosion during heavy rains

3) it helps retain soil moisture, thus making your irrigation more effective

3) houses organisms that are healthy for lawn soil

So you can see that thatch in the lawn is good, but keep in mind you guys, only if it is managed and kept in proper levels. What that means is we want the thatch layer to remain thinner than 1/2 inch in the lawn. Any thicker and you are gonna have issues that will continue to build.

Too much thatch is bad because:

1) too much thatch makes the lawn spongy, meaning there is no room for grass to grow. In other words, the thatch layer competes with the grass itself, causing the lawn to thin out.

2) to0 much thatch means water (from rain or your sprinkler) cannot penetrate down into the soil. The water sits in the thick thatch layer. Grass roots will actually turn upward to get that water, meaning the grass roots are actually growing in the thatch layer and not the soil (shallow rooting) making the problem compound very quickly!

3) a thick thatch layer will harbor disease and fungus that can harm your turf.

the grass roots are ALL in the thatch layer, not soil

How To Manage Your Lawn’s Thatch Layer

I recommend that everyone of your reading this have your lawn aerated every single year in the fall. Aeration is a mechanical process (no chemicals!) that punches holes in the lawn. This loosens soil and allow root expansion, but for our purposes, it also punches holes in the thatch layer. Remember, some thatch is good, so we don’t need to remove it all if we are just managing it at a reasonable level. Aerate in the fall and you should be good.

However, if you already have a major thatch problem (your lawn is very spongy) then you need something more drastic. We call this de-thatching or power-raking and it is done by a machine with a roller and tines. The tines can be set to a depth that will literally scrape out the thatch. You can do this in the fall or in the spring. Just be careful not to remove ALL of the thatch. You should also be prepared to do some major cleanup after de-thatching.

What Causes The Thatch Layer To Get Too Thick?

I figured I’d throw this one in here at the end in case any of you are wondering. Thatch usually gets way to thick in lawns that have been freshly sodded in the last few years. Sod takes some time to create a root system. In addition, if you have a sprinkler system and set it to water only 10 minutes per day per zone, you are contributing to the problem. Ten minutes of water only makes the water sit on the surface of the lawn thus meaning the shallow sod roots stay above ground, causing thatch.

To prevent thatch, you need to water deep when you do! Your questions are welcome in the comments below.

You guys know you can fertilize in the summer right? Whether or not you are properly watering your lawn or not, you CAN and SHOULD still fertilize it. But what you use becomes more important than ever when the temps in July and August are in the upper 90s or higher. This is exactly why organic fertilizers are perfectly suited for summer lawn fertilization. (Get the book here)

Why Organic Fertilizer In Summer

One of the key advantages to organic fertilizers is that they are naturally slow releasing. This means there is pretty much no chance you are gonna cook your turf even if you apply too much. Now, I’m not telling you guys to go out and dump shovel-fulls of organic fertilizer on your lawn, but you certainly don’t need to be too concerned if you do mess up a bit!

Slow release organic fertilizer is also good for your grass in summer because it won’t PUSH the growth. The last thing we want to do in hot August is stimulate the lawn to grow super fast. This will surely stress the root system (especially if you don’t irrigate properly) and cause it to thin out under pressure. Organic lawn fertilizers break down in heat and release nitrogen and phosphorus very slowly, just enough to keep the grass healthy and green, but not overly so.

Finally, organic lawn fertilizers also improve the bio-activity in the soil. Honestly, rich, healthy soil is the basis of a healthy lawn and organics improve it greatly.

Below are examples of fertilizers I use in the summer for my own lawn. You can also get my step by step book here.

Call it “Adventures In Lawn Care” if you like — I call it making our neighbors envious! I mean, c’mon guys, what is all this for anyway?.. I tell you what it’f for — it is to get some attention and there is not better way to make your lawn stand out than to mow stripes in it like the outfield of a baseball field or a golf course fairway. It’s called “Lawn Striping” or “Yard Striping” and nowadays there is an inexpensive lawn striping kit available called the “Lawn Stryper.”

Lawn Stryper Review

The Lawn Stryper is a simple lawn mower attachement that rolls behind your mower, pushing the turf down a certain way. When you get the grass to lay down in rows, then the sun shines on it differently making it appear striped. It’s simple and this is exactly how they do it on baseball fields. They use rollers and sometimes special lawn mowers called “reel mowers” and that makes the stripes, But with this kit, you all can do it at home very easily.

I did a couple different simple straight patterns to show you how easy it is to make the stripes show up nicely. The lawn striping roller fits easily behind pretty much any walk behind mower. You fill the tube with sand, attach and go. It does not get in the way on turns and you can back up too. I have to tell you that the inventors of the lawn stryper did a great job and I have absolutely no complaints.

The lawn stryper lawn striping kit comes in green, red and black to match your lawn mower. I highly recommend it and you can get one on the cheap below. Seriously guys, Lawn Striping your grass will set it apart big time! Get one!