Lawn Thatch and Aeration

Some of us like a little bit of wilderness in our yards. It takes less maintenance that way and has its own natural beauty. Still, we long for that nice turf grass we played on and rolled in as kids. It does, however, take maintenance to keep it looking good.

Several years ago I sodded Zoysia in my Texas front yard. It spread aggressively and filled my front yard, entered beds, sidewalks and made its best attempt to climb onto my driveway. Only the driveway successfully repelled its advance. This is not a bad thing, it has been heat and drought resistant and nice and soft for my bare feet. I like it!

Last year I noticed a lot of unevenness in my turf. Clumps of green grass, with small barren patches in-between, covered most of my lawn. The lawn also seemed more gray than it had. Upon closer inspection, it had a heavy buildup of mulched grass clippings and shredded leaves in the barren patches. This is called "thatch", and it suffocates the grass where it gets too thick.

I bought a cheap long-fingered metal rake and attacked a portion of my turf. Within a few hours I raked enough "thatch" out of my, rather small, front yard area to fill the back of a small pick-up truck. I could almost hear my lawn sighing with relief, now able to again breathe.

A little research uncovered that to further enhance the beauty of my lawn, naturally, I should "aerate". Just as the "thatch" created a smothering blanket over the lawn, high-clay soils suffocate the roots of the turf as it compacts over time. Aeration with a "plug-type" machine removes little plugs of soil and allows water, air and nutrients down to the roots.

There are specialized de-thatching tools available as well as commercial lawn maintenance companies that will do it for you, or you can just use a good rake and a lot of back. For aeration, only a good plug type machine works well. Common "spike-type" aerators punch holes in the ground but further compact the soil around the hole reducing their effectiveness. Plug-aeration takes a specialized tool that can be purchased, rented or hired as a service from a good lawn maintenance company.