Should You Dethatch Your Lawn?
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- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
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Doc goes over dethatching lawns and why we DON'T dethatch Bermuda lawns or grasses that grow with a runner system. Cool season grasses like fescue like to be dethatched but Bermuda lawns can be greatly harmed via dethatching.
I transitioned my lawn from 2" down to 0.6 this season. I used this routine which worked great.
1) rotary cut as low as possible
2) dethatch to lift runners
3) rotary mow again to remove puffy runners
4) reel cut down to 0.6
5) rotary again to pick up clippings
I've used the dethatcher multiple times.in the spring to clean up the wash lines of clippings but at this height there are no longer long runners to catch. 👍👍
That explains why I have so much thatch on my lawn and I needed to use the detacher on my Bermuda grass. I need to upgrade my lawn mower so it can cut shorter so I don't have such long clippings.
You have a full plate with 3 family yards. Hard work for you but great entertainment and competence building for me and all the viewers. The Doc that Rocks 🤟
I bought an electric dethatcher and did my Meyer Zoysia for the first time this Spring. Lawn is 15 years old. Looks beautiful. Used the Anderson’s fertilizer you recommended twice now. Thanks for your video’s.
I burned mine off every year lol
I used a dethatcher on my lawn and pretty much killed it. Little did I know you couldn't use it on centipede lawns! Learned the hard way.
I detached my Bermuda lawn in fall time right before I oversees with annual rye. Help clear the ground so the seed can make soil contact. I have detached before in late spring and that was a big mistake. Took several months and lots of money in fert to heal back up. Great video DOC>
We moved in last October, there was a thick thatch layer. Prior to this spring I scalped and bagged all the clippings a couple times before the lawn woke up, it was like vacuuming the excess thatch. I followed the Doc’s Bermuda lawn wake up and fertilization and haven’t had any thatch since then. I bag every other mow. Looking like a golf course lawn now! Thanks Doc, great videos
Here I am watching this video on Sunday, I just did a light dethatch on my Tiff Friday. Wish I wouldn't have. Hopefully It makes a comeback
It should recover just fine. Go and type in Bermuda fraze mowing. Bermuda is as tough as it gets. It likes the abuse. As long as you don't go deep, your lawn should be ok.
I never detached my bremuda lawn. Always kept it cut and when it had extra clippings I cut it over until they were gone. Just saying, I only pick up my clippings when I scalp so I don't have tiger strips. Thanks Doc your info is always on par.
We have spots of Bermuda grass on our lawn that is unwanted. Most of our lawn is a mixture of fine fescue, perennial ryegrass, and bluegrass. We cut our grass higher which allows the Bermuda grass areas to grow too much which becomes more of an issue. I used a thatcher for the first time and Bermuda grass clogged the thatcher but that is good as I wanted to remove the Bermuda grass. I don't think Bermuda grass is a good fit for New England but your lawn does look great. Thanks.
I’m really glad you addressed this! I’m down here in southern Louisiana with warm season grass and a lot of friends get on CZcams and see something about dethatching lawn specifically cool season lawns. They always ask me when to dethatch I tell them never manually dethatch! I use the liquid on my St Augustine!
This video makes sense to me I have never detached my lawn but I do 1 or 2 scaps a season and never have a problem 👍
Totally agree with this. I dethatched my bermuda lawn for the first time this year ever. I thought it was just going to make it look even better then it ever did before. But it did just the opposite! My bermuda lawn never really seemed to recover. Its not as thick. And unusually I'm seeing weeds come up that never did before. Wish I hadn't dethatch it. Now I know from experience. Which is why I 100 percent agree with your video!!!
I’m in the same boat. My Bermuda was growing like crazy, dethatched it and it’s just now (4 months later) starting to jump back up but it’s still not where it was before being Dethatched. I definitely learned my lesson lol
That lawn is PERFECT SURREAL WOW someday I will do that my self
Hey Doc. I am a little confused and need guidance. I have in the past cut my Bermuda lawn when it was longer, but did not pick up the clippings and they definitely were longer than .5” so in my lawn you can see it and when it rains heavy clumps of the thatch pile up all over. What is the best way to get that up? I have dethatched in the past and have noticed that I have thinned out my lawn as well and so I have not done it again. So I have a thin lawn with thatch. What can I do to turn this around???
I've never dethatched our lawn in the 20 years we've been here, However, I do have an area in my back corner that is "difficult" and gets a ton of trash. Limbs, leaves, and nuts that chokes out the grass if I don't clean it up. Even a rake tends to thin out an already thin area. (It's that "Chainsaw Bermuda".) I tried a lawn sweeper this year, which didn't hurt the grass, but also didn't clean up the acorns. They would get caught in my reel. Any other ideas on how to clean this up?
PS - Love your content and my front yard renovation this summer is looking FABULOUS thanks to your recommendations and products. We took out a 18 year old Maple and the lawn is filling in nicely.
Thank you Doc. I only hand rake my Bermuda with a plastic tine rake in the fall and spring to keep it clean (small yard!) and that seems to be working well for me. Looking forward to the videos at your daughter's new house, I'm sure it will be very educational.
I want a nice Bermuda lawn, but alot of the techniques aren't feasible when you have a property over 1 acre IMO
What is the machine you used to suck up heavy clippings? Want to use it to suck up my celebration bermuda grass when I scalp it. If my grass has gotten too thick and spongy from infrequent mowings, once I scalp it before spring greenup and then begin mowing more frequently, will this be sufficient to remove any excessive thatch since You advise never to dethatch bermuda
still letting mine recover from weed treatments and just mowing every 72hrs at ~2"....will keep spot treating the weeds to keep em at bay and put down my pre-emergent in the fall/spring again properly this time
Thanks for addressing this topic. I have a rotary mower and my lawn (new subdivision) is not even. I applied compost late spring and it did even the lawn somewhat. So yes, my Bermuda height is around 2”. I do have a SunJoe de-thatcher that I used for a perennial rye overseed project in my backyard. I do follow your calendar and my front lawn looks amazing, even at 2”.
0:16 no youtuber ever gives you the answer within 20 seconds your a legend lol
Still going to watch the entire thing but really nice that you don’t string us along like most channels keep up the good work!!!!
Thank you so much for all the knowledge 🙏
Cant wait to see another project lawn!! I have cool season grass but its awesome to watch you help lawns!!
A good root growth stimulator will help the bounce back. Also a soil softener of you have clay
Glad I watched. I was just about to dethatch my Bermuda. I have Bermuda in the front and Fescue in the back. I'll just use the dethatcher and scarifer on the fescue and aerate the Bermuda. Appreciate it!
Doc...I have a small lawn...about 3000 sgft so I use Dirt Booster instead of the Chicken Feed. My question is....can you just mix in the microbial pack with a round of Super Juice or is it better to apply alone after applying Dirt Booster. Thanks from Cumming GA.
I generally mix the two. About one cup of SJ per gallon of water.
As always Doc, thank you. Life saver.
Hey Doc! I offer you a challenge. I watched this vid because I was wondering why people were recommending scarifying (power raking) a zoysia. Wouldn’t it rip up rhizomes? You told me what I suspected. Thanks! Oh! The challenge? You mentioned core aerating. When I bottom up redid my front lawn, I went subsurface irrigation. Right at 4” but levels change so core aeration is out of the question. I substitute with liquid aerators and dethtatchers. Do you have any other recommendations? I think my lawn is killer, but do you have any other recommendations that may work better? Thanks!
Thanks for explaining this Doc. I have alot of lawn guys here in Alabama subscribed to your channel for reasons like this 👍🏾👍🏾
What is the best sprinklers for Bermuda grass
does Poa Supina fall into the same category, due to the fact it grows shallow and with side runners?
You said about not mowing enough AND/OR mowing too much?
I'm concerned I might mow too much. Honesty it's about every other day. Are there negative signs to look for when mowing too much?
Nope... cut away
Doc if I use a fungicide will it kill my good fungus from my microbial pack ?? Thanks!!
Love every video and thumbs up 👍🏻!!
Yes, it can have an impact for about 30 days and may reduce it. But nothing one can do really if you have fungus.
Hey Doc. I have a lawn FULL of ground moss. I killed most of it and it says to rake it up. Detracting didn’t work so I take it up. It does pull up runners so I stopped. When and how can I remove the dead moss without tearing up my progress????? DOOOOCCCC
Would love to try out the new product when available!
I as well would love to use and document for this new product.
I’m thinking I should just start over
Front lawn has 1/3 of it filled with crab grass
Back lawn close to 2/3 filled with nutsedge
How can I fix this big mess
Thank you so much for this amazing video I got right answer
Those I-20 Stainless steel models are sweeeet!
Good info. I dont have Bermuda, kentucky bluegrass here. An acre is alot to keep up on for my lifestyle right now.
Not to be rude in the least, but its “scare”-i-fy
Can't wait to see the stuff at the Daughters house! Very interested and sounds like some great content!
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I live in an HOA that requires bermuda grass. I have to have to have it. I'm not interested in cutting it every 2 or 3 days. But I also want it to look nice. I can only get to cut it every 7-10 days. Here in North AL, it grows well, but, I do have a ton of thatch. Other CZcams videos/lawn guys suggest dethatching and scarifying on bermuda, but not St. Augustine. So what's a guy to do?
Apply growth regulator and bag clippings.
Help. I have an EGo mower, our grass is bermuda and i would like to cut it 2” but with this adjustment brown stem is left so i would like to adjust it 2 1/2 but how no half increments on settings. 3 is too high for us
When the temps come down in the 80’s, put your setting at 1, which is 1.5” on an EGO. That will hard cut it. Fertilize the lawn with slow release like PGF complete. Water and wait for 3-4 days and you should have a lush green lawn. Raise your setting to 2 on the EGO a which should be 1.75-2”. This is what i do and i have an EGO with Bermuda. Works well for me but you do have to wait till the temps are in the 80’s to hard cut. If you cut low in the heat, it will cause a lot of stress.
Thank you! I needed this in April before I drank the dethatch koolaid 😣. Now I have a machine I will never use again and it left my lawn with thin areas.
Will you be dethatching your Zoysia Doc?
Thank you.
Thanks. I've been waiting for this video.
Should you dethatch KGB in cool season grass?
Might be a bit challenging dethatching that particular foreign intelligence agency, I believe they have rebranded now into the FSB.
Hi, i leave on transition zona and i have diferente typs of grasses ( tall fescue, kentucky bluegrass and zoysia) on my lown. As much as i got you have zoysia grass on your beach house. I'm going to keep my zoysia but what type of zoysia seed do you recomend to me.
Only Zoysia seed made is Zenith Zoysia
Morning doctor!!🌤 look theres a bug on the grass 🦠🎾 dont worry I got it with a tennis racket.😆😂
Why does Celebration bermuda require verticutting and scarifying? ALL groundskeepers in golf courses and ball fields say that is essential.
Golf courses and sports turfs want a THIN tight turf therefore they will often verti-cut. It's not the same as using a PRONGED grass puller. The homeowner should NOT consider either unless their lawn is SUPER thick and they want to THIN it out. A problem seldom if any have. THATCH... should not be a an issue if the lawn is cared for properly.
Woo hoo! First!
Is this only regarding warm season grasses?
Hello! New subscriber here. Your videos are great! Lots of good info. Definitely on a budget here. I would like a nice lawn but can't afford too many products. Is there an 'essentials' list on your site? I'm not after a golf course lawn...but still nice. Beyond proper cutting and watering (Bermuda), is there a video or list that basically says, product-wise, "If you're on a tight budget, at minimum, do this." Thanks!
#1 Pre-emergent #2 PGF Complete. Done.....
@@HowTowithDoc Thanks!
Please provide a link to a suggested dirt booster and microbial spray.
Is that deal with the free grass catcher from mclane still available?
No that was a LONG time ago and pre covid.
Wow
I had new Bermuda Sod put in the Thursday before last but happened to go out of town for 10 days, came back and a lot of the grass went dormant/died. What is the best way to revive the grass?
Try watering like mad, it’s your only hope. Bermuda sod though, if it’s dead, it’s dead. Wasted money.
Always enjoy your videos on bermuda grass.
Did he just say to never verticut bermuda? Is this real life?
Verticut Bermuda and dethatch cool season turf. Verticut does NOT pull up the network of runners.
What about vericuting?
Golf courses and sports turfs want a THIN tight turf therefore they will often verti-cut. It's not the same as using a PRONGED grass puller. The homeowner should NOT consider either unless their lawn is SUPER thick and they want to THIN it out. A problem seldom if any have. THATCH... should not be a an issue if the lawn is cared for properly.
And now a verticut video. Love your content man!
I just treated my lawn, I prayed herbicide all over it.👏 😃 I love the golden color it has now.
This saves me about $500.00
I Need the verticutter instead.
i thought we were talking about cams
This video gets a thumbs up just for that sweet baby at the end
I think I just butchered my Centipede lawn. Arrrrrrgggg!!!
Talking about mowing to 1/2 inch is not feasible for most of us. Lawn is not level and to get that short need a reel mower. While your looks great, not really realistic for most of us.
Our lawn is horribly uneven. That's why we use the reel mower.
Not true
Yes true... Golf courses and sports turfs want a THIN tight turf therefore they will often verti-cut. It's not the same as using a PRONGED grass puller. The homeowner WITH BEMRUDA should NOT consider either unless their lawn is SUPER thick and they want to THIN it out. A problem seldom if any have. THATCH... should not be a an issue if the lawn is cared for properly.
More Good Witch, less Fat Guy!
I think the fat guy is kind of HOT...
@@HowTowithDoc LOL... Good one, Doc.