Can a lawn be too healthy? No, but as the thatch layer thickens, the turf grass can choke itself out. The root zone becomes compacted. Lawn renovation services are often needed to balance out the growth.
What’s the problem with thatch? It’s a good idea to mulch your grass clippings into the lawn during the summer because it adds quick nitrogen and moisture. However, when a lawn’s thatch layer exceeds half an inch, water and nutrients have a difficult time percolating down to the root system. There is no gas exchange between soil and air, slowing down the natural decomposition of grass clippings. Once your thatch layer exceeds a half an inch, it really starts to pile up because there is no aerobic bacteria action to break it down. A thick thatch layer also retains moisture within itself, setting up perfect conditions for lawn disease and fungus.
Our solution is core aeration.
The core aeration process removes plugs from the lawn, effectively punching holes in the thatch layer and disposing the cores on top. This aerates the root zone, providing little holes that fill up with water and fresh organic material like grass clippings. The cores themselves deposit beneficial bacteria at the top of the thatch layer, breaking it down from above.
Overseeding brings new life to a thin lawn.
Since core aeration is somewhat stressful to a lawn, Groundhog Turf Care provides this service in the fall when the air is cooler and the lawn is growing again. This is also the perfect time to overseed a thin lawn. The grass seed roots into the plugs pulled out by the core aerator, as well as in the holes – providing fresh turf grass to thicken up thinner areas. We can also revive lawns devastated by insects and drought with our slice seeder. A slice seeder cuts a groove ½” deep into the soil of a thin lawn and incrementally plants a grass seed every inch; in many cases, saving the cost of ripping up and re-loaming an existing lawn.
Core aeration and over seeding services are provided with our Estate Turf Care Program. Regardless of the lawn care program you are on, our techs always take a core sample each year to inspect the thickness of the thatch layer.