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| Get my pies outta the oven!  |
My yard is long and narrow like 15 feet wide by 65 feet long. It's got a ton of thatch down in the grass that's basically killing it and I want to give it a good cleaning. A rental dethatcher is out of the question as they want $60 a day to rent one and I don't have a truck to transport it anyway. I'm going to need to either put a dethatcher blade on my lawnmower or get a thatching rake but I didn't know what would work better. My concern with the blade is tearing up the grass and I know the rake is going to be hard work. Anyone have any input? Dethatcher blade:  Thatching rake:  | ||
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| Green grass and high tides  |
To late. Earlier next spring. rake works good if it is a small area. It is a workout for us seasoned guys. I think there is some stuff you can put on it that may help this summer. But it is a spring job. "Practice like you want to play in the game" | |||
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| Get my pies outta the oven! |
Too late how? Not good for the lawn to do it at this time? | |||
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Ammoholic |
I've always done before the grass starts growing. What is there to thatch during summer? Jesse Sic Semper Tyrannis | |||
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| Green grass and high tides |
Right, you want to get all the dead thatch out before the lawn gets growing to much. Now is not the best time. You will pull out what you are wanting to promote now. Basically. If nothing is able to grow through it now. It might be ok. I do a rake thatch every early spring. Excellent results. Fertilize after it a couple of weeks when it starts to grow. Walaa. "Practice like you want to play in the game" | |||
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| Get my pies outta the oven! |
Ok thanks for the advice. It's growing ok but struggling and there are several spots where it's gotten so thick it's basically dead there right now. I can wait and do it in Spring 2018. The idea of raking with that thing in 90 degrees with 90% humidity wasn't sounding great anyway!  | |||
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| Blinded by the Sun  |
Spring is the time to do it. However cut the grass bag the clippings, then use a good metal rake and rake out as much of it as you can. It doesn't need to be the rake shown just a normal good stiif rake and rake it with effort, you'll be surprised how much comes out. ------------------------------ Smart is not something you are but something you get. Chi Chi, get the yayo | |||
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Happily Retired |
If you have a riding lawnmower you can buy a thatcher for it. They work well but your lawn may not be big enough to justify it. Yeah, springtime and late fall is when you want to thatch it. .....never marry a woman who is mean to your waitress. | |||
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Member |
I have used both on former small yards. Both work fine. The one for the power mower will throw any small rocks or things out the discharge of your mower. Just be careful. Mike I'm sorry if I hurt you feelings when I called you stupid - I thought you already knew - Unknown ................................... When you have no future, you live in the past. " Sycamore Row" by John Grisham | |||
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| Unapologetic Old School Curmudgeon  |
Rake the hell out of it with a normal rake, then do aeration in the fall, you can buy the spike shoe attachments and wear them while you mow. Do that in the fall and again in the spring when you dethatch Don't weep for the stupid, or you will be crying all day | |||
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| Saluki |
Dethatch then overseed. Pick a time of year that will allow the seed to get a good start. When I was in the landscape business we worked when we had time. You can dethatch about any time you want. It's the reseeding that should determine the timing. Here's a pro tip for you. Do it when it's very dry, collecting wet thatch sucks, like I said I had to do it when I did it. ----------The weather is here I wish you were beautiful---------- | |||
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| Lawyers, Guns and Money  |
That's how I've done it. They usually do a 4 hour (1/2 day) rental for less money. I split the cost with my Dad and do his yard at the same time.
Labor Day Weekend is the perfect time. Fall is a great growing season and it will have established roots and take off in the Spring. "Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." -- Justice Janice Rogers Brown "The United States government is the largest criminal enterprise on earth." -rduckwor | |||
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Drill Here, Drill Now |
I can't believe they still sell dethatcher blades for lawnmowers. At best, they are a poor substitute for a power dethatcher or a dethatcher rake, but more likely are a quick way to foul up a yard. Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer. | |||
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| Member! |
I use one these Greenwork Electric Dethatchers. Works great. I got mine on special sale for like $45 (approximately 1/2 price of normal), but it beat the holy hell out of raking regardless, is pretty small and light too. Just have to be careful to not try turning while the tines are spinning or it'll dig out a nice circular patch of ground. https://www.amazon.com/GreenWo...atcher/dp/B0030BG1HM | |||
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Coin Sniper |
My father tried one of those de-thatching blades around 20 years ago. If I recall he pushed the mower just far enough to see that he was just shredding the grass. We had to re-seed that spot. Pronoun: His Royal Highness and benevolent Majesty of all he surveys 343 - Never Forget Its better to be Pavlov's dog than Schrodinger's cat There are three types of mistakes; Those you learn from, those you suffer from, and those you don't survive. | |||
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| Get my pies outta the oven! |
Thanks again for all the advice. I'm not going to bother with a dethatcher blade, I'll get a thatching rake and try as was suggested in the early fall along with overseeding. | |||
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| Member |
I used a dethatching rake for our front yard, and my shoulders were sore afterwards. I wore light gloves too. You're a smart guy calling it a "yard." Using "lawn" sets unreasonably high expectations.  | |||
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