Tips for a Better Yard: Dethatching and Aerating 

Nicely done Grasshoppa!

I just moved into a trailer park and used the tine rake with 18 lbs on it last September. Everyone driving by was looking to see all the thatch coming to the surface. I learned in a pesticide class that the thatch is where the insects and disease live, getting rid of the thatch is step one in a healthy lawn, a light application of fertilizer will make the grass healthy. I used a tea made of worm castings, fish emulsion, kelp and molasses and applied with a sprinkler... Wow what a difference!

Thank you so much for this!!! I tried some of these tips myself and am a noob at lawn care but love learning about how to improve it so that my neighbours get lawn envy (which I currently have!) I've started my own RU-vid channel to document my progress. Feel free to see and comment on how I'm going :)

Thanks a lot. Great explanation.

Thatch is composed of undecomposed leaves, stems and roots - SOME LIVING, some dead. Certain grasses tend to form thicker thatch layers, especially creeping turf varieties and Bermudagrass and zoysiagrass. Cool-season grasses, such as bentgrass and aggressive Kentucky bluegrass varieties, also can quickly form a root thatch if not watered deeply enough for the grass to form a deep root structure. My 2 cents.

@micyficy Hi thanks for responding! Yes, i mow my lawn using bag and collect grass clippings. Also another question: I just bought my mower in summer of 2010, the blades seem fairly sharp and only minor chipping, so do i still need to change my blade or sharpen it? Thank you again!

Steve Kekich, you showed a picture of a spike aerator contraption that goes around the wheels of the lawnmower... I would imagine Sears sells this, can you pls post the name, item#, and model# or this devise?

Cutting a 1 acre lawn, there is a pre-exsisting sprinkler system with 10 zones and no layout blueprint. Homeowners are now asking me to aereate and power rake (dethatch) the lawn, and I am clueless. I can mark the heads, but can only assume that the lines are of proper depth. Is it better to aereate with the "plugger" or simply with the spikes? Should I power rake (dethatch) before I aereate, providing I am going to, or after I aereate? How much time between the two? I'm using a tractor towed.

@micyficy Awesome! Thank you for answering my 2 questions. You really helped me out here. lol

Question: I am very new at lawn mowing (complete tool, lol), here's my dilemma. My grass has really grown thanks to continuous rains since March, i haven't dethatched my lawn nor did had any idea about it until now. If i don't dethatch it and just simply lawn mow over it, will it kill my grass even though it's very high or will i have to rake afterward to get rid of "dead" grass? Do i have to dethatch before lawn mowing? Please help....

When do you dethatch and aerate?

You guys are harsh. Good explanation. Excellent video for new guys.

Excuse me but im curious as to what the answer is, Since it has been two years, can you tell me what you found out ? de-thatching should be fine but, i cant imagine what you would do about aerating, It would depend on how deep the pipes are in the ground I would assume.

that is fucking brilliant i have to use that

I never de-thatch or core aerate. I just use Milorganite organic fertilizer twice a year, and I have the nicest, thickest, greenest lawn on the block!

Please add closed captioning for who can't hear thank you

what did the buhdist say to the hot dog vendor?....Make me one with everything

hi We are a manual lawn aerator maker, we made a no clogging manual lawn aerator which can used on liquid aera .if you can take videos for your fans, we can bring sampler for free.

What do you mean?

@tctk1 looool

dethatching attachment > cellar door

you expected an answer from this kid who's only lawn, is his parents. lol

if Pee Wee had a son.

Good video from Sears. It's time some younger energy. Plus, what, does he need to be an older guy to take care of a lawn? Puhlease!

"DEEthatching" haha

This dude looks like Brick from the middle loooool

Thatch isn't clippings.

Lo

The clippings provide nutrients so fertilizer isn't needed. Unless you like polluting the streams, rivers, ponds, bays and ocean?

Kid stay where you at Sears you be looking for a new job soon I been in landscaping business 54yrs

$ 4000 car. $ 300 tolls pls ..... Good information but costly. .. $$$$

Thatch is NOT dead glass clippings. Yet another how-to video made by the clueless.

Man it was painful to listen to him.

Want a thick green lawn? Fertilize it, water it, Stay off of it.

I wouldnt listen to Sears,they cant even keep the place open and running anymore lol

He sounds like he is trying too hard to explain something so simple. lol

Are you high?

I hope that lawn you were sitting on was not what you consider to be a "green, healthy lawn." Also, thatch is not grass clippings.

i think he has to dethatch his voice.

why do u try so hard to talk?