expired Posted by the_1 • Jul 17, 2021
Jul 17, 2021 6:13 AM
Item 1 of 6
Item 1 of 6
expired Posted by the_1 • Jul 17, 2021
Jul 17, 2021 6:13 AM
Sun Joe 13" 12-Amp Electric Lawn Dethatcher w/ Scarifier & Collection Bag
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In the spring and fall, I use Jerry Baker's Dethatch tonic. https://youtu.be/evMM1ndZEiw
Also, make sure to have something good to transprot it and know what to do. I put it in my SUV and the home depot people were not very helpful other than lifting it in. They didnt' have string to tie down and I was about to drive off when I realized if I had to stop realtively quickly the thing woudl either plow into me or through my back window. Went to the main store to get some string to tie it down.
Overall it was a PITA but definitely worth it. It is heavy but my wife and I were able to lift it back into the car after I was done. It has some weights that you can remove to lower the overall weight.
Until the time comes I bought a manual corer that has decent reviews. Figured I'd give it a whirl in phases and see if that works out at all … maybe post rain. Did you fill in the holes with some sort of fertilizer like milorganite or anything?
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The power rake chews through both Bermuda and St. Augustine, but the scarifier will do a lot more damage to your lawn. I used the scarifier on my Bermuda to remove a ton of old thatch and aerate the lawn. It destroyed most of my back lawn but removed all the unwanted thatch. Took 6 weeks to recover. Now it's green, flat, and can breath. It's like having a different lawn. much better. Used the power rake on St. Augustine and it chewed right through it, basically removing 50% of the turf and lifting buried leaves from the thatch layer. The Augustine has fully recovered as well. Thinning it out really helped with the overall health of the lawn.
You will need a 12 gauge electric cord, 50 or 100 feet long. This machine is a beast. Highly recommended.
I use greenworks aerator I bought on sale for $79 from Lowe's.
My process for reseeding in fall time is
- 3-4 weeks prior spray weed killer
- move the lawn to lowest setting
- run aerator in multiple directions
- use bag mower to collect all the thatch
- water the lawn in the evening prior to aeration to ensure soil is moist but not soggy
- use aerator, add seed, starting Fertilizer, new top soil, and lime
- mix them up with back of the rack and water heavily for next 2 weeks
Good video for this unit:
https://youtu.be/yZ2oyLkszXw
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As far as mulch. The grass clippings that are tiny will break down quickly and release nutrients. That isn't thatch. To get those tiny clippings you need a mower with a good, sharp mulching blade and a slow pace when cutting the lawn. The clippings need time to swirl around under the deck while the blade keeps chopping up the grass finer and finer.
If you have a none mulching blade, or a dull mulching blade, and/or you walk too fast while mowing, the clippings will not get chopped up adequately and they will be too big to completely break down. That will be thatch.
If you mow often, slow, and with a sharp blade you will sgnificantly reduce the amount of thatch you have. Not eliminate it though, just reduce.
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