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How to dethatch and aerate lawn?

Hello,

I have found this site helpful with other projects around the house so was wondering if I could please tap into the abundance of wisdom and guidance on this forum to help with my lawn.

I have tiff tuff Bermuda which I lay down 12 months ago. It grew well over this summer but unfortunately I was away for a few weeks in December so I have been trying to slowly lower the lawn height with a cut each week but it’s gone brown in some sections. I also built deck 2 weeks ago and where I was continually walking the grass looks very brown and dry. I think I might have a compaction issue and maybe a thatch issue. I did aerate the lawn in late spring with a fork.

My question is can I dethatch, aerate and give a good fertilise now or is it too late in the growing season and the grass may not recover. We are on heavy clay here and I feel like there is a compaction issue with the grass growing horizontally across the top not vertically because when I pull it up it’s quite long. It also feels spongy. I have attached photos.

Any suggestions on the best way to dethatch and aerate?

I appreciate any help thank you.

cheers

Community manager's note: Check out How to dethatch your lawn for expert advice.

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Comments

Akanksha

Firstly, let me extend a warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, @dougieboy. It's a pleasure having you join us and so glad to read you've been finding the site handy for your D.I.Y. projects.

Thanks for your question. Let me tag our wonderful gardening experts @mich1972, @Noelle and @ChloeThomson to see if they have any suggestions on how to proceed with your lawn.

Akanksha

mich1972

Good morning @dougieboy whe you get a minute, check out @homeinmelbourne and how they look after a big lawn 🌿😊

Noelle

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/35185#Comment_35185

Good advice from @mich1972 , @dougieboy ! You should also check out Love Your Lawn where there's a wealth of great information on aerating, dethatching and seasonal lawn care State by State. Dethatching and then topdressing is usually an autumn task so your timing is about right.

mich1972

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/79888#Comment_79888

@Noelle YES !!!!!!!! Another great post for lawn care, thank you 😊

Jason

Hi @dougieboy,

The great work by @homeinmelbourne that Michelle was referring to can be found here - Lawn renovation.

Jason

MitchellMc

Hi @dougieboy,

I don't believe you'd have a thatch issue within the first 12 months. This is likely a case of over/under watering or insufficient ground preparation. Can you please tell us more about how you prepared the area before laying the lawn? Did you add any quality soil or top dressing under the lawn? How deep is this heavy clay base?

At this stage, I'd apply some Seasol for Lawns, which will take care of fertilisation. Also, check out how moist the soil is under the turf; I suspect there might be a drainage issue if you are on heavy clay. If the soil is always moist/wet, this could be a case of the roots being constantly wet and not liking it.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

dougieboy

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/35266#Comment_35266

Thanks for everyone’s replies so far.

I very much appreciate it!

@MitchellMc to prepare the area for laying the lawn we levelled it with the existing earth (which is heavy clay). Then I went over that many times with a rotary hoe to loosen it all up. Then I applied 100mm of quality top soil with gypsum. The ground level isn’t as flat as I would have liked. I have attached prep photos.

In the areas it looks dead it is 5-10cm of grass layers hence why I thought it was a thatch issue (the last photo shows this). The ground feels very hard and dry underneath. I have attached another photo where if you lift the grass up it’s like a thick long Matt.

Other than the fertilise would you recommend any other treatments?

Again thanks very much for your help.

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/79919#Comment_79919

Can you take us through your watering regime @dougieboy? How many times a week and for how long? When you have a big downpour of rain, how long does it take for the lawn to no longer feel squishy and soaked? Did you install any drainage over this area before installing grass?

Mitchell

dougieboy

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/104414#Comment_104414

@MitchellMc My understanding given it’s tiff tiff Bermuda was that I only needed to water the lawn when it looks stressed. We haven’t had many hot days in a row near the Victorian coast this summer. I water prior to a hot day if it hasn’t rained for 20 mins via sprinkler So maybe twice a week in January. I did apply wettasoil once this year.

The only drainage applied was for the retaining wall.

The ground doesn’t stay wet and squishy for a noticeable amount of time after it’s wet.

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/119287#Comment_119287

Hi @dougieboy,

Although TifTuf Bermuda does require less water than a standard lawn, it still needs around 25mm of water per week and up to 65mm in hot and dry weather. So, it sounds like you are adequately watering prior to excessively hot events. 20mins with a sprinkler would likely be around 5mm of water, and that water would hardly reach down deep to the roots. I'd switch to two waterings per week for an hour each so the lawn gets a good soaking. Then, prior to hot days, you can do an additional watering.