The Pros and Cons of Thatch

 Since homeowners typically find out about thatch when it starts causing problems, you might be surprised that it actually has benefits. 

A thin layer of thatch offers these benefits:

✓ Thatch helps insulate the soil. It protects your grass roots from fluctuating temperatures.

✓ Thatch helps keep your soil moist. Since thatch traps water, it can help keep your soil moist for a longer period of time. As long as you don’t overwater your lawn, this shouldn’t be an issue.

✓ Thatch makes your lawn resist foot traffic better. Thatch is spongy and helps soften foot traffic. As a bonus, your lawn feels softer to walk on!

✓ Thatch helps prevent weed germination. Weeds have a harder time sprouting when there’s thatch.

However, too much of anything often becomes detrimental. Thatch is no different; a thick layer of thatch makes your lawn less healthy in the long run. 

Here are the problems that come with too much thatch:

✗ Excessive thatch restricts the movement of air, water, fertilizer, and other important nutrients. It doesn’t only trap water; it also traps other essential building blocks that turfgrass needs to grow strong and healthy, keeping water and fertilizers from reaching the soil. 

✗ Excessive thatch promotes shallow roots. Because all of the nutrients are trapped in the thatch, your grass roots won’t have any incentive to grow deep. A shallow root system makes for an unhealthy lawn; it’s less drought-resistant and has worse cold, heat, and disease tolerance.

✗ Excessive thatch causes soil moisture issues and contributes to lawn diseases. When thatch dries out completely, it’s difficult to get it wet again. It causes problems when it’s too wet too, encouraging fungal growth, inviting lawn diseases, and preventing air from getting to your turf’s root system.

✗ Excessive thatch makes mowing your lawn more difficult. Remember how thatch is spongy and springy? That can cause your lawn mower’s wheels to sink, making your grass blades higher than usual. This makes it easier to scalp your lawn, leading to an ugly, damaging, and possibly uneven cut.