Curing a lawn choked by thatch
1. If your lawn develops dead or dry spots, examine it for thatch, an accumulation of clippings and dead or dying grass. The layer should not exceed 3/4 of an inch.
2. The best way to remove thatch is with a dethatching machine. Its vertical blades slice through the lawn at high speed, cutting through the thatch and pulling it to the surface. A dethatching rake also can be used to slice and lift thatch but it has to be pulled by hand and is more likely to uproot the grass in the process.
3. The dethatching machine leaves behind parallel slits about an inch deep and between them narrow ridges of piled-up thatch. Remove the dead thatch by raking it up (it will make good compost for your garden); then mow to trim away straggly loose ends of stems.
4. After removing the excess thatch, spread a dressing of fertilizer over the lawn. It will sift down into the newly opened turf and stimulate the healthy grass. Water the fertilizer in and water regularly thereafter; the lawn should soon grow over with new green shoots.
