Gardening Tips: Mowing and Dethatching

The Interior’s long winter can have an impact on our lawns.

“Sometimes you will get voles in the snowbank and they will really pull up that thatch and you will see it when the snowbanks melt and it will get down in there,” said Simon Laszloffy, the owner of Little Lasz LLC, a lawn care and snow removal company.

Laszloffy recommends a little bit of good ol’ fashioned TLC, and says now is the perfect time to take the steps toward a healthy and green lawn.

“We are getting to the point where the grass is starting to come out of dormancy,” Laszloffy said. "So we have to cut it first so the dethatcher can get down to that dead grass and really get it out.”

So after the first mow it’s time de-thatch… but what exactly is de-thatching?

“De-thatching takes tines and it gets all the dead grass out of the lawn. It really helps get it out and allows that good stuff to grow and breathe and get all the nutrients to it. Just like with any typical plant, you have to get rid of the dead so the good stuff can come through.” Laszloffy said.

In order to get the most benefit from the thatching procedure, Laszloffy said to mow the lawn once again.

“The particular mower I use it sucks up that dead grass so it’s not just sitting on the lawn, and then we’ll remove it.” Laszloffy added.

Final step, at least for this house, will be another trip around the lawn -- this time with a fertilizer which he says will help his yard stay green this summer.