Lawns can be incredibly hard to keep green – but one expert has cited a common reason why yours could be dull and drab
If you notice your garden looking dull and dry there may be a common culprit – which has nothing to do with moss, weeds or temperature.
With the sun finally making an appearance, Brits are finally getting back into their gardens to host barbecues, tend flower patches and lounge outside with a good book. However, the brighter days are also exposing unkempt lawns. Over a long, dark rainy stretch, you may notice a build-up of thatch.
Fiona Jenkins, a gardening expert from myjobquote.co.uk, explains: “Thatch is a layer of dead grass clippings, roots, and organic matter that, over time, will build up between the soil surface and the actively growing grass.”
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One of the major causes of rapid thatch production is overwatering your grass. This cause shallow root growth, which means grass will grow quickly before dying off, leading to an exponential build-up of dead matter.
Fiona continues: “The more this builds up, the more it starts to act like a barrier, preventing water, air, and nutrients from getting to the soil. This restricts the grass’s access to these essential resources, resulting in a thinner and weaker turf with a duller green colour.”
Aside from ruining its health and appearance, thatch can also negatively impact the texture of your grass. Thatch has a strange, spongy texture which can feel unpleasant underfoot.
This is only amplified by the fact that the dark, enclosed habitat that thatch creates also makes a prime spot for moss. Moss also has a spongy texture and thrives in dim, damp conditions.
Even worse, the dense material makes the perfect hiding place for pests. These can include anything from spiders to mites to the dreaded chafer grubs – which are known to chew up grass roots, weakening your grass even further.
So, how do you get rid of it? Luckily, dethatching is a relatively simple process that doesn’t require any complicated or expensive tools.
Fiona advises simply going over your lawn with the garden rake. Not only will it help dig out the dead grass, it will also help promote “a healthier, thicker, and greener” garden.
Other tips for preventing a build up of thatch include not overwatering your soil. You should also make sure your soil is well aerated, which you can achieve by poking through it with a garden fork.
Equally, it’s important not to overfertilise your soil. Similar to overwatering, this can cause your grass to grow too rapidly, leading to a pile-up of dead matter.