Do You Thatch Your Yard in the Rain

Problems with Dethatching in the Rain

• Dethatching rips the layer of thatch between the grass and soil. Gardeners who dethatch in the rain may also take out their turfgrass, because the ground is saturated or excessively moist. Lawns that are dethatched during rainy weather conditions will likely exhibit damage and bare spots. Weeds can take advantage of these bare areas and germinate quickly. The result is a high population of weed growth in the yard. Choose a time to dethatch your lawn when the weather is dry.

How to Choose a Time

• Yards that have a thatch layer between 1 and 1 1/2 inches must be dethatched twice a year, according to Kansas State University. If you must dethatch twice in a year, try to choose times when your climate is dry. Also, pick a time when weed seeds aren't germinating, such as late summer or early fall. Weeds can take over lawn areas, because dethatching increases sun and air to those spots. If you dethatch in the spring, apply a pre-emergent herbicide evenly over the lawn after dethatching.

Other Factors

• Dethatch you lawn before applying fertilizer. Fertilizer will neither absorb through thick thatch layers nor penetrate grass root systems. The best time to fertilize your lawn depends on the type of grass you're growing. Warm season grass should be fertilized when it comes out of dormancy in the late spring. Cool season grass types are typically fertilized in the early fall. You can fertilize the lawn immediately after dethatching. Be sure to water the lawn after applying the fertilizer, or dethatch and fertilize in the morning if you're expecting afternoon showers.

Soil Moisture

• Check the soil moisture in the yard before dethatching. Press your fingers into the first 3 to 4 inches of topsoil to check if it's moist. You can prevent moist soil by turning off your sprinklers the night before, or by planning to dethatch later in the day. After dethatching, fertilize or water your lawn area. Give your lawn an inch of water, so it can recover from the stress of dethatching.