Thatch removal. This operation receives a lot of publicity as being a necessity but is not done frequently. In fact, thatch is often the field manager’s friend in some instances – particularly in situations where the fields are over used. Mechanical thatch removal can be rather damaging to the turf. Thatch management is often the best solution. Creating an environment that gives a favorable advantage to the soil microbes is often the best solution. Repeated aerations, proper soil ph (acidity or alkalinity balance) and topdressing the turf with a medium that the microbes can move into while they are working on the thatch are two long term solutions. We have two machines that can remove the thatch: The Koro TopMaker and the Toro Aero Thatcher.
The Koro TopMaker is very aggressive (see the “Fraze mow” section of our site) and will require varying amounts of “grow in”.
The Toro AeroThatcher is more of a conventional “slicing” thatcher that would require debris to be vacuumed or mowed up. Generally speaking this machine will leave the surface more usable with a short “grow in”.
