Thatch is a layer of dead grass cuttings, dried leaves and other organic debris that falls on the lawn. In most cases the bacteria in the soil will break this thatch down. In a number of lawns the bacteria cannot cope with the levels of debris and we get thatch building up. This acts as a barrier between the soil surface and the atmosphere.
Scarification is the process of removing thatch from the lawn. Although a certain amount of thatch is desirable in all lawns, an excessive level of thatch will cause severe problems.
Thatch can be removed by scarification which uses machines with vertical blades slicing through the thatch, scraping the soil surface and removing the thatch.
Scarification can be quite hard on lawns. The process of scraping out the thatch does not make your lawn look good. Areas that are heavy with thatch and have a high % of moss present will look very bare after scarification and will probably require over seeding with some seed and top soil, and careful watering to recover.
