Does my lawn have thatch (pictures included)?

Danger_Mouse

Sorry, I'm a bit of a lawn care novice and trying to understand if my lawn has thatch. Anyone able to help me out and tell me from these pictures either way?

Section62

Danger_Mouse said:

Sorry, I'm a bit of a lawn care novice and trying to understand if my lawn has thatch. Anyone able to help me out and tell me from these pictures either way?

Probably, but a picture showing a larger area (say 1m x 1m) would give a better idea.

Alnat1

I was quite excited today to find I have chickweed in my lawn. Another wild flower to add to my list of what grows in my grass. Dandelion, clover, daisy, buttercup, purple dead nettle, self-heal, lesser trefoil, plantain and more.

I can't understand why anyone wants a boring bowling green lawn when you can have a multi-coloured patch humming with bees.

@Danger_Mouse your lawn looks way too grassy and thatch-free and how is it so green with no rain?? 

twopenny

It's green! Everywhere here is straw.
No, don't think thats thatch.
Thatch is lots of grass clippings causing the shoots to struggle through.
I think it's not the fine lawn grass and just dried out due to the drought. Looking at your photo your doing well compared to most.

Money_Grabber13579

Alnat1 said:

I was quite excited today to find I have chickweed in my lawn. Another wild flower to add to my list of what grows in my grass. Dandelion, clover, daisy, buttercup, purple dead nettle, self-heal, lesser trefoil, plantain and more.

I can't understand why anyone wants a boring bowling green lawn when you can have a multi-coloured patch humming with bees.

@Danger_Mouse your lawn looks way too grassy and thatch-free and how is it so green with no rain?? 

Very much depends where the OP is… my lawn is very green too but that’s because we’ve had lots of rain and it’s pouring down at the moment. I think we also might have only had 2 days which were over 20 degrees this year, so very poor summer here.

shiraz99

All lawns will get some thatch, in fact there's nothing wrong with a thin layer, it only becomes a problem when it's quite thick but now isn't the time to do anything about it.

By looking at that small sample pic I'd say your lawn looks completely normal.

It's not caused by grass clippings as mentioned above but by over competition between grass roots and where new grass grows quicker allowing the surrounding older shoots to die off. It's a completely natural process. 

Eldi_Dos

A lawn with a bit of thatch seems to provide a better feeding ground for the birds than one that is heavily scarified and manicured.
The soil seems to be a good growing medium and water retentive for a lawn.