thatching?

[mdb landscaping]

i have a new jrco thatcher im waiting to break in this spring that goes on my scag 48 inch walk behind. i am planning on thatching and picking it up with my grass gobbler. do i really need to bag while thatching? or can i just cut over it and let the blades chew the dead grass up?

[Eric ELM]

I have a 60" JRco for my Choppers. What I do is go over it one time with the OCDC closed and mulch it up big time while dethatching. I then go over it at an opposite direction and dethatch that direction while leaving the OCDC open and this really spreads the chopped up thatch. I do this about 1 or 2 weeks before we start mowing.

I would pick up some extra tines for it. I break several each season.

[mdb landscaping]

thanks for the tip eric. thats what i was wondering. a lot of guys bag the clippings around here, but i was wondering if anyone like you was shredding the clippings. thanks for the response.

[LJ lawn]

so how does that jerco attachment compare to a power-rake? i can't believe it would be as good.what do you think?

[gene gls]

Its not as thoural as a power rake but its 5 times faster because it is wider. The flater the ground the better it works.

Gene

[Mike Paulsen]

I always mark the sprinkler heads when i power rake so i don't hit one, do you have to mark them when using the tine thatcher or don't they dig that deep?

[mdb landscaping]

the force that the tines put down wont really affect sprinker heads. the power rakes continuously spin with the metal, and that does more damage i think. im not planning on marking them.

[Runner]

When I "dethatch" with the JRCO, I go over it twice in different directions for more thorough results, and charge regular dethatching rates. Otherwise, I just charge for a rakeover of all the turf areas. (which is a bit more than half the dethating rate.) I love it for spring cleanups though! It get that grass standing up and breathing earlier and faster!