is it normal that my lawn, after living here for 20 years, has 0 thatch in it? I almost always mulch when mowing, including the leaves in the fall. About the only time I rake is in the early spring, before time to start mowing, to get the leaves that pile up in corners and against the fence during winter. I'm asking because I have read that some thatch is a good thing, helping to keep the grass from drying out and dying during the summer, which it does even though I water it. I'm no expert on grass, so before anyone asks, I have really no idea what types of grass I have, although I'm sure there is at least 3 or 4 different types depending what part of the yard you look at. Any thoughts will be appreciated
How does your lawn look through out the season? If you like the way it looks good no worries. I only mulch and the only result I see is that the height of the lawn is higher. I have paving block walkways and edgers and over the last 30 years I’ve had to raise the pavers and edgers. Don’t tell me that walking on the pavers is pushing them down. It shows up more by the edging stones which aren’t walked on. Also, the lack of thatch means you have an excellent mulching mower and know how to keep the blade sharp and the underside of the deck clean.
It looks good in some spots and not so good in others. I know that's a wide open answer, but its the best I've got. Some of the shaded spots never seem to grow grass no matter what type of seed I have used, it grows unevenly depending on what type of grass is there, (remember I said there is at least 3 or 4 different kinds) and other places it just dies in the summer, even with watering and I am left with brown spots.