Lawn Thatching and Life's Little Lessons

DIY Friday is probably an odd spot to do our first product review; however, considering the emphasis on lawn appearance and maintenance from our previous curb appeal post it seems appropriate. 

The fall season brings colorful leaves, pumpkin carving, pruning plants back for the winter and lawn thatching.  I don’t know about you but I hate this back breaking, time consuming, immensely tedious job so I’m always looking for ways to make this easier.  Granted I typically hire this out but considering we are promoting DIY I decided to do this myself this year.  Big mistake.

I visited my local big box hardware store looking for mechanical solutions that I could afford of which there were several.  I settled on a product that replaces the blade on your lawn mower called the Arnold Power Rake™.  In fact I went with Deluxe Universal Fit Dethatching Blade which claims to dethatch and bag.  My God, this was the answer to my prayers.  An all-in-one tool to make my life simpler, save me some money and keep the lawn looking great what more could I ask.  If only.

Before I go any further, let me state emphatically that I EVEN READ THE DIRECTIONS BEFORE PROCEEDING.  I didn’t feel less manly doing this but I did close the garage door so my neighbors wouldn’t see.

I replaced my lawn mower blade easy enough.  I adjusted the blade to the height recommended by the manufacturer “To dethatch, adjust the mower height so the nylon lines are approximately ¼ inch above the soil. (Use your mower’s bagging feature for easy cleanup as you work.)”  Then I went to work on the lawn.  I should have written, did a job on my lawn.  The first pass absolutely shredded my lawn with virtually nothing left but dirt.  And it didn’t bag.  So I did what any sane person would do I blamed myself and raised the height 1 notch roughly ½ an inch.  Started my second pass…same results including not bagging.  Still my fault I thought let’s try again…same result.  I was looking at my shaved lawn with huge clumps of shredded grass and thought to myself…this sucks! 

The next day I was out breaking my back while my wife laughed her butt off which I acknowledge was thoroughly deserved. 

Here are the simple lessons from my misadventure:

1.       Don’t use the Arnold Power Rake, it doesn’t work.

2.       You get what you pay for.

3.       There is no substitute for hard work.

4.       A penny saved is a penny earned.

5.       Eat your broccoli.

Yes Dad I was listening.

Enjoy your weekend.