Is this guy nuts or am I? -Dethatching

10 years ago

So I'm planning on overseeding my lawn this fall, and really didn't want to spend an entire week with my hand dethatching rake to expose the soil, so I called the rental store.

I asked for the price on a dethatching unit. He didn't even skip a beat and told me dethatching my lawn was a terrible idea this time of year. I explained I was just overseeding to which he again responded that I was doing it wrong. He told me I needed a specific overseeding machine and he didn't have one.

I was a little annoyed, but if he doesn't way my business then I guess I'm getting a nice week long workout with my dethatching rake (already half way done). So was this guy nuts or am I really doing it wrong?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

reeljake
10 years ago
You know what they say about opinions, everybody has one. Is he the only rental shop in town?
owlnsr
10 years ago
That guy is definitely doing it wrong in terms of business. :-P
Related Professionals
Plymouth Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Honolulu Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Gainesville Landscape Contractors · Bloomington Landscape Contractors · Elkton Landscape Contractors · Charleston Landscape Contractors · North Adams Landscape Contractors · Escanaba Landscape Contractors · Allentown Landscape Contractors · Anchorage Landscape Contractors · Florence Home Builders · Saint Joseph Home Builders · Oxford Home Builders · Sierra Vista Home Builders · Los Angeles Home Builders
hawksster .
10 years ago
Both.

Whether the salesperson was right, wrong, or crazy has no bearing on if you are crazy or not. You both could be crazy independent of each other.

That being said, the sales guy was sort of right. You could use a slit-seeder which would plant the seed 0.25" - 0.50" in the dirt and leave all that thatch to help provide natural coverage, hold moisture, and organic material. Dethatching, seeding, then covering the seed up with mulch/topsoil or something else is really not needed in many cases.
tristin_idaho
Original Author
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Well right, he lost my $100 for the day. And the its a small city so I'd have to drive an hour one way to find another renter. Just crazy to me, so I thought maybe I had it all wrong and I was screwing it all up.

Edit: Hawksster, I'd love to use one of those seeders. I didn't know about them until he mentioned it, nobody around here (close) rents them though. Got me all excited for a little bit... Then back to the rake.
reeljake
10 years ago
Slit seeder is just a verticutter with a seed box on top. Did he refuse to rent the dethatcher to you?!
tristin_idaho
Original Author
10 years ago
I think had I pushed the matter I could have rented it, but he was being a little rude. I didn't really want to rent it from him at that point.

I guess if I was absolutely wrong he'd be saving me, but from what I've read, dethatching in fall before overseeding is pretty common. Maybe the guy thought he was doing me a favor. I wasn't going to be the one to argue though, with my hobby lawn and 1.5 years of failed experience I didn't really have a foot to stand on.
krnuttle
10 years ago
Knowing that it is a small town, the guy may have consider you a friend instead of a customer. Friends communicate differently than they would with a customer.

Everybody is your friend and neighbor in a small town.
reeljake
10 years ago
Well remember to send him a pic of your great new lawn once complete & big middle finger for making you do it manually.
tristin_idaho
Original Author
10 years ago
That... Is a great idea reeljake... Great :)