1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of lawn maintenance equipment, and more specifically, to a thatch rake with a flexible thatching assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
The term “thatch” refers to a layer of dead grasses that prevents a lawn from receiving proper air, nutrients and hydration. Thatch rakes are lawn maintenance implements designed to remove accumulated thatch from a lawn. This removal process generally promotes denser grass and a vibrant lawn. Following are several reasons for removing thatch: (1) thatch catches rain water and prevents the rain from entering the soil to water the roots; (2) thatch catches the fertilizer that should go into the ground and to the roots; (3) over time, the new roots of the grass start growing in the thatch rather than in the soil; and (4) thatch can be a habitat for fungus and insects harmful to a lawn.
There are two basic methods available for dealing with thatch, one of which is to rake the lawn by hand using a thatch rake designed for this purpose. This procedure offers the optimum result but is impractical for larger lawns. Another method is to use a mechanized (gasoline engine-driven) thatch rake, commonly referred to as a “power rake.” Most mechanized thatch rakes utilize steel flails to remove the thatch. Flails are destructive to the health of the lawn because they dig into the soil and shock the lawn; however, a flail might be preferred if a lawn has an extreme thatch problem. Some mechanized thatch rakes use tines rather than flails, and tines are gentler on the lawn, but these thatch rakes are ineffective on uneven ground because the tines can only operate on a single horizontal plane.
What is needed is a mechanized thatch rake that adequately removes thatch without placing undue stress upon a lawn. The ideal thatch rake would provide some accommodation for height differences (e.g., humps and depressions) in the terrain; in other words, it would be operable on uneven terrain and be capable of gently scratching the ground over both raised and lowered surfaces. The present invention, described more fully below, solves these problems by providing a thatch rake with a flexible thatching assembly that accommodates both rises and depressions in the ground. The present invention also includes an edge thatching attachment for thatching along fences or other borders.