Aeration and Overseeding: Why Aerate?
- Luxury Lawn Services
- Jun 30, 2022
- 3 min read
What is Aeration?
Aeration involves perforating the soil with small holes to allow air, water and nutrients to penetrate the grass roots. This helps the roots grow deeply and produce a stronger lawn.
Why Aerate?
Aeration helps alleviate soil compaction. When the soil is compacted, they have too many solid particles in a certain volume or space, which prevents proper circulation of air, water and nutrients within the soil. Excess lawn thatch or heavy organic debris buried under the grass surface can also starve the roots from these essential elements.
Should You Be Aerating Your Lawn?
To determine if your lawn needs to be aerated, answer the following questions:
· Gets heavy use, such as serving as the neighborhood playground or racetrack. Children and pets running around the yard contribute to soil compaction.
· Was established as part of a newly constructed home. Often, the topsoil of newly constructed lawns is stripped or buried, and the grass established on subsoil has been compacted by construction traffic.
· Dries out easily and has a spongy feel. This might mean your lawn has an excessive thatch problem. Take a shovel and remove a slice of lawn about four inches deep. If the thatch layer is greater than one-half inch, aeration is recommended.
· Was established by sod, and soil layering exists. Soil layering means that soil of finer texture, which comes with imported sod, is layered over the existing coarser soil. This layering disrupts drainage, as water is held in the finer-textured soil. This leads to compacted conditions and poor root development. Aerating breaks up the layering, allowing water to flow through the soil more easily and reach the roots.
When to Aerate Your Lawn
The best time for aeration is during the growing season, when the grass can heal and fill in any open areas after soil plugs are removed. Ideally, aerate the lawn with cool season grass in the early spring or fall and those with warm season grass in the late spring. Luxury Lawn Services recommends aerating and overseeding in early fall. Although it is not necessary to aerate and overseed, they are mutually beneficial.
Aerating Tools: Plug Aerator vs. Spike Aerator
There are 2 main types of aeration tools: a Spike and a Core Aerator. Luxury Lawn Services uses the core aerator. With a spike aerator and a plug aerator. With a spike aerator, you simply use the tool to poke holes into the ground with a solid tine, or fork. Plug aerators remove a core or plug of grass and soil from the lawn. For the best results, use an aerating tool or machine that removes plugs of soil. Poking holes is less effective and can cause additional compaction in the areas around the holes.
This is a core aerator. Luxury Lawn Services uses this method for the best results.
This is an example of the plugs that occur after aeration. These plugs remain on the lawn and will eventually return to the ground.
After aeration and overseeding, you best lawn will emerge in the spring and ready for fertilization treatments.
Now is the time to consider signing up for this service. We offer our regular customers a considerable discount for this service however, if you sign up early enough, we can offer our one-time customers a very good rate. Grass seed prices are only going higher so, take advantage soon.
Visit our website and read more in the Aeration and Overseeding Page. You can also fill out the Online Quote Request and someone will be in touch as soon as possible to get the best quote for service.
Luxury Lawn Services
573-530-0617 Office Mon-Sat. 8am-6pm
References:
BriggsandStatton.com 2022
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