What is the one of the most beneficial things to do to the lawn? Aerate and overseed! And the fall is the best time to get this done. If you are familiar with the process and would like to get scheduled, contact us right away as we book up quickly. For those who want to learn about aeration or need a refresher, read on. And check out our old post here as well for more info.
Lawn aeration is a process in which cork sized plugs are pulled from the turf. And what’s the point of that??
- It decreases the thatch layer
- Allows more air flow into the soil
- Increases nutrients and water intake
- Reduces compaction
- Overturns the soil
- And if seeding, allows for better germination
All of this leads to a healthier turf and a better environment for the grass to grow. And if the lawn is weaker in certain areas, like along the road or driveway, toss down some seed and those areas will begin to fill in.
There are two main ways to aerate – a spike aeration and a core aeration. Spiking the turf has the same benefits, just not on the same scale. The spikes tend to be thin and go into the soil a few inches. After a few days, or some rain, those spike holes tend to heal up quickly. A core aeration on the other hand, pulls plugs from the ground and they are left on the grass. The holes remain for several weeks and so do the plugs. Over time, the plugs do break back down and the holes fill up.
With the cooling temps of the fall, the lawn is naturally recovering from the hot summer. The grass is actively growing again and weeds should be dying off. This is the time to strengthen the lawn for next year.
And crabgrass?!? The aeration process is the beginning of crabgrass prevention. More grass in the fall, along with the crabgrass preventer early in the spring, and the crabgrass problem will be diminished greatly.
Need more than an aeration? If the lawn is really weak, or perhaps full of crabgrass, then you may want to check out our lawn renovation plan.
Core aeration does require the use of a machine and they are available at Home Depot and other rental locations in your town. The cost is typically $50-100 for 4 hours. And the machine needs to be transported. This can be hassle – and with the price of seed, not even going to save you much money. Give us a call, text, email or respond through our website – get in touch with us some way – for a price and to get scheduled.
Here is the machine that we use, it’s pretty awesome ——->>>
Thanks for the your time,
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