Aeration & Seeding
Core Aeration & Overseeding
Lawn aeration and seeding, when done correctly is the best way that you can improve the overall look of your lawn. The first and most important factor that determines the success of aeration and seeding is when the service is performed. This is because ground temperature plays an important role in the success of germination and the amount of time the new grass has to establish roots that will let it survive the winter.
The other most important factor is the type of seeds you use and a high quality seed will typically have a blend of seeds to account for different applications throughout the lawn including shade, slopes, soil conditions, water condition just to name a few.
Timing is the most crucial element to a successful lawn aeration and seed or renovation of any type. We do our seed work between August 15th and the first week of October. There are some cases to be made to go slightly outside of that window, but only slightly and should be considered less than ideal.
We will perform seeding in the Springtime when there is a construction renovation that simply cannot wait, or the risks and troubles associated with the Spring seeding are less than the difficulties that are associated with leaving it until the ideal seed window. This does not mean that we won't have good success in the Spring, but it is more difficult and oftentimes will require additional follow-up seeding that Fall.
As far as frequency, it would be ideal to aerate and overseed every year and if this is not possible for you, then every other year, or as frequent as you possibly can.
Not only does aeration loosen the soil so that the existing grass plants can take in nutrients, air, and water more efficiently, and grow their roots more easily, but it also creates a foothold for the new seedling in a beautiful grid pattern to fill out a lawn that may be thinning due to natural selection and stress from that summer with the newest toughest most tolerant grass types available.
We often see a new client have a fairly thin lawn by the ideal seeding time of September. They typically come to us with many weeds in their lawn and we spend the Spring and Summer battling these weeds and clearing them up. When they are no longer present, the lawn has become thicker from the feeding the gaps created by the lack of weeds, typically outpacing the spreading of the existing grass, which is why it is so important to seed it as a regular part of maintenance, to ensure a thick lush uniform lawn.
While it is very difficult to make a blanket statement because every property is different in terms of shade, slope, soil conditions, water conditions, etc., I can say that the majority of the seeding that we do use is a Turf Type Tall Fescue Blend of several different incredibly high grade cultivars of Turf Type Tall Fescue mixed with Bluegrass and Rye in a smaller ratio to ensure uniformity from the time of initial germination through maturity.
Oftentimes when we do an aeration and overseed, people ask how long until they will see results and it's a very simple answer.
By 21 days you should start to see germination, and what that means is in the holes that the aerator has left behind, the seed should be popping up and there should be one or two small pieces of grass that are a little thicker than a fishing line and about an inch long.
I know this does not sound like a significant amount of results, but it is just the start. This is a juvenile grass plant that is taking a foothold in the lawn, and come late Spring the following year, will be a mature thriving grass plant that will fill the spaces in a uniform manner.
When seeding is done in the Fall, most of what you will see in the Fall and Winter will seem unimpressive, but all that the juvenile grass plant is doing is getting ready to go into next spring and thrive. This is why it is so important not to go past the first week of October.
This is not because we will not have good germination past that point, but the grass plant will not be able to get to the maturity point that will make it through the coming Winter and thrive that following Spring.
As far as watering goes, I would say half of our clients have irrigation systems, while the others do not. I do not see much of a difference in terms of success when application is timed appropriately in the middle of August to late September.
The warm soil, cool nights, consistent moisture, and humidity are the deciding factors between success and failure.
The irrigation, while marginally helpful, is not necessary. Before aerating, it is necessary to mark out the irrigation heads to avoid damage.
To point out the relative insignificance of the irrigation system, during this time, many of our clients opt to completely winterize the system at the time of marking out, blowing the lines out, making it incapable of watering until turning back on the following year.
To prepare for your core aeration and overseeding service we need a few things done in order to perform the service.
First is if you have an irrigation system all of the inground valve boxes and sprinkler heads need to be marked with flags.
Second is if you have an electronic pet containment fence that is buried it also needs to be marked.
Last if there are any shallow buried utility lines that you are aware of those would need to be marked too.
It is important to be very thorough in this process as our core aeration machine punches plugs in the soil up to 3" deep.
Here is a lawn that was full of bare spots that became very evident after controlling the weeds.
Less than a year later after a single fall core aeration and overseeding service and 6 Step Lawn Care Program this is the result.
AKA - A Lawn You Will Love!
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Protecting Your Family & Pets
Pet & People Safe Once Dry
We ask that you and your pets remain indoors while we are treating the property and stay off the lawn until our application is dry (typically 2 hours or less). This minimizes exposure to pesticides and herbicides and prevents residues from being tracked into homes.
Our Services
Other Services You'll Be Interested In!
Lawn Care Program
We offer a custom fertilization and weed control service with 6 applications each year.
Mosquito & Tick Program
Our pest control program offers mosquito an tick control approximately every 21 days.
Tree & Shrub Program
Our Tree & Shrub Program offers everything from fertilization to insect and disease control.
Soil Testing
Soil Testing allows us to better serve you, by providing your lawn with exactly what it needs.
Grub Control
Grub Control is an optional service performed with your round 3 lawn service to control grubs.
