Should I Water After Aeration And Overseeding
Once your lawn care professional is done aerating and overseeding, you want to saturate your lawn as soon as possible. You want to keep it evenly moist. … Once the seed germinates, you can reduce watering to once a day for 30 minutes each section until that lawn is established in those bare spots.
Lawn Aeration In Iowa: When To Aerate Lawns And More
In Iowa, April and September are the best times for aerating Kentucky bluegrass and other cool-season grasses. Although the overall results of core aeration are beneficial, it leads to some damage initially. Aerating lawns in April or September facilitates quick recovery of the grass in the favorable growing conditions of spring and early fall.
Book An Expert Landscaping Consultation Before Fiddling With Your Garden
In theory, lawn aeration and overseeding seem an easy enough process. But when you get down to the actual implementation, you might face several issues. Unsupervised aeration will leave you with gaping holes in the lawn, and overseeding will ruin your plants.
So save yourself the trouble and consult landscaping experts right away! Amherst Landscaping brings you the best landscape installation services at affordable rates. We will take a good look at your garden and help you make the right decisions for your beloved garden. !
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Ignoring The Lawn After Aeration And Overseeding
This seems like a no brainer, but youd be surprised how many people go through the task of aerating and overseeding and then simply dont follow-through with watering their lawn in the weeks following.
Unfortunately, those seeds you planted are not magical. They wont grow overnight, and they wont grow without consistent water.
The good news is simply ensuring the soil covering the seeds is kept moist is a good start for driving growth. If you do that and nothing else, youll probably get good results.
Mowing The Lawn After Aeration And Overseeding
Leave the grass alone at least two weeks after aeration and overseeding or as soon as 10 % of the seedlings are 2 inches long. You want to avoid having to mow the lawn right after seeding and stay off the lawn as much as you can to control the traffic and keep it at a minimum.
Try to cut the lawn as short as you can before overseeding so that the new seeds get enough sun. You would also keep a long pause from mowing after you have reseeded.
You should bag the grass clippings if you mow the lawn before overseeding. The grass clippings would work as thatch because it doesnt have enough time to decompose. This layer decreases seed-to-soil contact which is bad for the new seeds.
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The Best Time To Aerate And Overseed
Even the best lawns face challenges, and one of the best ways to combat them or avoid them entirely is to keep your grass strong and healthy. To many people, that simply means regular mowing and watering, pulling weeds, and applying fertilizers.
Yes, those are important things, but theyre not enough. Missing from that formula is overseeding and aeration as regularly planned treatments. Together, they refresh your turf and create the conditions that support new growth that supports healthy areas and replenishes weak ones.
Lets try to make sense out of all that so you understand why these actions are important. Well look at what they are, what benefits they provide, what the drawbacks of not performing them are, and when the best time to do them is.
When To Slit Seed Or Aerate
Lawn aeration and seeding are most effective when done in the fall because they require warm soil, cool weather, and moisture in the air. Itâs also when weeds are weakening, allowing an improved germination rate for the grass seeds. During this cool season, grass will take root quickly and youâll achieve the best results from slice seeding or aeration.
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Improving Root Development & Filtration
The openings of air between soil particles improve root development because roots have more room to stretch and grow in these tiny voids. When roots grow deeper, it produces a thicker, healthier lawn.
The deeper your lawns root system, the better chances it has to survive drought conditions and the easier it is for grass plants to find nutrients and water.
What Is The Difference Between Aeration And Overseeding
Aeration is where small plugs are punched into the lawns surface, while overseeding is essentially putting grass seeds into the holes that are created after an aeration process.
Both procedures are completely different, and they work great when used in tandem with each other. Most lawncare in Plainfield services usually provide a combination of aeration and overseeding for best results. So, what happens is, the seeds fall into the holes and they get a higher chance for germination.
If your lawn has suffered from disease or insect damage, or drought stress, or the grass is losing color, aerating coupled with overseeding can transform your lawn.
Make sure your lawncare in Plainfield company overseeds your lawn with new-and-improved kinds of turf grass. This will ensure that the grass is as thick and lush as possible. The latest turf grass varieties in the market are better able to resist damage from insects, pests, diseases, and drought.
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Can You Seed Lawn Without Aerating
Can You Overseed Without Aerating? You can overseed lawn without aerating to improve your turf. Use a combination of a lawnmower and a rake or dethatcher to loosen the soil before spreading your seeds and fertilizer across the ground. Water the area, mow as needed, and apply more fertilizer after six weeks.
When Is The Best Time To Aerate And Overseed Your Lawn
There are a few aspects to consider when it comes to the best time to aerate and overseed your lawn, namely you need to consider the type of grass you have and your local weather climate. Warm-season grasses and cool-season grasses have different preferences when it comes to the growing season, and your soil temperatures will determine the success of your overseeding efforts.
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To Provide You With The Highest Quality Products And Methods Available
We offer every kind of service that it takes to develop and maintain a beautiful lawn in Iowa based on the climate, soil types, and the varieties of grass that are commonly grown here.
One of the keys to the success of the program is that we provide treatment to lawns approximately every 8 weeks throughout the growing season. This ensures that the grass has fertilizer available throughout the growing season. Dandelions and other Broadleaf weeds are controlled as they germinate thus enabling a weed free lawn, and our Turf Specialist is at the property four to six times per season to address problems as and when they arise.
Another key to our service is our people. The most important person to you in our company is the Turf Specialist assigned to treat your lawn.
We are proud to say that our Turf Specialists are the best trained and most experienced in the lawn care industry.
When you become a customer at All American Turf Beauty, a Turf Specialist is assigned to your account. You will have the same person treating your lawn each time. It is their responsibility to service your lawn, make sure it is receiving the correct applications as scheduled, and to provide you with the best personalized service possible. Their jobs depend on it.
We have several programs to choose from. Your Turf Specialist will recommend the best program that fits the needs of your lawn and your budget.
Picking And Spreading The Right Seed For Your Lawn
When choosing seed, be sure to select the right seed for your region of the country and for your yard conditions, and follow the package directions on your chosen grass seed. Use a seed spreader to make the job faster and ensure that the seed is spread evenly. If your soil is especially compacted, you may wish to aerate the lawn before you overseed. Keep in mind, though, that if you aerate before overseeding, you need to choose a type of grass seed that spreads easily, such as bluegrass. Otherwise, the seed is likely to get caught in the aeration holes, creating a patchy or clumpy lawn.
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Pitfall : Premature Mowing
Once you overseed, you need to give your grass a bit of a breather. If you mow too quickly, you remove the environmental protection that the taller, more established grass affords the seeds. Give them time to acclimate and establish roots before you mow. Depending on the grass type and the region in which you live, it could be anywhere from two to four weeks before you should mow. Enjoy the break from mowing and focus that allotted time and energy on other fall yard projects.
View Our Other Services
Perfectly Manicurted Turf, Lawn and Landscape strives to be your one-stop shop for all things lawn care. Whether you just need weekly mowing, or youre looking to take your lawn to the next level, browse our additional services below to find whats best for you and your needs!
Landscape Design
Looking to add a new mulch bed to the side of your house? How about a new flower bed in your front walkway? This service is what youre looking for!
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What Is Lawn Aeration And Overseeding
Overseeding is a simple process that involves covering your lawn in grass seed. Lawn aeration is the name for a process that essentially makes it easier for the soil underneath your lawn to breathe.
Why do you need lawn aeration for your soil to breathe? Well, your lawn over time experiences two things that restrict the soil:
What is Thatch?
Thatch is a collection of living and dead materials, including roots, stems, shoots, stolons, crowns, and rhizomes that gather at the base of your grass blades just above the soil.
When this layer of plant matter becomes an inch thick or greater, it holds water which suffocates the soil. It also becomes a safe house for organisms and insects that can destroy your lawn.
What is Compaction?
Soil compaction occurs from activity that happens on your lawn over time, including foot traffic, animals, and any objects that are set on or moved across your yard.
What is core aeration?
Core aeration uses a special machine designed to pull plugs of soil and thatch from your lawn.
It is best to perform aeration and seeding together. Once you remove thatch and reduce soil compaction with aeration, overseeding the lawn will give grass seeds a prime opportunity to access the nutrients they need to develop a healthy root system and grow into thick green grass.
Trust Your Lawn Aeration And Overseeding To Rainmaster
Okay, so you probably cant hear your lawn gasping for air, but if its compacted, it probably is.
But you have better things to do than worry about your lawn.
Consider it a team effort. Aeration and seeding is just one part of a custom nutrition plan for your lawn, so the roots will be nourished, the soil packed with nutrients, and your grass thick and healthy.
You just make sure your lawn gets mowed properly and enjoy your life. Sound like a good plan?
Are you ready to help your lawns roots breathe again? Request a quote today! Well review your options together so you can make a great choice. Then, you can finally enjoy your lawn and stop worrying about it.
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Pitfall : Moisture Matters
If you try to aerate when the soil is overly dry, youll run into a couple of potentially major problems. The first is straight-up fatigue. The drier the dirt is, the harder and more compact it is. This means you will have to exert much more manual energy in pushing a machine or in penetrating the soil. Slightly damp soil is much easier to maneuver, both in length and depth.
Secondly, dry soil is stressed soil. If you wait until the day after a nice soaking rain, youll find the grass and soil more receptive to the process. Once youve over-seeded your slightly damp lawn, youll need to keep the soil moist. Watering is critical to sustain growth and establish roots. You cannot rely solely on a natural rain cycle. Be smart when watering your lawn. Daily watering is necessary to foster growth. Once you begin to see new sprouts, you can begin to taper off watering to your previous schedule.
Bring New Life To Your Property
Although proper soil aeration and reseeding is an important step in our Turf Fertilization Program, there are a number of other ways you can create a healthy landscape.
Check out these 7 Turf Care Tips for a Lush Lawn to learn about scalping, discover the proper mower height for the season youre cutting and the best moving pattern for avoiding compaction.
Want to have the sharpest property on the block? After you get a handle on your turf, save this handy guide: The Ultimate Guide to Curb Appeal. It outlines some surefire ways to increase your property and home value and cultivate a stunning landscape.
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Preparing Your Lawn For Overseeding
Seed germination and establishment requires good contact of seed with soil. Inspect your lawn for presence of thatch. If too thick, its best to aerate your lawn before overseeding or if filling in patches remove the thatch and dead grass before spreading seed in bare areas of your lawn. To prepare your lawn for overseeding, cut the grass short, using the lowest setting on your mower. Dont forget to reset the blades to a higher setting after the overseeding is complete and resume a normal mowing height as you typically dont want to cut the grass this short. If cutting your lawn short before overseeding, bag the clippings. While you might normally leave them to help feed the lawn, you want to remove the clippings so that the grass seed can make good seed:soil contact for faster germination. After mowing, rake your lawn to remove any remaining debris and thatch, and to loosen the top layer of soil.
How To Aerate Your Lawn
Sometimes homeowners want to know if they can just aerate themselves. After all, you could just rent the equipment and handle lawn aeration on your own. But DIY aeration is a bit more complex than homeowners tend to realize. Plus, its unlikely youll get as good results as you could have with a pro. Using a clunky old piece of equipment that everyone else in the area has also rented is simply not going to yield the amazing results you desire.
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Pitfall : Lawn Aeration In The Wrong Season
Aerating and overseeding should be done when the new grass seeds have the best opportunity to develop strong, deep roots. Do it during summer and the hot sun and dry environment causes roots to be shallow or the grass not to take because of the harsh environment. Do it too early in the year and a frost could kill the grass seeds. Fall is an ideal time for the task because the temperature of the soil is warm enough to support and encourage new growth.
What Is Lawn Aeration And Why Is It Necessary
- When your soil becomes compacted, your lawn can’t breathe. Its roots can’t take in water or nutrients, which weakens your turf and opens the door for disease and weeds. Soil with a high clay content is especially likely to get compacted, as the particles squeeze together tightly, making it tough for water and oxygen to get through.
- Aeration uses a machine to pull out tiny cores of soil from your lawn, allowing water and oxygen to get to the roots. You can almost hear your lawn sigh with relief.
- Aeration is sometimes followed by overseeding, as the holes created by aeration are perfect new homes for grass seed.
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Benefits Of Doing This During The Fall
So, why should aeration and overseeding be done in the fall? Basically, this is when cool season grass grows, so it prepares the roots for more growth before winter and gives the grass the best chance of surviving the colder months. It helps to create greener, thicker grass in the spring months.
Aeration helps the roots get everything they need to grow, which helps create healthy grass before the weather gets cold. This helps ensure the grass will make it through the winter so the lawn looks fantastic in the spring. Overseeding allows you to fill in damaged or bare areas and help make the grass thicker before the weather gets cold and the grass stops growing. Fall provides the ideal growing conditions for the grass, so when seeds are added during the fall, they have the best chance of growing to create a healthy, green spring lawn. Combining aeration and overseeding with fertilizing the yard can help ensure your lawn looks amazing when spring arrives and the weather starts to get warm again.
What To Do After Aeration
After you finish aerating your lawn, let soil plugs or extra soil dry where they fall. They’ll break down in rain or crumble the next time you mow, adding beneficial soil and organic matter to your lawn surface.
Right after aeration is a perfect time to overseed with premium Pennington Smart Seed and fertilize your lawn or do simple lawn repairs. Seeds and nutrients have direct contact with soil through the openings your aerator created and roots have fresh pathways for the things they need. The combination can help put your lawn on the fast track for quick seed establishment and thicker, lusher growth.
By adding aeration to your annual task list or doing regular compaction tests to check for need, you help ensure your lawn can reach its full potential for thickness, health and beauty. Pennington is committed to providing you with the finest in grass seed and lawn care products to help you achieve your lawn goals.
Pennington and Smart Seed are trademarks of Pennington Seed, Inc.
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