You Fight Weeds Too Early
Weed control can work wonders keeping invasive growth at bay on a healthy turf, but chemicals and herbicides can harm seedings roots and fresh blades. Even organic and natural solutions can cause stress on the young plants, so its often best to wait until your grass is strong before laying down any weed control substances. We advise waiting until youve mowed your new grass four to five times before tackling any emerging weeds.
Can I Aerate My Lawn Too Much
Aerating more frequently may be necessary for thick grass. Since the grass is likely to grow back in a few years anyways, you shouldnt need to aerate more than once a year. If youre not sure how much aeration you need, consult a professional lawn care professional. Theyll be able to give you an idea of what works best for your lawn.
Pros And Cons Of Using A Lawn Aeration Service
There are a few pros to calling in professional lawn aeration services, one of which is that you dont have to lift a finger as they do all of the work for you. If you are an extremely busy individual who cant even spare 30 minutes, then this may be an option that suits you.
Another benefit is that when you mechanically aerate grass, it literally pulls up plugs of soil. What this means in terms of your overseeding is that some of the seeds could potentially nestle in those holes left behind by the machine, helping to the seed to develop deep roots quickly. However, thats where the advantages end.
The most apparent issue with hiring a mechanical aeration contractor is cost. Depending on the size of the area to be aerated, you could be looking at hundreds or potentially thousands of dollars for the service. Next, youll face a lawn with thousands of unsightly plugs left behind the mechanical aerator. While they will disappear, it can take well in excess of a week for that to happen.
It also takes a great deal of time. No matter how good a machine is, an operator will have to make several passes at each strip of grass to make sure there are enough holes to have the desired effect on the soil. Not only does this increase the number of those soil plugs mentioned above, but it also takes several hours to cover larger lawn areas adequately.
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Why Aerate In Fall In Minnesota
The cool-season grass varieties planted in Minnesota thrive in temperatures below summer peaks. Simply put, aerating in fall takes advantage of the strongest natural growth period for our northern grass varieties and magnifies its benefits.
Youve probably noticed that after spring green-up, your lawn growth slows in peak summer months, then roars back to life in fall. This season represents the best opportunity for grass growth because temperatures are optimal for Minnesota grass species and there are fewer weeds sprouting and stealing nutrients from your lawn. The biggest benefits of fall aeration are:
- Does not invite weed seeds in soil to sprout.
- Encourages grass root growth, to store energy for winter dormancy.
- After aeration, you have the perfect conditions for fall grass seed overseeding.
Dont wait too late to aerate, though. Aerating in late fall exposes roots to winter temperatures and halts growth, preventing your lawn from benefiting from the process. Also, never aerate dormant, brown grass. Aeration only gives benefit to actively growing lawns.
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The Benefits Of Aeration
Both core and liquid aeration create pores in the soil that allow more air, water, and nutrients to reach deeper, which promotes healthy root growth. Additionally, aeration can help your grass thrive by:
- Helping to prevent the buildup of harmful elements and toxins in the soil and root system.
- Protecting plants from diseases and pathogens that are caused by poor aeration.
- Increasing the activity of beneficial microorganisms in the soil that promote plant health.
- Preventing fertilizer and pesticides from running off due to soil compaction.
- Making seeding more effective, allowing for better seed-to-soil contact and better germination & growth.
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Can I Aerate My Lawn Too Early
Aerating too soon, without active growth in the lawn, could delay the holes to refill. As a result, aeration holes could become a site for summer weeds to germinate. The best practice for Spring Aeration is to wait until May.
You can rest easy knowing you can call on the professionals at All Turf Lawn Care to handle your Spring Aeration. We aerate each year through the month of May to make sure your lawn is getting the most benefit from Aeration. Currently, we offer aeration to current customers enrolled in one of our lawn care programs. Give us a call for a quote today!
How Do I Aerate My Lawn
Aerators can be rented from many garden or rental centres, and some landscape companies will perform the service for you. Be sure that the machine has hollow tines or spoons to bring the soil core to the surface. In Alberta, the best time to aerate is in May to June and again in mid September.
When aerating,
- The soil should be moist but not wet.
- Lawns should be thoroughly watered two days prior to aerating, so tines can penetrate deeper into the soil and soil cores easily fall out of the tines.
- If aerating after prolonged rainfall it is important to wait until the soil has dried somewhat so soil cores do not stick in the hollow tines.
- Aerate the lawn in at least two different directions to insure good coverage. Be careful on slopes, especially steep ones, as well as near buildings and landscape beds.
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How Does Core Aeration Work
A core aerator machine pulls out plugs of soil in your lawn to leave pockets for air and water to get through and leave room for root growth. It is important to use core aeration methods because using spikes to just poke holes in the ground could cause further compaction. The plugs of soil that were taken out by the aerator will break down and give more nutrients to your lawn. The cost of aerating your lawn depends on the size of your lawn. If you want to DIY or hire a lawn care company, there are other treatments you want to do with aeration.
What To Do After Aeration
After aeration, lawn maintenance is critical, and fortunately, its pretty simple.
Allow the soil plugs to disintegrate and trickle back into the holes created by the aeration machine on the grass. Within two to three weeks, your lawn mower will start breaking them up and support to work them deep into the ground.
To get nutrients into your grass roots, use fertilizer right after aerating your lawn. This helps the grass prepare for the summer heat. Having a lush, healthy grass also helps to keep weeds at bay.
Re-seed your lawn, particularly in places where the grass is thinning. Following aeration, the seeds mingle with the soil plugs and have easier access to non-compacted soil.
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When Is The Best Time To Aerate
Aeration is best performed just before or during periods of high growth. However, not immediately preceding or during periods of stress to the lawn. For example, heat or drought. The type of grasses that make up your lawn will determine the best time of year to aerate.
When to Aerate if You Have Cool-Season Grasses: If youre working with cool-season grasses, including bluegrass, fescue, and ryegrass, aerating during the growth periods in the spring and fall is best.
When to Aerate if You Have Warm-Season Grasses: For warm-season grasses such as Bermudagrass, buffalograss, St. Augustine and zoysiagrass, aerate during warm times of the year, between late-spring and early-autumn.
Considerations for Aerating in the Spring: In the spring, wait until youve mowed the lawn a few times before aerating. Doing so ensures the lawn will grow fast enough to recover and take advantage of the increased pore space and air exchange at the root zone that aeration creates.
One caveat, says Friell, is that any disturbance of the root zone in the spring can increase weed competition by bringing buried seeds to the surface. Applying fertilizer and a pre-emergent weed killer following aeration can reduce the potential for weed competition and increase the hardiness of the grasses. But dont apply a weed killer if you plan to overseed following aeration. It will prevent germination of the seed you put down.
How Much To Aerate Lawn Everyone Should Know This
No, its not necessary to aerate your lawn every year, especially if your grass is healthy and thriving. If your soil has been impacted by heavy equipment or a lot of foot traffic, aeration is a good idea. Its a good idea to aerate if youre remodeling a yard or installing a new lawn.
Aeration can be done in a variety of ways, but the most common method is to add a small amount of water to the soil and let it sit for a day or two. This will help you determine how much water you need and how long it will take for it to evaporate. You can also use a garden hose or garden sprayer to do aeration.
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What Is The Best Time To Aerate Lawn In Northeast
Late summer through early fall is the optimal time to aerate your lawn in the northeastern United States. This is because the cool-season turf grasses planted in northeastern regions experience their strongest growth in the fall months. By aerating just before fall, your grass will recover quickly from aeration, suppress weeds, and take advantage of decompacted soil by growing thicker and fuller. Fall aeration also pairs excellently with the optimal time to fertilize and/or overseed your lawn in the northeast.
Signs That Your Lawn Is Compacted
- Water pools on your lawn after watering or after a heavy rain. When soil is compacted water has a hard time soaking into the ground and instead pools.
- Your lawn is brown. When soil is compacted water has a hard time soaking into the ground to reach the roots, your grass doesnt get enough water and turns brown.
- Your lawn feels spongy.
- Your lawn has thick hatch.
- Your lawn has areas where the grass is thin, grows poorly or even bare soil.
- The ground is so hard that you have a difficult time digging into the soil with a shovel.
- If you have trees around compacted soil, you may find that they are in poor health.
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When To Aerate Lawn In Minnesota
Early fall, between mid-August and late-September, is the best time to aerate your lawn in Minnesota. This timing allows your lawn to take advantage of the decompacted soil, and have a strong fall growth spurt. It also sets your grass up to easily survive winter dormancy and have an incredible spring green-up.
Avoid spring aeration because this invites invasive weeds. It also doesnt take advantage of the strongest growth period of grasses planted in Minnesota, which is fall. If you want to serve your yard best, aerate in autumn.
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What Is The Best Time To Aerate And Seed Your Lawn
North Carolina summers are characterized by scorching temps, high humidity, and almost daily rains. This kind of weather can be tough lawns. Fortunately, you can breathe new life into your lawn with the right aerating and seeding plan so that it grows back healthier and more lush than ever in the spring. Take advantage of cooler temperatures and warm soil conditioning during the fall to repair your lawn.
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What Does Trugreen Charge To Aerate
The company allows you to personalize your lawn care with everything from fertilization to overseeding. According to quotes, trugreens aeration service costs around $259 for a 5,000 square-foot lawn. TruGreen also offers a variety of other services, such as soil preparation, mulching, and weed control. For more information, visit www.trugreen.com.
You Dont Choose The Right Equipment
Weve all seen the do-it-yourselfers walking across their lawn in cleats, poking holes in the soil. Instead of investing in an aeration machine, they think aerating is just about creating holes but actually, the concentrated force of stepping with a spiked shoe further compacts your soil. Even spike aerators, which use a solid tine or fork to poke holes, can cause additional compaction in the areas around the holes.
For best results, use a plug aerator, which removes a core, or plug, of grass and soil from your lawn. Look for an aerating tool or machine that removes soil plugs approximately two to three inches deep and roughly half to three quarters of an inch in diameter, about two to three inches apart.
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Should I Pick Up Plugs After Aerating
The consensus is that no, you should not pick up plugs or cores after aerating. These little pieces of your lawn are going to break down in a few days. This process is aided by watering your lawn after aerating or waiting to aerate for a day or two.
If you have a lot of plugs and cores, it may be a good idea to put them in a plastic bag to keep them from drying out. You can use a garden hose to spray them down with water, or you can just let them dry out in the sun.
Lawn Care : When To Aerate Your Lawn
Spring time! Flowers are growing – green time! It is almost officially spring according to the calendar, hopefully the warmer weather follows. When the weather breaks, it is time for some yard work to make our lawns beautiful for the year. You may be looking at your lawn knowing it needs to be aerated, but you keep putting the treatments off because it seems too hard. Aeration is a simple way to give your yard a healthy lawn. You just have take the time to get it done. You can do it yourself by renting the equipment or you can pick up the phone and hire a professional lawn care company to do all of the hard work. Lets make this the year to aerate. Make your lawn happy and healthy again by relieving compaction. Core aeration is a great way to keep your lawn green and lush, so lets talk about when to aerate your lawn this year.
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When Should You Not Aerate Your Lawn
The spring is not the best time to aerate the lawn. It may be necessary to aerate in the spring if the soil is so dense that the grass cant grow. Spring aerating is discouraged because the aeration holes provide a perfect spot for weed seeds to grow. The first step is to make sure that your lawn is well-aerated.
The best way to do this is with a lawn mower, which can be purchased at most home improvement stores. You can also use a hand-held lawn aerator, such as this one from Home Depot or Lowes, or you can use an automatic lawn sprinkler system. Both of these types of aerators work by spraying water on the grass and then letting it sit for a few minutes to allow the water to evaporate.
Aerators are available in a wide variety of sizes, so you may have to experiment to find the one that works best for your situation. Once you have found the right size, you will need to fill the hole with water.
Should I Overseed After Aerating
After the aeration is done, the overseeding can be done. Spreading grass seeds uniformly over the entire yard is how this is done. The grass needs to be watered regularly to make sure the seeds will grow. If you have a large yard, you may want to use a lawn mower to mow the lawn.
If you do this, be sure to cut the grass to a depth of at least 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. You can also use an electric lawnmower, but it is not recommended because of the risk of electrocution.
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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.
When Why And How To Aerate Lawn
Lawn aerating is one of the most effective ways to keep your lawn nutritious, powerful, and full of life. Lawn aeration entails removing soil plugs from your lawn, resulting in deep spots that promote healthy growth for your roots. The space that is created by removing the plugs allows your gardens rootstock to widen and strengthen. Aeration also improves water flow and provides easier access to plant food and nutrients for your plant roots. This article will explore lawn aerator tips and provide information on how to help you get a beautiful lawn.
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How Do I Know If My Lawn Needs Aeration
Lawn aerating shouldnt be viewed as a routine maintenance activity. Aerating the lawn when it isnt necessary weakens the grass and could lead to pest or disease problems. Instead, watch for indications of compact soil, such as worn areas, puddling, thin or dead patches, discolored grass, uneven growth, or thatch buildup. Any one of these symptoms could indicate the need to aerate.
If you think your yard needs to be aerated, perform a screwdriver test. Using any type of screwdriver with a 6-inch blade, attempt to push it into the soil. If you meet with some resistance, it could be time to aerate. If you cant push the blade into the soil all the way up to the handle, you should definitely aerate the lawn.
It would also be helpful to aerate before overseeding the lawn. Mow the grass low, then aerate the yard prior to applying lime, fertilizer, and seed. Doing so will help the grass seed stay put if it rains before germination. It also helps to promote healthy root development.
