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When Should I Aerate My Lawn In Georgia

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When Is The Best Time To Aerate Your Lawn In Atlanta

How and When to Aerate Your Lawn

On Atlanta commercial properties, we dont do a lot of warm-season turf aeration. But we do perform aeration on cool-season turf like fescue in the fall. The reason this timing is best is because its just before the grass begins rapid growth. Fescue, specifically, is most productively growing in fall, so September and October are ideal months for aeration.

We like to revive fescue lawns in fall with aeration and combine that with an overseeding to strengthen the fescue stands of turf and help worn or bare areas recover from heavy foot traffic or excessive wear-and-tear.

Aeration creates that airiness in the soil that helps those fescue seeds take root and build thicker overall grass. Our overseeding service doesnt take more than one day to complete, depending on the size of your property, but seed germination and turfgrass establishment takes roughly 14 to 21 days.

Aerating Your Lawn In Georgia

Aerating your lawn once a year is incredibly beneficial in the south, where the temperatures can get unbelievably high. As temperatures begin to increase, you need to be sure your warm-season grass will have all of the needed nutrients throughout the year. The only way to do this is aeration.

Aeration is the process of poking large enough holes in your grass to improve the quality that water and nutrients pass through, into the soil. Aeration is necessary for proper growth and complete health of your yard while building a strong foundation for the entirety of it.

Your grass begins to grow at the very beginning of spring, therefore you want to aerate before it hits the peak of its growth. You also want to aerate before the warmer temperatures hit because if not, it is hard for the nutrients to travel deep enough to make a difference in the growth. Aeration allows your lawn time to fill in all of the holes you punctured earlier in the season.

Encouraging deeper roots, aeration is essential to keep your yard green and healthy year-round. How often should I aerate? It all depends on how hard your soil is. You can get an idea by doing this: Wait five days after a rain and try to poke a Phillips head screwdriver into the soil. If it only penetrates easily an inch, its time to aerate. A lot of folks aerate once each year and say it does their lawn a great deal of good.

Core Aeration At Alf Lawn & Pest Solutions

Core aeration will help your lawn recover from the harshness of winter. ALF Lawn & Pest Solutions offers core aeration services to homeowners in North Georgia and nearby communities. Our team of professional contractors guarantees excellent service so that your lawn stays lush and beautiful through the cold months. To know more about our services, call us today at .

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How Core Aeration Helps Your Georgia Lawn

The best reason to aerate your lawn is to alleviate soil compaction. When an aeration machine removes plugs of soil from the turf, this creates a means for water, nutrients, and oxygen to enter your lawn. Your yard takes a beating throughout the spring and summer. From repeated mowing to heavy foot traffic, thatch builds up and the soil becomes compacted. This makes it harder for your lawn to stay healthy as it cant get its necessary amount of nutrients and oxygen to thrive.

How Do I Know If My Lawn Needs Aeration

crops and seed: Can You Plant Grass Seed Without Aerating

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.

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Atlanta Lawn Maintenance Guide

Warm-season grasses are native to tropical regions and do their best work in the scorching Southern sun. Warm-season grasses grow best in temperatures between 75 90 degrees fahrenheit and have the highest growth rates during the summer season. They experience winter dormancy for 3 5 months, depending on type and location, and usually green back up when spring rolls around.

Compared to their cool-season counterparts, warm-season grasses require less maintenance and are generally less susceptible to pest invasions.

Types Of Warm Season Grass

Here are some examples of commonly grown warm-season lawn grass found in Georgia:Red Fescue – Red Fescue is a very resilient grass type that thrives in dry climates with lots of sunshine.Zoysia is a warm-season grass that requires ample rainfall to stay moist. It’s also resistant to heat, drought, and fungal infections.Molinet is a warm-season grass that enjoys moderate levels of humidity and warmth. It’s ideally suited for residential yards, parks, and landscaping projects.Now that we’ve established the types of grass typically grown in Georgia, let’s explore the best times to aerate them.

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How Do You Fertilize Bermuda Grass In Georgia

4.4/5fertilizerbermudagrassgrassFertilize bermudagrassis here

16-4-8 fertilizer should be applied at a rate of 4 pounds per 1000 square feet each time. One can also use 15-0-15 centipedegrass fertilizer at a rate of 5 pounds per 1000 square feet. Although centipedegrass will tolerate acid soil, liming it up to pH 6.0 will help it look its best.

Subsequently, question is, how do you fertilize Bermuda grass? Use a complete lawn fertilizer containing a slow release form of nitrogen. Apply at the rate of 1.5 pounds of actual nitrogen per 1000 square feet. This application will late 2-3 months. EARLY-FALL: fertilize your Bermuda grass lawn again in late August early September.

Consequently, what kind of fertilizer is best for Bermuda grass?

Use a low-nitrogen, high-potassium fertilizer such as a 5-10-30, or supplement a nitrogen fertilizer source with 1 pound of potash using 1.6 pounds of muriate of potash , 2 pounds of potassium sulfate , or 5 pounds of sul-po-mag per thousand square feet.

When Should I aerate my Bermuda lawn in Georgia?

Bermuda Aerating. The best time to aerate bermudagrass is in early summer, when the grass is growing rapidly. On very compacted soils, aerating twice a year would not be out of the question. Apply fertilizer and water after aerating so the turf recovers rapidly.

Overseeding Aftercare Tips For Your Georgia Fescue Lawn

How To Aerate Your Lawn

Whether you are calling in the experts or seeding your fescue lawn on your own, the seed is half the battle. Caring for your fescue lawn seed is the key to successful growth and results. Proper watering on a newly seeded fescue lawn is vital for successful germination on your lawn. Watering is such an important factoring in caring for new seed, that you cant rely on mother nature to handle it all. If you are unable to water your fescue lawn, your seed is almost guaranteed to struggle. For more tips on getting the best results from your fescue seed, check out our blog.

If youre looking to seed your Atlanta fescue lawn this fall, contact us today for a free estimate. We recommend combining fall overseeding with one of our lawn care programs to get the best results through continued fertilization and weed control on your lawn.

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Why Fall Is The Best Time To Aerate

Fall has ideal conditions for your grass to grow. When you aerate your cool-season turf in fall, it will help the grass return stronger and healthier than if aeration had been done during the spring or summer. Similarly, warm-season turf should be aerated in the spring. Aerating your lawn in the fall helps prepare your yard to recover quicker and flourish come spring. The ideal time to aerate your Georgia lawn this fall starts at the end of September up to a couple of weeks before the first frost.

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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What Are The Benefits Of Aerating A Lawn In Spring And Fall

Spring and fall provide the ideal conditions for aerating soil as part of your annual lawn care cycle because of the relatively mild temperatures combined with plenty of moisture. Chris Lemcke, Technical Director of the franchised lawn care provider

If you’ve ever tried aerating a frozen lawn or one that’s hard from months of summer drought, you’ll know that spring and fall soil-softening effects are far better suited to performing this task.

Lemcke recommends always aerating your lawn before the next period of active growth during the summer. The increased foot traffic during the summer months ‘can leave your lawn compacted due to the weight and pressure. Pulling out the small cores of soil helps your lawn release the added stress and tension.

‘If your soil is compacted, your lawn will experience what is known as runoff, therefore when it rains, or when you water your lawn, it won’t be able to penetrate through the dense soil layer.’

So, to make sure your lawn grows back healthy and strong every year, make aerating part of your spring lawn care and/or fall lawn care routine.

Lawn Aeration Services For Atlanta Mcdonough Marietta Sandy Springs & Other Locations In North Georgia

Best Time To Aerate Yard

Lawn aeration is absolutely essential for having a healthy and beautiful lawn. Aerating a lawn involves the removal of small plugs of soil from the turf with a specialized lawn aeration machine. If done correctly, aeration improves water and nutrient absorption, eliminates thatch, and stimulates grass root growth. Failure to aerate a lawn or failure to do so properly may result in a lawn that is unsightly, difficult to maintain, and susceptible to an untold number of problems. At King GREEN, we provide lawn aeration services in Atlanta, Marietta, Norcross, Athens, and many other locations throughout North Georgia. If the grass at your home or business is in a bad state, our aeration service can help to revive it. We aerate Bermuda and Zoysia in the spring or early summer and Fescue in the fall, together with overseeding.While lawn aeration is essential, this service alone doesnt always cut it. The lawn care experts at King GREEN can evaluate your lawn and recommend the best possible course of action. Ultimately, our goal is to make your lawn the envy of the entire neighborhood. We offer a standard annual lawn care package that includes fertilizer, weed control, and limestone supplements, as well as a number of specialty services, in addition to aeration. These add-ons include:

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The Benefits Of Lawn Aeration

We use core aeration machines that remove small plugs of dirt from the ground, then deposit them on the surface. This creates necessary air pockets without removing nutrients, as the dirt plugs eventually crumble and rejoin the rest of the soil without causing compaction again.

Aeration can make a major difference in the appearance of your lawn, giving you benefits like:

  • Improved turf health: Although theyre underground, grass roots still need access to air, water, and fertilizer. Aeration provides channels for these things to reach the roots, resulting in healthier grass.
  • Stronger roots: Grass needs an extensive root system, which is impossible to achieve if the soil is too dense. By creating channels in the soil, we give the roots a place to grow.
  • Reduced water runoff: By breaking up compacted soil, we make it easier for water to penetrate the ground. This results in less water runoff and standing water.
  • Thicker grass: Aeration gives existing grass room to grow while seeding encourages new growth, filling in bare spots and creating a uniform layer of turf.
  • Increased disease resistance: Aeration improves overall grass health, making it more resilient against disease, pests, and drought.

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How Is Aeration Performed

Core aerating is performed on a moist lawn using a tool to perforate your turf. An effective aeration tool will have hollow tines that remove small cores, about a half-inch around. The tool is run horizontally and vertically across the yard, removing thousands of plugs. These plugs are left atop the soil to dry out before they are broken down with a mower for a cleaner look and to add nutrients back into the grass. Check out this video on the equipment we use for aerating.

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Pro Tips For Watering Warm Season Grasses

  • Water Early in the Day The reason you want to water early in the day, between 4:00 AM and 10:00 AM is twofold. The first is because less water will evaporate since the temperatures are cooler in the morning. Second, leaving your lawn damp overnight can lead to turf disease.
  • Water Deep, not Often The idea behind this great advice is to water for a long enough period that the water can soak deep into the soil. When water and nutrients are available deep in the soil, your lawns root system will extend down to retrieve the water and nutrients. Lawns with a well-developed root system are about to withstand drought and disease much better than lawns with shallow root systems.
  • Is There A Bad Time To Aerate Your Lawn

    Should You Aerate Your lawn?

    The best time to aerate your lawn will depend on your desired results. Fall is a bad time for Bermuda lawns to aerate unless you want a cool-season grass to take over. For southern climates in states like Georgia or Florida, where winter is still warm, some varieties of Bermuda are winter-hearty enough to last year-round.

    If you dont want the yard to grow over with other grass or weeds, leaving the Bermuda lawn alone in fall and winter will provide it with the best conditions to make it through to the spring.

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    When Should I Aerate Zoysia Centipede Or Bermuda

    Core aerating can be the key to a thick, rich Bermuda, Centipede, St. Augustine or Zoysia lawn. Proper timing will ensure the best results when it comes to reaping the benefits of aeration. Make sure your lawn is actively growing when you aerate so that its able to recover effectively from this strenuous process. Spring and early summer are the best times to do this. In central Georgia, the end of April through June presents a good window of opportunity for aeration of your Bermuda and Zoysia grasses.

    At Liquid Lawn, aerating is available as an add-on service to all of our customers or can be purchased as an individual service outside of a lawn care program. Call us at 478-318-7644 for a free estimate or contact us and schedule your spring aeration today. Help your lawn breathe easier this year!

    Lawn Care Tips To Get Your Grass Ready For The North Georgia Winter

    Proper lawn care is a must before and during the winter months. If you dont take adequate care of your lawn, it can be damaged by the frigid weather, snow, or ice buildup. Your yard will look dull and unkempt with a lot of dead grass. Failing to take proper care of your lawn can also lead to increased weeds, fungus, and diseases.

    Here are some tips to make sure your North Georgia lawn survives winter:

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    When Should I Aerate My Acworth Lawn

    Each type of grass has different aeration seasons. The bottom line is that all types of grasses should be aerated before the grass begins to grow more rapidly. September and October are the best months to aerate fescue grass as most of the productive growth of fescue grass is during the fall.

    Late April is the best time to aerate Bermuda, centipedegrass, and zoysiagrass. This is because they almost are growing rapidly and they have completed the green up process.

    Why Does My Lawn Need Core Aeration

    Services â All Pro Landscaping
    • Compacted Georgia clay soils impede the movement of air, water and nutrients to the grass roots.
    • Roots require oxygen to grow and to absorb nutrients and water.
    • When compacted, soil contributes to the accumulation of thatch because restricted oxygen levels impair the activity of earthworms and other thatch-decomposing organisms.
    • Thatch accumulates faster on compacted soils and heavy clay soils than on well aerified soils.
    • When thatch depth exceeds 1/2 it becomes a problem, reducing water movement and encouraging shallow, weak root systems. Thick thatch also can become a home for insects and disease.
    • Many people complain about moss growing in their lawns in Atlanta. Lawns that drain poorly due to soil compaction are displaying a Moss Welcome sign.

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