Invest In A Good Spreader
If you have a large lawn or one that has rolling hills or terraced levels, invest in a good spreader for grass seed and fertilizer. Its tiring to push a cheap spreader with a narrow handle, solid, plastic tires and an inadequate feed mechanism. Invest in a good spreader with a large handle, pneumatic tires and an edge guard to keep seed, fertilizer, and herbicide where it belongson the grass. A good 7-gallon spreader can spread a 10-foot-wide lawn section in one pass. A broadcast or rotary spreader works well for large lawns, while a drop spreader works best for typical suburban-size lawns. Old, worn out or cheap spreaders will waste expensive lawn care products and your valuable time.
Core Vs Liquid Aeration
There are two common types of aeration:
- Core Aeration: When you aerate your lawn traditionally with core aeration, youre creating small holes in your turf using an aeration machine to alleviate compaction.
- Liquid Aeration: This type of aeration uses a specialized solution to break down the dense soil particles, creating small pores in your lawn to help loosen the soil.
Both of these types of aeration are extremely effective, though many homeowners prefer liquid aeration, as it does not damage the turf as much and does not leave unsightly plugs all over the yard.
Things To Do After Aerating Your Lawn:
When to Aerate Your Lawn, Bayer Advanced, Web. Accessed Jan. 28, 2016
Day, Julie, Spring Lawn Care Guide, TodaysHomeowner.com, Web. Accessed Jan. 28, 2016
Fresenburg, Brad S. Spring Lawn Care Aeration, Fertility and Crabgrass Control, University of Missouri Integrated Pest Management, Web. March 15, 2012
Juror, Richard and Wallace, Greg, Properly Aerating Lawns, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Web. Aug. 12, 2015
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Helps Your Lawn Breathe Easy
Compacted New Jersey clay/loam soils impede the movement of air, water and nutrients to the grass roots. When compacted, soil contributes to the accumulation of thatch because restricted oxygen levels impair the activity of earthworms and other thatch-decomposing organisms.
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.
What Are The Best Types Of Grass Seed
Grass seed is divided into two categories, cool-season grasses, and warm-season grasses. Typically, youll want to plant the cool-season grasses in New Jersey since these are better suited for our cold winters versus the warm-season grasses. Some of our recommended grass seed include Kentucky bluegrass, fine fescues, tall fescue, and perennial ryegrass.
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When Is The Best/acceptable Time To Perform A Fall Core Aeration And Seeding On A Lawn
I live in Southern NJ, USA . I recently contracted with a lawn care company to perform some maintenance on my lawn . They came two weeks ago to apply some fertilizer, pest control, and some broad leaf weed treatment .
They just came back today to perform the core aeration. I sent them back for a few reasons:
Is my thinking here correct? Should this core aeration and seeding be postponed for a few more weeks ? When are the “best” and “acceptable” times for these fall services?
- 2Brian, if some of the answers to your other questions have helped you, you should consider accepting the most helpful one. That way, future users who visit your question will be better informed.
What’s an organic way to discourage crabgrass from a large “lawn”?
Around “Labor Day” here in the US, I prepare any bare spots for reseeding. Reseed using an appropriate seed for my lawn type. Cover the whole lawn with ½ to 1 inch thick layer of STA-certified compost . Water as needed, ie Amount needed for good germination to take place.
Reseed in early Autumn ie Performing major cool-season lawn maintenance at this time of year, will give you the best results .
Q. Is my thinking here correct?
What Is Lawn Seeding
Seeding is the process of broadcasting turfgrass seed, typically across your entire lawn, to fill in bare, and weak spots in your grass. Unlike some of the big names in our industry, we always pair our seeding treatments with soil aeration doing anything less wont get the job done right. Our experts at Lawn Connection take the season, rainfall, and all other outside factors into consideration when crafting the perfect seeding strategy for you.
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Request A Quote For Greener Lawns Lawn Aeration Service
With over five decades of experience providing organic fertilizing and lawn care in the New Jersey area, we specialize in making sure your yard gets the proper lawn aeration and care it needs for optimal growth. We have it all figured out, and we are proud to prove it to our customers every day. Give us a call at 908-647-4587 and request an organic lawn care estimate today!
Can You Aerate Your Lawn Too Much
If you walk on your soil and it feels rock solid and is looking thin or patchy, these are signs that it could probably use aeration.
But if your grass is healthy and thriving and hasnt been impacted by a lot of equipment or foot traffic, it likely doesnt need aeration.
Once annually is usually enough in most cases, and for healthy lawns that receive regular maintenance and are performing well, every two to three years may be sufficient.
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When Should You Aerate
Aeration is required when the soil in your lawn is compacted. Compacted soil inhibits grass root growth. If you do not aerate, your lawn will yellow, die, and/or allow weeds to invade. To determine if the soil is so compacted that aeration is necessary, test your lawn with a screwdriver.
- Water the lawn the day before testing the soil.
- Push a screwdriver into the soil.
- If the screwdriver easily sinks 24 inches into the soil, it does NOT need aeration.
- If the screwdriver does not easily penetrate the soil, aeration is necessary.
- Test 35 different areas in your yard. Soil compaction may be localized to high-traffic areas.
If your soil is in need of aeration, a core aerator is the best option for your yard. A motorized core aerator can be rented from most hardware stores. It is the most effective tool for breaking up compact soil, which allows air, water, and nutrients to penetrate your lawn down to the root layer.
Aeration & Overseeding Mistakes To Avoid
When done correctly, aeration and overseeding can greatly benefit your lawn.
Avoid common mistakes which will cost valuable time and money, along with not gaining maximum benefit from work done.
Avoid these typical errors people tend to make when aerating and overseeding:
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When Should I Overseed My Lawn
Due to advancements in our products and technology, Blades of Green is now available to seed and provide weed control at the same time in the spring, no matter what time of year you aerate your turf. If there are bare spots on the lawn, we certainly understand not wanting to wait until the fall to get it covered.
Theres a 40-50% chance that the grass will die off during the summer stress, especially if follow-up practices like mowing and watering arent adhered to. We still recommend fall aeration and seeding even with spring seeding.
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Overseeding Keeps Weeds Out Too
The average grass plant has a life cycle of two years. Because the turf is mowed before the plant reaches the height needed to bloom and produce a seed head, overseeding is required to increase turf thickness and help crowd out weeds.A thick turf is the best way to control weed populations and will help reduce the number of pesticides needed to control weeds.
Trust The Local Experts
Since 1986, our team has been providing expert lawn care services to our communities around New Jersey, including Medford, Mt. Laurel, Moorestown. Unlike the other guys, were local. We know the grass, the soil makeup, and the outside factors that hurt a lawn, and everything thats required to make your lawn healthy and strong.
As equally as important as our knowledge of local turfgrass is our desire to provide exceptional customer service. As a local lawn care company, all our customers are our neighbors, and at Lawn Connection, we take care of our neighbors. All of our lawn care service recommendations are guaranteed to provide the results youre after! This is a promise and a pledge that if youre unhappy with our services, for any reason, we will go above and beyond to make the situation right.
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Why Are Yearly Aeration And Overseeding Important
The idea behind lawn aeration and overseeding is to strengthen your entire lawn. By filling in empty or bare spots with new grass, you do more than make your lawn look beautiful you actually increase its resistance to pests. With a thick, lush and uniform bed of grass, its harder for weeds to take hold, which makes taking care of grass easier, too.
Aeration breaks up compacted soil so water and other life-giving lawn nutrients can reach roots easily. This has a huge effect on grass health and growth. In fact, even if your lawn is gorgeous and green all over, you should still aerate in the growing season to keep things that way.
Watch Out For Lawn Diseases
All lawns are subject to diseases, but malnourished and ill-maintained laws are most susceptible. Most lawn diseases are caused by fungi that invade soil and grass blades. Fungal spores can be easily spread by insects, rain, wind, contaminated soil and foot traffic on wet grass. Common lawn diseases in Northern NJ include: Dollar Spot Fusarium Patch Rust Plythium Blight Fairy Ring and Mushrooms. All of these lawn diseases can cause serious damage to your lawn. Proper treatments are essential to eliminate existing lawn diseases and prevent them from destroying your entire lawn. If you notice bare spots brown or yellow spots dead patches of grass white, cob-web like spots bright green patches or reddish-brown grass blades, contact a Bergen County landscape professional who can help you with lawn diseases and lawn care in NJ.
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How To Prepare The Soil
The next key to successful overseeding is good seed-to-soil contact. Clean out dead grass, remove as many weeds as possible, and get rid of rocks, sticks or other debris.
Loosen compacted soil about a half-inch deep with a rake or garden weasel to give the new roots the best chance to grow. Jonathan Green Love Your Soil® will loosen and aerate it for many months. It will also feed the soil microbes, making the soil more alive and porous, and enhancing root and root mass development.
Use a soil pH tester to ensure that the pH of the soil is between 6.2 and 7.0. To rapidly increase or decrease your soils pH and help the lawn grow greener and healthier, use Jonathan Green MAG-I-CAL®. It can be applied the same day as the grass seed is spread.
Apply the Black Beauty® grass seed mixture with a spreader. Distribute the seed evenly and moderately, then lightly rake to distribute the seed within the top quarter-inch of the loosened soil. Seed-to-soil contact is the key to achieving maximum germination.
Apply Green-Up Lawn Food for Seeding & Sodding. This high phosphorus formula is specially formulated to build a vigorous root system and gets new grass plantings off to a fast start, resulting in a thicker, greener lawn.
Keep the seed bed damp for a few weeks while the grass seed germinates. Plan to water daily and possibly twice daily until new grass is two inches high.
Lawn Seeding To Complement Aeration
Grass can survive for a few years, but fresh growth is still important to the overall look and feel of your lawn. Without fresh growth, large sections of your grass can die off all at once, leaving bare patches. Seeding encourages fresh growth of healthy grass, keeping your lawn thicker and healthier from year to year.
Benefits of overseeding your lawn include the following:
- Helps fight insects and disease by growing stronger roots to stand against them.
- Thickens the density of lawns to give them a softer feel.
- Fills in areas of grass damaged by insects, disease, stress, and winter damage.
- Improves the overall appearance of the lawn.
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Invest In Organic Lawn Care
Organic lawn care in NJ provides a safe, chemical-free environment for your home. By using completely natural, organic lawn care products, you promote green living and protect the environment from harsh chemicals that can be absorbed into the soil and water. Organic lawn care also promotes a natural aeration and drainage system in the soil with organic mixtures that naturally control weed growth, plant diseases and harmful insects and pests. Organic solutions help to establish a natural ecosystem in your landscape where beneficial insects and organisms exist in the soil. Unlike many traditional lawn care products, organic lawn care products contain no chemicals that can potentially harm your family or pets. Organic lawn care in NJ provides a safe, chemical-free environment and many benefits for your Bergen County lawn. Applications are usually done in the Spring, Summer and Fall.
The Best Time To Overseed Grass
Overseeding means planting new grass to fill in any bare or worn patches. This is helpful for having a gorgeous lawn that looks thick and healthy all year long. The best time to overseed depends on two factors: where you live and what kind of grass you prefer.
Many homeowners in northern states choose cool-season grasses, and southern areas often select warm-season grasses. Each type of grass has distinctive growth patterns and needs, so make sure to speak with our lawn professionals if youre not sure what variety to choose. Here are the optimal overseeding times for several locations and grass types:
- Pacific Northwest : Plant new grasses about six weeks before the first projected snowfall. These are generally cool-season grasses.
- Southwest U.S. : Early spring is the best time for overseeding in these areas.
- Southern states : April, May and June are good times to overseed in this huge area. The best time may vary each year depending on soil temperatures. You want warm-season grass to have a cozy environment to germinate in.
- Northeast states : Due to the cold temperatures prevalent in these areas, its best to start planting grass seeds in August or September to give them some time to grow before winter hits.
- Midwest U.S. : Weather conditions vary quite a bit depending on how far north you live, but a safe bet is to overseed lawns by the end of August or early September at the latest.
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Pick a date, sit back and relax. Well send one of our licensed, professional landscapers and take care of the rest.
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