How Can Aeration and Overseeding Revive a Struggling Lawn?

Seeding and aeration are two lawn care practices that complement each other’s effectiveness when it comes to achieving a healthy, lovely lawn.

Essentially, aeration is the process through which the soil is loosened which makes it possible for water, air, as well as nutrients to pass through the soil and reach the root system of the grass. And for the seed to really form a strong root you want them to be able to form a nice deep root in the freshly de-compacted soil!

Those seeds then fill in the bare or thin parts of the lawn with new grass. That is you do both together, that’s why these two practices go together.

We could say that aeration and seeding look after:

• Stimulating a denser, richer lawn that looks attractive
• Building a resistant and strong lawn against pests, diseases, and weed invasion
• Making your lawn more healthy generally

But let’s look at how aeration and seeding works, and why.

Facts to Know About Lawn Aeration & Seeding

Lawn Aeration

To truly comprehend the process of core aeration, we must first identify the primary issue that it deals with – compacted soil.

Compaction is a well-known problem resulting from both temperature changes, foot traffic, equipment operation, animal activity, and more.

When the medium is compacted, the soil is heavy and firm, meaning that the air, water, and the minerals will not go through the soil. It can also inhibit the development of grass roots that attempt to penetrate the closely spaced soil particles. Compaction is associated with poor uptake of nutrients, low oxygen levels, and poor root growth, among other problems.

How Aeration Works

Aeration involves creating small holes in the soil, removing plugs to create space.  If it seems simple, that’s because it is!

The holes are stabbed into the ground at a depth of 2-6 inches, depending on the compactness of the soil and it’s moisture content.

These tiny holes, basically allow the grass to breathe in the soil. Literally! This also breaks up the soil, allowing it to be easier for your grass roots to grow deeper, creating grass which lasts. Not only that, but the deeper the roots, the more access they have to vital nutrients deeper in the soil.

Here’s A Really Good Analogy

The road has traffic jam and we are all going slow, the driving is slow and inefficient, and everybody’s unhappy.

It’s for the same reason that there are too many cars and not enough room for people to move and breath as they are biologically and socially supposed to – the cars are crowded together.

BUT, when the traffic is clear, or not slow, the driving on the road is smooth, the people are fast, and everyone is happy! See what we mean? A little goes a long way.

The Aeration Process of Pulling Small Plugs Out Of the Soil

We use a core aerator machine — a device that removes tiny cores of soil from the lawn. Core aerators are similar in appearance to lawn mowers, but rather than blades cutting grass, they are equipped with sharp, hollow tines that dig into the ground and pull plugs of soil out from the lawn.

We’ll take our machines and aerate your lawn in one direction on a grid pattern, and we’ll poke the holes, then on our next pass we’ll overlap those holes about 50%. That is to say, we see to it that we open the soil far enough without damaging the soil.

What about the soil plugs?

They don’t look nice, and you might be tempted to pluck them out of your lawn. But we intentionally leave them on the surface of the lawn. They’re going to slowly, naturally rot away in the soil so they won’t compound the compaction. As they do so, they provide more nutrients in the form of the additional calories for the better soil over all.

Overseeding

Tall Fescue grass is among the most popular type of grass in the Northern states and needs to be seeded annually to obtain the best results.

The seeds cover bare or thin spots, which cause the grass grow thicker and fuller. Cool Season grasses, such as Tall Fescue, are not doing well in long, hot summer months – but its because that’s when they are meant to be resting – they are a cool season grass!

Once Tall Fescue is burned out from our summer heat, there is no way to get it back other than reseeding!

For a beautiful, lush Tall Fescue lawn, we use something called overseeding. Overseeding simply means to scatter extra grass seed all over the entire area of a lawn that already exists in order to achieve thicker grass. That’s right – we don’t tear up any of your existing grass but instead, we cover your entire lawn with a blanket of evenly-distributed grass seed.

The Advantages of Aerating & Seeding

Improved Nutrient Absorption

With that being said the tiny holes that aeration pokes in the soil are the gateway for nutrients and fertilizers to make its way down to the soil system and into the grass roots.

Also, loose soil allows roots to grow deeper which have access to even more nutrients that may be within the deeper depths of the soil. This better uptake of nutrients leads to not only your lawn being healthier but it also plays a role in why it looks thicker and lusher.

Enhanced Oxygenation

Grass doesn’t grow if it can’t breathe. When soil becomes compacted there is less oxygen potentially accessible to the roots. As a result, the roots are constantly locked to the surface so that they can reach the oxygen present there, and the grass never develops deep roots because it does not need to.

Aeration contributes to the levels of oxygen in the soil, and good oxygen levels mean that roots will grow fast and deep and plants will have more vigor.

Stronger root system

The roots of the grass are able to grow deeper, stronger, and more plentiful when the soil is able to breathe. That makes things less susceptible to root competition from weeds and really sets up the grass to be more drought-tolerant and resistant to pests and diseases.

Improved drainage

Water doesn’t drain well when the soil is compacted. This may cause water-logging that will drown the roots of the grass. Aeration helps to loosen the compact soil and allow water to drain.

Reduced thatch buildup

Thatch is turf that is dead or slowly dying along with grass that’s decaying on the surface of the soil. It won’t let water and air get through to the roots of the grass. One method of reducing this problem is to aerate the yard to tear through the thatch.

Timing and Frequency

Aerating and seeding should only be done once per year. It’s perfect timing, early autumn, say from late August to late October. As the long, hot summer passes, it cools enough to sow your Tall Fescue. Plus, it will be nice and established before cold winter sets in. By the time spring rolls around, you’ll have a beautiful, full lawn!

Lawn Aeration & Seeding Professionals in Albuquerque

If you need to have your lawn aerated and seeded professionally than please get in touch with us here at ASAP Sands Outdoor Services! We serve the entire Albuquerque metro-area, Rio Rancho, Placitas and Edgewood and we’d love to give you the greatest gift ever – a lush green lawn!

Contact us at 505-293-4014 or fill out our form HERE to schedule your Aeration & Seeding with ASAP Sands Outdoor Services!

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