Should I aerate and overseed every year?

Every yard should have aeration and overseeding done regularly. However, there are a few ways to determine if your lawn needs this service soon. If your yard gets heavy use, such as from children and pets running around, it's likely compacted and could benefit from aeration.

How often should you aerate and overseed?

This depends on soils, traffic and moisture but every other year is a good general rule. Aeration can also pave the way for significantly increased lawn thickness by creating the perfect canvas for overseeding. This is the process of adding grass seed into an existing lawn.

Is it OK to aerate your lawn every year?

Usually, lawn aeration should occur annually. If your lawn is showing the signs listed above and you've already aerated once this year, your soil may be compacted and require another round.

Is aeration and overseeding worth it?

To revitalize your grass, you may consider aerating and overseeding, or creating holes in your soil to plant fresh seedlings. In fact, when done correctly, aerating and overseeding can be extremely beneficial to the wellbeing of your turf.

Can you aerate your lawn too much?

As a general rule, you shouldn't need to aerate more than once a year at any time ("too much of a good thing" applies here, since you don't want to damage your soil).

Top Reasons To Aerate and Overseed Your Lawn Every Year

Why you shouldn't aerate your lawn?

While aerating does relieve soil compaction – enabling roots to more easily obtain fertilizer, water, and air – it could also cause it to dry out quicker. A stressed lawn is more prone to being invaded by aggressive weeds, such as crabgrass, and damaged by summer drought.

Should I pick up plugs after aerating?

As we've established, don't remove aeration plugs. It takes approximately one to two weeks for the plugs to break down on their own, but there are some things you can do to help the plugs break down faster to tidy up the lawn. You can hope for rainfall, but you can also water the lawn to help the plugs break down.

What is the best month to aerate and overseed?

The best time to aerate your lawn is in late summer or early fall, as this will allow your grass to recover completely before going dormant in the winter. While Fall is recommended, you can also aerate and overseed your lawn in the spring between March and May.

Should I cut my grass before aerating and overseeding?

Mow the lawn one or two days before the day aeration and seeding is to be done — and make it lower than usual. We recommend you set the mowing height to 1-1/2″ (one-and-one-half inches). This will get the lawn low enough without scalping it. Mowing low makes both aeration and seeding more effective.

What is the average cost of aeration and overseeding?

How Much Does Aeration and Overseeding Cost? If your lawn is damaged, combining aeration with overseeding and fertilizing can help restore your grassy areas. If you opt to have it done by a lawn care company, the overall cost would be about $160 to $425 (CAD 215 to CAD 575) for 10,000 square feet of lawn.

Is it better to till or aerate lawn?

Aerating is similar to tilling except it takes place once the crops have already begun to grow. This ensures that the soil gets oxygen, while also pulling up weeds. Aerating is important because it allows essential nutrients and air to reach the plants roots which provide optimal growing conditions.

How do I know if my lawn needs aeration?

What time of year is best to aerate lawn?

You want to aerate the lawn when your grass is in its peak growing period so it can recover quickly—think early spring or fall for cool-season grasses, and late spring through early summer for warm-season grasses. If you have high-traffic areas or heavy clay soil, you will want to aerate every year.

Can you aerate and overseed twice?

Fortunately, you can give your lawn a lush appearance with double aeration and overseeding. At The Lawnsmith, we recommend that homeowners schedule this procedure in the spring and fall to ensure a healthy lawn throughout the year.

Should you fertilize after aerating and overseeding?

In most cases, aerating is best before laying fertilizer as it allows for more oxygen and deeper growth of grass roots. If you have compact soil or clay soil, it is especially crucial to aerate before so that the fertilizer reaches deeper roots.

Should I aerate without overseeding?

Aeration will help ensure your soil is ready to absorb all of the nutrients and seeds that come its way with topdressing and overseeding. That's why you should aerate before overseeding.

How long should I wait to overseed After aerating?

Within 48 hours after you aerate you should over seed, fertilize, and water your lawn. The seed, fertilizer, and water will have the best chance to get down into the holes made by the aerator if applied soon after aeration.

Should you water right after aerating and overseeding?

During the first two weeks following your aeration and seeding service, the main goal is to keep the ground/seed moist while the seed begins to germinate. We recommend that you water each day for at least 20 minutes in all areas of the lawn (water the soil to a depth of about 1/4”).

Should I water right after aerating and seeding?

It's critical that you properly water your lawn after aeration and overseeding. Not doing so could have negative results such as a lawn that won't grow, wasted money, or needing to re-seed all over again.

Is October too late to aerate and overseed lawn?

Knowing when it is too late to aerate and overseed depends upon your grass type. For cool-season grasses, late fall and early winter are too late to do anything. For warm-season grasses, once the growing season has passed from late summer to early fall, it is not smart to take any actions.

What to do with plugs after aeration?

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.

What is the best fertilizer after aeration?

After Aeration Overseed and Fertilize

For best results, use high-quality seed and fertilize with Milorganite®. Mixing grass seed with Milorganite is an effective way to spread seed accurately.

Do you need to topsoil after aerating?

After aerating, it's time for top dressing: spread either pulverized top soil or a good quality humus compost across the lawn. You don't need much—about a quarter inch or so is adequate. Then, go ahead and reseed. Be sure to invest some money in the seed and get good quality, weed-free seed.

How long do aeration holes last?

While aeration itself can take just a couple of hours, depending on the size of your commercial property, plugs typically break down in about two weeks.

Do you need to top dress after aerating?

Timing wise, it is ideal to top dress after an aeration. When top dressing, you want to try and match the existing soil composition as best you can. However, if you have a very clay-based soil, it is best to apply washed river/pit sand to the lawn after aerating.