Why it’s Ideal to Aerate and Over-Seed Together

Lawns in Tennessee can be complicated. Maintenance often depends on a number of factors such as grass type, irrigation, soil pH, and car or foot traffic. And this is just naming a few! In this part of the country, weather plays a role as well. We have COLD winters and HOT summers, which can destroy a lawn. However, an overall healthy lawn will withstand the annual ups and downs of weather and the other factors mentioned. How do you beef up your lawn?

Two of the biggest projects that you can do annually (or as often as needed) for your lawn is to aerate AND over-seed. Yes, do them together for the perfect one two punch!

Forgot what these terms mean? Let’s review.

Why aerate? Aeration is the process of taking little plugs out of your lawn by using a machine or you can also just make holes by using a pitch fork for example. Either way, aerating opens up the soil for nutrients and oxygen to get down to the roots. This stimulates root growth as well as breaks up soil.

Why over-seed? Over-seeding can fix those large or small bare spots in your lawn. Don’t have bare spots? It can also be beneficial to over-seed if you have only one type of grass. Strategically introducing another type of grass can 1) Keep grass greener in winter 2) Can make it more able to withstand drought by using a more drought resistant type of grass and 3) Make turf thicker which will crowd out weeds and make it more disease resistant.

Perform them together!

Folks often over-look soil compaction as the main problem in their lawn. Fertilizer mishaps, drainage issues, insects, and disease are often blamed when compacted soil is the real culprit. Over-seeding is attempted to correct the issues but to no avail because the seeds can’t root and grow. Aeration can be done without over-seeding. However, weed seeds will germinate with the introduction of sunlight through the holes created.

The solution: Aeration followed by over-seeding. At Pure Green, we perform these tasks the same day for customers. Aeration provides the perfect little nests (holes) for seed to fall down into and grow. And because you’ve introduced new grass seed, it will take the available water, oxygen, and nutrients and starve out the weed seeds that also germinate. Done right, aerating combined with over-seeding will give your lawn a brand-new look!

Does this sound challenging and over-complicated? Give our experts a call! We are lawn nerds who love to see healthy green grass, and take pride in providing our homeowners with lush lawns!