Aeration and seeding are two key components to a beautiful lawn and a necessary part of maintaining a healthy landscape. If done regularly, ideally in the spring and fall, your turf will grow lush and thick and will be able to withstand any physical and weather-related stresses it may face.
Aeration
Aeration is essential for a healthy lawn. Each year, a layer of dead grass, or thatch, forms under the healthy turf. Although some thatch is beneficial to your lawn’s health by helping it retain moisture, reducing soil compaction, insulating the plant, and helping it tolerate foot traffic, too much can stifle your lawn. All the water and fertilizer in the world are ineffective if your lawn is a compact web of thick thatch. A half-inch thick layer is healthy, but more than that can become a tightly-woven barrier over your turf blocking out the water and nutrients it needs.
Even if you have a cleanup performed each spring that removes thatch, it can still build up over time and damage your lawn. By aerating your lawn in the spring and fall, you’ll have a healthy lawn that is better equipped to fight disease, insect infestations, and the stress of drought.
Benefits of aerating include:
More water reaches the roots.
More air reaches the soil and roots.
Soil compaction is reduced.
Water runoff is reduced.
Roots have the room to grow deeper.
Overseeding
While most people will overseed to fix a thinning lawn, professionals will overseed to prevent it from happening in the first place. Overseeding is merely planting grass seed on an existing lawn. Fall and spring are great times for this because the weather is more temperate, the seeds can grow more quickly and take root without the risk of drying out as they would during the hot summer months. It works particularly well when done in conjunction with lawn aeration because the seeds will reach the soil rather than sit on top of thatch.
Over time, your turf ages and thins. Higher traffic areas may begin to have paths worn into them or you may see areas where plants have grown and created shady areas on your lawn where there weren’t before which can cause stress on your grass and cause it to thin.
Benefits of overseeding include:
Bare spots are refilled.
Weeds are crowded out.
You’ll have a perpetually young lawn.
Creates a thicker, more traffic-tolerant lawn.
Young turf is more disease-resistant than older turf.
Enhances your lawn’s color.
Young, thick turf fights insect infestation.
Rejuvenates an older-looking lawn.
Your landscape is the first thing people see when they visit your business. It should be a lush and well-manicured representation of your company. Your lawn is under a constant barrage of threats from insects to drought to storms, and it’s only with consistent maintenance that it will endure. Regular maintenance goes further than fertilizing and mowing; it means giving your lawn the help and the tools it needs to grow healthy enough to fight off the dangers that threaten it.
Bluegrass Landscaping and Maintenance is a full-service landscape company that can do everything from designing you a stunningly inviting landscape to keeping your property looking fresh and beautiful. Call us today at (314) 770-2828 and we’ll show you how proper aeration and seeding can greatly improve the health of your lawn.
