Are you getting tired of standing outside staring at your sad, patchy lawn and hollering to the heavens, “What does it NEEEEEEEED??!!!”
Yeah, your neighbors are wondering what’s going on over there, too.
What DOES your struggling lawn need? Could it be as simple as a refresh with aeration and overseeding? Or is it time to admit you need to start over with a full lawn renovation.
Let’s take a look.
What Can Aeration and Overseeding Do For Your Lawn?
When your soil becomes compacted, your lawn can't breathe. Its roots can't take in water or nutrients, which weakens your turf and opens the door for disease and weeds.
Lawn aeration uses a machine to pull out plugs of soil, creating spaces so that air and water can penetrate, which leads to healthier roots.
Healthier roots make for a healthier, thicker lawn, better able to resist pests and diseases and tolerate summer’s heat and drought.
Lawn aeration also helps break down thatch, that layer of dead grass and stems that sits between the grass blades and the soil.
Aeration is often followed by overseeding, as the holes created by aeration are perfect new homes for the grass seed.
Sounds like a great plan for lawn renovation, right?
It can be. But if your lawn is in really bad shape, aeration and overseeding might not work to fully rejuvenate it.
How Do You Know if Aeration and Overseeding Will Be Enough?
First, we need to ask a few more questions.
Is your lawn just thin? Or has it been years since you could get grass to grow?
If your lawn has large bare spots, or seems thin, aeration and overseeding might be enough.
But if you’ve been trying to grow grass for years, and it just isn’t working, there’s probably more going on that you need to address. You might need to start over with a lawn renovation.
So, what could be causing your lawn problems?
- Too much shade. Grass needs sun to grow, and aeration and grass seed can’t replace that. You might have to thin your trees to let more sunlight through. Or replace areas of your grass with shade-loving plants or mulch.
- Your lawn is too wet. You might be watering too much or you may have a drainage problem.
- Your soil has poor nutrition. If you’ve been fertilizing, but it doesn’t seem to make any difference, your soil pH might need adjusting. If your pH is off, your grass won't absorb the nutrients it needs, even if you fertilize regularly. Have your soil’s pH level tested. If it’s out of whack, we can add the right soil amendments to bring it to the right level.
- You might have poor-quality soil. Consider hiring a landscaping company to come in and dig out the sand and add good black soil.
- Maybe your lawn is battling disease that’s preventing a healthy lawn. If that’s the case, it might need a lawn disease treatment designed to zap it.
The good news? In many cases, aeration and overseeding will work to save your lawn. It’s a pretty powerful strategy.
If it’s too far gone, it might be time to start over with a whole new lawn, especially if you’re battling a lot of grassy lawn weeds that are tough to kill without killing the rest of your grass, too.
Aeration and Overseeding Helps Healthy Lawns, Too
Even if your lawn is healthy, it still benefits from aeration and overseeding. This isn’t just for struggling lawns that are thin and patchy.
You might not necessarily need seed every time, but aeration always helps. That’s why it’s included in our top two tiers of lawn care programs.
If your lawn is thick and healthy, you might not need the overseeding. But if there are thin spots, or you see fungus or disease, those are signs some fresh, quality seed can do your lawn some real good.
Also consider this: it’s a good idea to introduce new varieties of high-quality grass seed into your lawn occasionally, no matter what type of grass you have.
New, improved seed is always being developed that’s more resistant to drought, insects, disease, or has other impressive qualities.
What to do After Aeration and Overseeding?
You’ll start to see new grass sprouting in a few weeks, but you might not notice true results for a few months to a year.
Eventually, you’ll notice thicker turf. And healthier turf that’s better at resisting diseases and won’t dry out as fast.
Also, don’t forget to take care of the weeds. Thin areas are easy places for weeds to emerge. In most cases, you can treat weeds approximately 5-6 weeks after your new grass has germinated. A general rule of thumb is that if you’ve mowed and cut off those new grass blades 2-3 times, it may be okay. Just ask your lawn service if you’re unsure.
A Quick Word About Lawn Watering
After aeration and overseeding, you should actually water the opposite of how you’d normally water.
Newly-seeded lawn needs frequent watering for short periods of time vs. the less frequent and deeper watering established lawns require. 
Plan to water 3-4 times a day for about 10 minutes at a time. Your goal is to keep the new seed moist, but not soaking wet.
If we have access to your irrigation controller, we’ll set it to the right times for you. No extra charge.
Trust Your Lawn Renovation in Eau Claire, WI or Minneapolis to RainMaster
Still not sure if aeration and overseeding is the key to your lawn renovation? Ask us. We’re happy to take a look, and suggest the right course of action to get your lawn in shape, even if that means hiring a landscaper for a more extreme measure than what we typically provide. However, in a lot of cases, aeration and seeding is a viable, economical solution.
Aeration and overseeding is just one part of a custom lawn care plan, where grass plants will be nourished, invaders like insects and weeds are addressed, and your grass becomes more thick and healthy.
You just make sure your lawn gets mowed properly and enjoy your life. Sound like a good plan?
Are you ready to learn more about lawn renovation? Request a quote today! We’ll review your options together so you can make a great choice. Then, you can finally enjoy your lawn and stop worrying about it.
