Aerating & Overseeding Services For Your Lawn
Aerating and overseeding your lawn is a key part of any professional lawn care program. Over a long period of time your grass can grow thick and matted near the soil and become very difficult for oxygen and other nutrients to reach the roots of your grass. This along with issues like fungus, drought stress, and foot traffic can cause problems that generally manifest themselves as an unhealthy looking lawn with brown or dead patches everywhere.
Lawn aerating is the process using a machine to punch hundreds of small holes into your lawn. As the machine punches the holes it also removes a small amount of grass and soil, that we call “plugs”. These holes assist the delivery of oxygen and nutrients directly to the root system of your lawn. This is also an excellent time to overseed your lawn too which encourages new grass to grow in areas that might be patchy or are dead or dying. It’s a two punch combo that can really help bring back a lawn from looking poorly cared for, to lush and healthy again.
Top Reasons To Aerate And Overseed Your Lawn
- It’s never been done on your lawn before.
- Your lawn appears patchy and brown.
- You always leave your clippings on your lawn.
- Your lawn has been scalped by mowing leaving bare patches.
- Your lawn sees heavy foot and pet traffic.
- You just want to give your lawn it’s best chance!
As professionals, we recommend aerating your lawn at least once per year. This frequency can help counter the natural thatch and works to improve your overall soil conditions which is key to a beautiful lawn. The health of your grass is ultimately determined by the health of your soil. A properly aerated lawn will also respond much more vigorously to fertilization and regular watering too if you have an irrigation system (and you should have one for a beautiful lawn).
Natural Image Property Services is a landscaping contractor serving Newark and Licking and Franklin Counties in Ohio. We specialize in providing lawn aeration and over-seeding as part of our regular lawn care services or we can also provide it as a standalone service for large residential and/or commercial clients with high visibility lawns.
Does My Lawn Really Need Aeration?
The simplest answer is yes, your lawn will always benefit from being aerated at least once a year in the fall. If you are serious about the health and appearance of your lawn then aeration and over-seeding are just a normal part of a regular lawn care regime.
In order to know for sure we need to view your property to determine the overall condition of your lawn.
- Does your lawn get used frequently by your children or pets?
- Do you let your grass clippings fall back onto the lawn?
- Was your lawn just recently installed?
- Does your lawn dry out very quickly in the summer?
These are all signs your lawn could benefit from aeration. The best time to aerate your lawn is during the fall when the roots can recover quickly and the existing grass can work to fill in all of the plugs of grass/soil that will be removed during the aeration process.
What Does Lawn Aeration Do For Your Lawn?
We use a special machine called a “lawn aerator” to aerate our clients lawns. This machine was specifically designed to perforate your soil with hundreds of small holes that allow oxygen, water and nutrients to penetrate directly into your lawns root system. The “plugs” of grass that are removed by the aerator usually contain an inch or two of soil and are about 1/2″ to 3/4″ in diameter. These resulting holes are what allows the air and nutrients down into the soil and close to the root systems where they really need to be.
This process delivers oxygen, water, and nutrients directly to the roots which encourages the roots to grow deeper and works to improve their uptake of nutrients and resilience to produce a more vigorous lawn. Aerating has long been a lawn care secret that golf courses and sports fields groundskeepers have employed because it really makes a difference especially when used as part of a total lawn care program.
What Does Overseeding Do For Your Lawn?
The aeration process creates the perfect environment for planting new grass seed which is why we also recommend overseeding at this time. Lawn overseeding is the process of sprinkling new grass seed over the patchy, brown, or scalped areas of your lawn. These could be areas where the mowing deck was set too low and the grass has been scalped, crowns or high spots in your lawn, bald spots, brown patches, or areas where the grass is just really thin. Overseeding helps your lawn grow thicker in these areas.
A lawn with thick, healthy, lush growth is also great at preventing weeds from growing in your lawn too.
If you’d like to see if lawn aeration and overseeding could help make your lawn more vibrant and healthy then please give us a call (740) 403-8063 or fill out our online contact form and we’ll get back to you right away.
We have used Natural Image Property Services on more than one occasion, and we have been thrilled with the results. They do fantastic work for fair prices. They are also responsive and easy to communicate with, and also understanding when plans might need to change. We will use them for all of our landscaping needs!
Natural Image installed a paver front walk and two porches for us. The crew was professional, courteous and prompt in addressing any questions we had. Anthony came to our home several times before the project started to answer our design questions. We are very happy with our new front walk and porches. Feel confident in recommending them to our friends and family.
We hired Natural Image for various hard scaping projects including the design and creation of a beautiful waterfall. The team went above our expectations with the final product. We found them extremely professional in all aspects from planning to completion. They listened to our ideas and incorporated them into the final product. All workers were courteous and respectful of our property and our time. We would highly recommend this company.
We could not be happier with the outcome of the landscape project from Natural Image. The craftsmanship and professionalism of the team was top notch. They kept the space clean throughout the work and never left me questioning the final product. As with all projects, there were different visions on what the product would look like at the beginning, but the team asked the right questions and pivoted to give us more than what we could have asked for. I highly recommend them for any hard scape projects.
Natural Image replaced our patio and also added a new pavilion with a fireplace. They were extremely helpful with the design layout and giving us direction on the process. They were always very responsive and professional. We absolutely love our new outdoor space.
The team at Natural Image is professional, knowledgeable, and the work they did was beautiful!
We hired Natural Image Property Services to replace a failing retaining wall with Versa-Lok block. We would highly recommend this company. From the ease of scheduling our consultation online, to the actual consultation and subsequent conversations, all was very professional. The two guys who did the work (Taylor and K.C.) were very hard working, very diligent and meticulous—probably not too easy when building a 10’ wall, and having to fit it around a large culvert pipe. Even on 20 degree days they showed up, worked hard and did a fantastic job. All work was done within the original service description, and completed in the time frame specified. Needless to say, we are very pleased.
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Aeration & Overseeding FAQ
Lawn aeration involves creating small holes in your lawn's soil. This process allows air, water, and nutrients to penetrate the grassroots, which helps the roots grow deeply and produce a stronger, more vigorous lawn. Aeration is essential for reducing soil compaction and enhancing the overall health of your lawn.
Your lawn may need aeration if it gets heavy use from children playing or frequent walking, if it dries out easily or has a spongy feel, or if you notice thinning, bare patches, or water pooling. These are signs of soil compaction and poor grass root development.
Overseeding involves spreading new grass seed over your existing lawn. It's an effective way to fill in bare spots, improve lawn density, enhance its color, and establish improved grass varieties. Overseeding after aeration is especially beneficial as the seeds have better soil contact.
The best time for aeration and overseeding is typically during the fall, as the soil temperature is still warm, which promotes seed germination, and cooler temperatures are more favorable for young grass. Spring is the second-best option.
Most lawns benefit from annual aeration, especially those with clay soil or high foot traffic. Overseeding frequency can vary based on your lawn's condition but is generally recommended every one to three years.
Aeration and overseeding may require some adjustments to your regular lawn care routine. For instance, mowing frequency may need to be reduced, and watering frequency increased. We provide specific care instructions post-treatment to ensure the best results.
Healthy, dense lawns are less susceptible to diseases and pests. Aeration and overseeding can improve your lawn's health and resilience, making it less inviting to pests and better able to resist diseases.
Visible improvements from overseeding can usually be seen within a few weeks, depending on the type of grass seed used and the growing conditions. Full benefits of aeration and overseeding are typically observed over the course of the growing season.
Yes, newly seeded lawns require consistent moisture to ensure successful germination. We recommend light, frequent watering rather than deep, infrequent watering to keep the seedbed moist.
To give your lawn the best chance to benefit from these treatments, it's advisable to limit foot traffic for a few weeks post-aeration and overseeding, allowing the new grass to establish properly.