As many folks do, the time of year is upon us to clean out the attic, thoroughly dust the house, and get that yard ready for all the fun spring and summer outdoor activities we have coming up. Many folks believe breaking out the lawnmower is all it takes to get a lawn lush and green after a winter’s chill.
While mowing more often is a fair point to what starts to happen in Florida in the spring, it is not the end-all, be-all of lawn maintenance this time of year. There are a few different chores that need to be completed for not only a great look but for the health of your lawn. Aeration and overseeding can be a huge benefit to your yard in the spring and fall months.
What is aeration?
What needs oxygen, sun, water, and nutrition to grow and thrive? If you answered humans, you would, of course, be correct. If you answered your lawn, you would also be correct! Seeds and plants need all these important building blocks to allow them to reach towards the sky, green and healthy. Your grass is no different.
Aeration paves the way for these building blocks of growth to reach the core of where they are needed most – at the root, buried deep within the soil. Through the aeration process, your soil has small holes punctured throughout your lawn, holes that allow all these things your grass is thirsty for to reach the roots.
What is overseeding?
Overseeding is one of those processes that is all in the name: you take your less than lustrous lawn and lay the new seed for grasses that are the same as what exists there or compatible. We aren’t judging your lawn as it stands now. Trust us.
Just like any living thing, time affects its sheen and its health. Because we live in a state where we are outdoors regularly, enjoying that precious vitamin D our rays provide, that means our lawns are well-used features of our homes. These things add up to lawns that may not look or feel their best after some time.
Luckily, the process of overseeding when partnered with aeration can not only make your lawn look like a million bucks, but it will feel like it too!
What is soil compaction?
As we’ve seen clear as a Florida day, our soil needs water, air, and nutrients to permeate deep to allow all good things to grow. This growth is a difficult undertaking when the soil is pressed together so much that it won’t allow any of the good stuff in.
Soil compaction occurs when there is a lot of traffic on the ground, pressing all the soil together. This will happen on virtually any lawn everywhere when people are outside, which is a great deal of time in Florida. As such, soil compaction is common here, which is why aerating the ground a couple of times of the year, in the spring and autumn, becomes so important.
How can aeration and overseeding help build a new grass structure?
With human skin, large pores allow in all sorts of the gross stuff we don’t want to let in, like dirt. In soil, the dirt is already there, and without the large pores, the good stuff isn’t allowed in, like air and water. If you want new, green, thick, lush, and gorgeous grass to grow, aeration and overseeding are the first and most important steps to encourage that growth.
The deeper we can get to the root of your lawn problem, the better for the health of your lawn and the encouragement of new growth. Aerating digs deep and allows for the new seeds in overseeding to burrow in there, building a strong and well-nourished root system for your lawn.
Do they help the unhealthy things like weeds and diseases?
You’ve probably heard of thatched roofs from another place or time, dried grasses that overstayed their welcome in the ground and are now repurposed. Thatch is the stuff that accumulates on the ground, just beneath the green that you see from your grass when a lawn isn’t healthy anymore. This dead stuff has outlived its usefulness in your yard and can develop quicker and more virulent when aeration and overseeding do not occur.
When growing healthy and strong, your grass won’t allow the vacancy in its soil for other invaders like weeds and grass diseases. When grasses are spread too thin or left patchy and unhealthy, it’s like placing a room available ad for weeds to move into easily. Filling newly made spaces with air, sun, water, and the life-producing seed will all but eliminate chances for weeds and diseases to make a home in your yard.
Will my lawn look better once aerated and overseeded?
Think of things that are unhealthy and deteriorating and how they look. Does the vision in your head look appealing, fresh, and beautiful? Likely the answer is no. This is no different for your lawn. If your yard is a mess of bare spots, dead roots, and compact soil, likely, it is not a healthy lawn.
By aerating and feeding the soil what it needs, followed by overseeding with just the right grasses, you are shaping the health of your lawn into a more youthful, vibrant state – meaning that your lawn will look the part, too. As the new roots take shape in their fresh homes, they will burst through the ground’s surface a beautiful green, huddled together with new life—your lawn with being transformed with a new look that will seem worlds away from the old look.
Your “new” lawn will take some serious elbow grease to reinvent itself and is best done by experts in the field. Premier Lawn Care is proud to serve Gainesville, Alachua, and High Springs with fast, reliable, and personal service. Our professionals delight our clients with keen attention to detail and superior quality – and we are excited to share this with you! Contact us for your free estimate!
