Month: October 2018

You know when you see small cylinders of soil on someone’s lawn and you think, “huh, what’s that about?”

That person had their lawn aerated. They were taking care of their lawn and achieving a thicker, healthier lawn.

Regular lawn maintenance goes a long way in creating a thicker, healthier lawn. Even tasks that you only need to do once a year can play a significant role in maintaining your lawn’s health and appearance.

For many homeowners, aerating their lawn is a regular task they do annually. But why do they do it?

Why aerate your lawn

First of all, aeration involves perforating the soil with small holes so that air, water, and nutrients can penetrate down to the grass roots. This helps the roots grow deeply so your lawn is stronger.

Lawn aeration also relieves soil compaction and enhances grass growth. Compacted soil inhibits the flow of the air and nutrients that will make a significant difference in the health and beauty of your lawn.

Benefits of aeration

Aerating your lawn can help make it healthier and reduce your maintenance requirements because of these benefits:

• Improved air exchange between the soil and atmosphere
• Reduced water runoff and puddling
• Stronger roots
• Reduced soil compaction
• Enhanced heat and drought stress tolerance
• Thatch breakdown
• Improved resiliency and cushioning

When lawns need aeration

The best time to aerate your lawn is during the growing season so that the grass can fill in any open areas after soil plugs are removed. Ideally, you’d aerate your lawn in the early spring or fall.

It may not seem like your lawn is compacted or that it has enough traffic for it to become so, but it happens easier than you may think. Vehicles or small equipment driven on the lawn are obvious offenders, but a lot of playing in the yard or hosting parties can leave your lawn compacted.

If your grass looks stressed and the soil is hard to the touch, or rainwater puddles up where it used to be absorbed, you probably have a compaction problem.

What do I do after aerating my lawn?

After your lawn has been aerated, let the soil plugs dry where they fall. They’ll break down during the next rainfall or crumble when you mow next. They add beneficial soil and organic matter to your lawn surface.

Right after aeration is the perfect time to overseed and fertilize your lawn. Seeds and nutrients will have direct contact with the soil through the openings created during aeration, giving roots the direct and fresh pathways they need to grow.

Aerate Your Lawn with the Team You Trust

Get a jump start on a greener lawn with Pro Outdoor. With our irrigation expertise along with aeration services, there will be increased success in achieving a healthier lawn.

Give the Pro Outdoor team a call today and get started on the aeration process.

Overseeding sounds like a bad thing, right? Something you want to avoid doing to your lawn?

Actually, overseeding is a way to fill in bare spots, improve the density of your lawn, and enhance your lawn’s color. It’s the secret to achieving the beautiful lawn you’ve been wanting.

Maybe you’ve been eyeing the neighbor’s luscious lawn and wondering just how they managed that. It was probably overseeding.

If your lawn looks old, if it needs an increasing amount of water and fertilizer, or if it’s disease and insect prone, it’s the perfect candidate for overseeding.

The Benefits of Overseeding

Overseeding with a newer turfgrass variety can help your older lawn withstand insects, disease, drought, shady conditions, and heavy traffic. The investment in overseeding pays off by reducing the overall amount of fertilizer, water, and pesticides needed throughout the year.

Plus, a renovated, overseeded lawn stays greener longer and looks thicker and healthier.

When is the Best Time to Overseed?

Late summer or early fall is the best time to overseed your lawn. Soil and atmospheric temperatures are most favorable for optimum seed germination and growth at that time of year.

With adequate moisture, fertilizer, and sunlight, your new seedlings will be established before cooler fall weather sets in. Also, weeds are less of a factor during late summer and early fall, which gives your grass seedlings a better environment to develop and flourish.

Overseeding Aftercare

Depending on the conditions of your lawn and the type of seed, new grass seed will usually start to emerge in about a week after seeding. An overseeded lawn can be fully established in about eight weeks.

Proper watering is critical to make your overseeding efforts a success:

• Immediately after overseeding, water heavily to wash grass seeds into slits.
• For the first 10-14 days – or until the grass seeds germinate – water lightly on a daily basis, soaking the first inch of soil.
• After germination, water less frequently, but allow for deeper soaking and penetration into the soil. This will encourage deeper root growth.
• After your grass is established, water at the recommended level for the type of grass planted.

The key is patience. Proper overseeding will produce a healthier, more luscious-looking lawn that will respond better to mowing, fertilization, and water. But it does take some time, patience, and dedication to make your lawn look healthy.

Get the Healthy Lawn You Want with the Team You Trust

You’ll see the difference in everything we do – from understanding every challenge as you see it, to leaving no questions unanswered about how we can help your lawn stay green and healthy.

We are Pro Outdoor. And if you believe like us that quality, service, and value still matter, then you’re ready to grow with us.

Contact Us and start the journey to a healthier lawn.