The secret to a beautiful lawn is to get it aerated and fertilized regularly. Grass can become compacted, or have a dense thatch layer on it that inhibit air, water, and nutrients from getting to the roots. Getting your lawn aerated allows for the needed air, water and nutrients to get down to the roots.
With the idea of a beautiful lawn in mind, here are a few helpful tips to consider for aerating and fertilizing your lawn:
How is the Lawn Aerated?
Lawn aeration is done by using a machine that extracts small cores leaving small holes throughout the yard. The cores are left on the lawn to help fertilize the lawn.
Leaving the cores on the lawn has two benefits. It provides access to the roots for water, air, and nutrients while fertilizing the growing grass. The cores may seem unattractive at first, but they quickly dissolve and decompose. The benefit of leaving the cores on the lawn greatly outweigh raking them up.
When Should Aerate your Lawn?
Few homeowners aerate their lawns enough and are denying their home the beautiful yard they could have. The most efficient time to aerate your lawn is in the fall because weed growth has slowed, but your grass is still actively growing. Getting your lawn aerated in the fall gives your grass the chance to grow and be strengthened before the spring when weeds are ready to attack.
How Often Should you Aerate your Lawn?
Although there is no exact way to say how often you should get your yard aerated, most claim it’s best to get your yard aerated anywhere from yearly to every three years.
It all depends on how often your yard is used and how passionate you are about having a beautiful lawn. Getting your lawn aerated every year is one of the only ways to guarantee you will have a great lawn come springtime.
If you have children who play in the yard or you are frequently walking on your grass than it is even more critical that you get your grass aerated yearly because the soil becomes more compacted when people walk on it.
Fertilizing your Lawn
So, what exactly does fertilizing your lawn do besides green up the grass? Well, there’s a lot that it does. When you apply the right nutrients you grass needs at this time of year, you will help your lawn recover energy that has been spent during the hot summer months. Fertilization also promotes new growth, recovery from wear and pest damage, and reduces the weed population. Regular applications of a good fertilizer replace the nutrients that have been lost to leaching, volatilization and clipping removal.
Late-season fertilization of warm-season grasses should be done after the heat of summer has begun to subside, usually in early fall. It’s important that applications be made early enough so that all of the nutrients have enough time to be absorbed before the beginning of dormancy.
To combat annual weeds, like crabgrass, a pre-emergent herbicide is often combined with fertilizer in the fall. Pre-emergents prevent weed seeds from germinating and work with post-emergent herbicides in keeping your lawn as weed-free as possible all season. Regular on-going professional care for your lawn, all season, is essential. The fall treatments and other fall services play a big part in having a thick, green, and virtually weed-free lawn through fall and into next spring.
Come See us Today!
For your lawn care needs year round, come see our talented staff today! We carry all you need for grass seed and fertilizer. (overseed, fertilize, strengthen roots, etc.)
We also carry brands you can trust like Scotts, Greenview and Pennington.
