4 Benefits of Aeration and Overseeding Your Lawn

Your Northeast Ohio lawn goes through quite a lot throughout the year. 

It surges with growth in spring after surviving a cold winter. Then as temperatures heat up it has to make it through the hot, dry summer. 

By fall, your lawn is ready for a break. And it might show signs of wear. It might look tired or thin. 

Never fear! Fall is the perfect time to give your lawn the boost it needs to replenish itself for winter and recover before that next big growing season. 

One practice that’s essential for keeping your Northeast Ohio lawn happy is core aeration.

Let’s take a look at signs that can tell you whether you need to aerate your lawn and review lawn aeration benefits. 

Top 4 Lawn Aeration Benefits 

To achieve and maintain an amazing lawn, you need to take care of it. This means regular mowing to a decent height of 3 to 4 inches, consistent and proper fertilization, persistent weed control, correct watering, and scouting for pesky insects and diseases. 

But for Northeast Ohio lawns, two other important annual services are aeration and overseeding. 

When you aerate your lawn, you’re essentially removing small soil plugs or cores with an aerator. Taking out some of this dead organic matter makes room for new growth and the infusion of critical nutrients your lawn needs, including air, water, and fertilizer. 

There are 4 reasons aerating and overseeding a lawn improves your yard’s appearance. 

1. Reduces Soil Compaction

The removal of plugs in the process of core aeration does quite a lot for your lawn.

Think about it. Your grass gets walked on all day long – whether it’s your dog playing fetch, your kids playing soccer, or just you mowing on its surface. 

Over time, soil naturally becomes compacted. In fact, research shows that more than two-thirds of U.S. lawns are growing on compacted soils. 

This compaction results in off-color grass blades; grass that can’t stand up to high temperatures; and grass that doesn’t stand a fighting chance against weed, insect, or disease infestations. All this adds up to more dead spots and a thinner lawn. 

Aeration helps break up this soil compaction, enabling your lawn to breathe again and better absorb water and nutrients. 

2. Replenishes Nutrients in the Soil

You know what fresh, loose topsoil looks and feels like vs. soil that is dry and hard as a rock.

Roots have a much easier time growing in good soil. 

The plugs removed while aerating a lawn take a couple of weeks to break down and decompose. This process helps return good nutrients and topdressing back to your soil with subsequent mowings, giving it a better environment in which roots can grow.

3. Breaks Up Thatch

In addition to compaction, grass stems, roots, clippings, and debris settle on the ground and accumulate into something known as thatch. 

Thatch accumulates over time below the grass line. While it’s usually out of sight, thatch can impact the amount of water, air, and nutrients that can get to your grass roots. 

core aeration breaks up this thatch and helps ease the flow of nutrients back to your lawn. 

4. Provides a Great Environment for Seed Germination

Fall lawn aeration in Northeast Ohio also is a great service to do before fall overseeding. 

Why? Lawn seeds require soil contact to germinate. When you aerate, you create the perfect holes for seeds to settle in. This increases the likelihood of germination, resulting in greater success when thickening your lawn. 

Aerating and overseeding a lawn together encourages seed germination and root growth, resulting in a stronger strand of grass. 

Fall is the Perfect Time to Aerate Your Lawn

Northeast Ohio lawns can go through quite a lot of stress throughout the year, and aerating and overseeding a lawn are practices that encourage thicker, greener grass.

Anytime you have a happier lawn, you also have one that can stand against weeds, diseases, and insects, as well as handle drought stress. 

If your lawn is looking like it needs a little pick-me-up, these services may be all it needs. 

Wondering if your lawn needs an aeration boost? Turf Pride can help. We’d be happy to come take a look at your lawn and give you an assessment of what it needs to look its best. 

All you want is a green, happy lawn, and Turf Pride knows what it takes to get there. Get started today with a free quote for your Northeast Ohio lawn. Together, we’ll customize a plan that makes your lawn the best on the block.