When it comes to making your lawn greener and healthier, the sooner the better, right?
Aeration and seeding offers a great one-two punch to boost your lawn’s health.
So, if you aerate today, can the film crews from HGTV show up tomorrow?
How long does aeration take to work? Usually, you’ll start seeing new grass seed pop up in 2-4 weeks.
Let’s learn more about aeration and overseeding timing. Dillon Beardall, manager of fertilizer operations for Lawn Buddies, shares the helpful details here.
Might as well hit Beardall up with your most pressing question first, right?
How long does aeration take to work? Plan on 2-4 weeks, he says.
“It varies, depending on the type of grass seed that's put down,” Beardall says.
Lawn Buddies uses a blend of Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass — about 80 percent Kentucky bluegrass and 20 percent perennial rye. Unlike a single-variety grass seed, blends give you the benefits of more than one variety or species, Beardall says.
“Ryegrass you might see start to pop up in about 14 days,” Beardall says. “Typically, Kentucky bluegrass is going to take a bit longer before it germinates — roughly 3-4 weeks before it pops up.”
How quickly does new grass seed grow? A variety of factors can delay that new grass, he says, from temperature to rain to foot traffic.
“You want a consistent soil temperature,” Beardall says. “If you see major fluctuations in that temperature, then it may take longer.”
That's why the optimal window for aeration and seeding here in Idaho can be pretty narrow, he says.
“The best time to overseed is commonly known as fall, but in our area, it's more considered late summer,” Beardall says, “when our temperatures are a bit more consistent and you can make sure that the grass seed is getting light and frequent irrigation.” (More about those irrigation needs in a bit.)
Fall offers cool temperatures, free watering from rain showers, and enough time for new grass to get going before winter sets in. Lawn Buddies offers aeration and overseeding through mid to late October.
Beardall mentioned frequent irrigation for the best lawn seeding results — but not too much.
“If too much water comes down at once, it can wash the seed away,” Beardall says. “So a heavy rainstorm can definitely cause issues.”
“Aeration is helpful once a year,” Beardall says. “But honestly, overseeding isn't required each year, in my opinion.
“If somebody is following the processes that we always talk about with proper mowing, watering and fertilization, then their lawn will most likely be thick and healthy,” Beardall says.
“Aeration is a good addition,” he says. “But overseeding isn't always required.”
If you want the healthiest, best-looking lawn possible, yes. Aeration is a crucial component of effective lawn care in Idaho Falls and Boise.
What kind of aeration results can you expect? You’ll love the benefits:
Aeration uses a machine to pull out tiny cores of soil from your lawn. That allows crucial water and oxygen to get to the roots.
Your lawn might be compacted and you don’t even realize it. It happens. Soil gets packed down and compacted over time.
Or maybe you know something’s up out there, because your lawn looks thin and patchy, even though it’s getting water and fertilizer.
Aeration is often just the boost struggling lawn needs.
This makes perfect sense, when you think about it — if your soil is looser and airier, it’s easier for your fertilizer to make its way down to your lawn’s roots, where it will boost the health of your grass.
Chances are, you don’t spend much time worried about thatch. But it’s out there in your lawn — a layer of dead grass and stems between your grass blades and the soil. Too much of it prevents important air and water from reaching your lawn’s roots.
When core aeration removes plugs from the thatch, it helps it decompose, allowing oxygen, nutrients, and moisture to reach the roots.
This is one of the best aeration results — fewer weeds!
Aeration helps your lawn grow thick and healthy. Weeds hate that. When your lawn is thick, with no extra space between the blades of grass, weeds can’t make their way in.
Like when the elevator doors open and it’s already packed tight with people. No room for you.
Lawn Buddies only offers aeration and overseeding to customers already on board with their premium, 6-visit lawn care program, so those lawns are already getting the great attention needed for a new lawn to thrive. Fertilizer, weed control and grub control are already out there doing their jobs.
Beyond that, what’s the best way to help new grass seed grow quickly?
Beardall has a few post-aeration lawn care tips:
Beardall is far from a grouchy old man, but says please keep off the grass.
“If you’re walking on it too much, that can damage new grass and negate the results,” he says.
Easy on the mowing. “It's best to avoid mowing while you're trying to grow grass,” he says, “so that new seedlings aren't damaged or grass seed isn't sucked up.” (Skip mowing? Heartbreaking, right?)
“Make sure your irrigation is adjusted to water lightly and frequently,” he says. Your goal: water 2-3 times a day for about 10 minutes so the soil and seed stay moist, but you don’t want it flooded.
When you start to see those seedlings sprout, you can back off to watering just once a day for a bit longer, then eventually shift to deeper, less frequent watering to promote deep and healthy root growth.
“Control the things you can control,” Beardall says, “and hope that the weather cooperates as well.”
Lawn Buddies uses both core aeration and liquid aeration, depending on the lawn's condition.
Is there a difference when it comes to lawn seeding results?
While core aeration uses a machine to pull out soil plugs, liquid aeration applies a liquid solution through a sprayer. An organic mix of chemicals is applied to your lawn that breaks down the thatch layer and allows the lawn’s roots to breathe.
Beardall often prefers the liquid method over traditional core aeration, as long as the soil isn't overly compacted and there are no thick layers of thatch.
Those liquid nutrients build up in your soil over time, Beardall says, conditioning it and encouraging deeper roots for a healthier lawn.
But if you’re planning to follow up that aeration with seeding, as people often do, a core aerator offers the best aeration results, he says, as all those holes created by the aerator are perfect spots for the grass seed to drop into and take hold.
“You need good seed to soil contact,” Beardall says. “Liquid aeration is more of a blend of nutrients designed to help soil structure and root promotion. Both types have their places. But when it comes to overseeding, core aeration is better.”
Core aeration is also the better option if your lawn’s soil is extremely compacted due to years of neglect or you have significant thatch buildup, Beardall says.
Unlike liquid aeration, core aeration physically removes soil cores, creating larger channels for air, water, and nutrients to penetrate better.
Core aeration also offers faster, visible results than liquid aeration, he says, which takes longer to take effect.
Aeration and seeding are a great kick-start for a healthy lawn. And you don’t even have to wait very long to see results. That’s a win-win.
But don’t stop there. A healthy lawn takes more than that. It involves a lot of work and the right knowledge. You have better things to do than toil in your yard every weekend.
Why not leave it to the pros? A proactive, comprehensive lawn care program is designed to nourish your lawn throughout the year with everything it needs to grow healthy and strong.
If you want simple, hassle-free lawn care in Boise and Idaho Falls that offers quality core lawn care services for a healthy, impressive lawn, it doesn’t get easier than Lawn Buddies.
No stressing about which complicated combination of lawn care services will get you beautiful, healthy grass.
You don’t have time to fuss with all that. Give yourself a break with our premium, six-visit lawn care program. It includes everything your lawn needs to thrive and grow healthy and green.
Fertilizer, weed treatments, and grub control, all wrapped up in six visits, each perfectly timed throughout the season, so your grass is green and strong and resists weeds. Add regular lawn aeration to keep your lawn thriving.
Got a few minutes? That’s all you need to get started. Just fill out the form on this page, call us at (208) 656-9131 or read more about our services. Then you can kick back and relax in your healthy, thriving yard.