You know your lawn needs help, but how drastic is the situation?

Have you found yourself staring at your weedy, patchy lawn and shouting, “I just want to set it on fire and start over!”

Don’t grab the flamethrower just yet.

Jump to Section

• First, What’s the Difference Between Lawn Renovation and Reseeding?
• A Closer Look at Aeration and Overseeding
• How to Renovate a Lawn in Idaho Falls
• How Do You Know if Your Lawn Needs Renovation or Just Reseeding?
• Aeration and Overseeding Help Healthy Lawns, Too
• Frequently Asked Questions About Lawn Renovation vs Reseeding
• Get Great Lawn Care Results with Lawn Buddies

What does your struggling lawn really need? Could it be as simple as a refresh with aeration and overseeding? Or is it time to admit you need to start over with a whole new lawn?

What’s the difference between lawn renovation and reseeding?

While reseeding involves spreading new grass seed over an existing lawn, a lawn renovation is a bigger project: it kills the existing lawn and weeds and starts over.

Let’s learn more about lawn renovation vs reseeding.

Reseeding involves spreading grass seed over an existing lawn, often following aeration. (More on aeration in a bit.) It’s used when your lawn needs a boost but isn’t a total disaster.

A lawn renovation is a full overhaul. It involves removing or killing all existing grass and weeds, treating or replacing the soil, and starting over with new grass, either by seeding or installing sod.

A renovation is usually recommended if more than half of your lawn is dead, diseased, or infested with weeds; your soil structure needs to be completely rebuilt; or you want to change the grass variety.

Maybe the people who planted your grass didn’t do their research to figure out which variety will really thrive there. In that case, a lawn renovation with the best seed suited for Idaho is your best bet. 

A Closer Look at Aeration and Overseeding

Aeration and overseeding can work wonders on a struggling lawn that’s thin or patchy, especially if your lawn’s soil is compacted. It’s one of the top lawn-thinning and bare-spot solutions.

When your soil becomes compacted, your lawn can't breathe. Its roots can't take in water or nutrients, which weakens your turf and opens the door for disease and weeds.

Lawn aeration uses a machine to pull out soil plugs, creating spaces that allow air and water to penetrate, leading to healthier roots. Healthier roots make for a healthier, thicker lawn, better able to resist pests and diseases and tolerate summer’s heat and drought.

Lawn aeration also helps break down thatch, that layer of dead grass and stems that sits between the grass blades and the soil.

Aeration is often followed by overseeding, as the holes created by aeration are perfect new homes for the grass seed.

You’ll start to see new grass sprouting in a few weeks, but you might not notice true results for a few months to a year.

Eventually, you’ll notice thicker turf. And a healthier turf that’s better at resisting diseases and won’t dry out as fast.

Sounds like a great plan, right?

It can be. But if your lawn is in really bad shape, aeration and overseeding might not be enough to rejuvenate it. You might need to start over with a lawn renovation.

How to Renovate a Lawn in Idaho Falls

Renovation is starting a new lawn from scratch.

What does a full lawn renovation include? Several steps:

• Killing all existing grass and weeds
• Removing the thatch (a layer of dead organic matter) to ensure good seed-to-soil contact
• Tilling the soil or aerating to allow oxygen and nutrients to reach the roots
• Raking the surface to fix uneven spots and create a smooth surface for grass seed
• Spreading high-quality grass seed
• Applying starter fertilizer and covering the seed with compost or soil to retain moisture
• Frequent watering so the soil stays moist and the seed can germinate

How Do You Know if Your Lawn Needs Renovation or Just Reseeding?

Is your lawn just thin? Struggling to overcome weeds? Or has it been years since you could get grass to grow?

If you’re looking for lawn thinning and bare spots solutions, aeration and overseeding might be enough.

But maybe you’ve been trying to grow grass for years, and it just isn’t working.

Sometimes a lawn has bare spots that don't go away, no matter how much you water, fertilize and use your favorite swear words.

Bare spots can be due to many things. Idaho lawn repair services pros can help you get to the root of the problem.

You might have too much shade. Grass needs sun to grow, and aeration and grass seed can’t replace that.

You might have to thin your trees to let more sunlight through. Or replace your grass with shade-loving plants or mulch.

Your lawn might be too wet. You might be watering too much or have a drainage problem.

Maybe your soil has no nutrition. If you’ve been fertilizing, but it doesn’t seem to make any difference, your soil pH might need adjusting. If your pH is off, your grass won’t absorb the nutrients it needs, even if you fertilize regularly. A soil test can help. If your soil’s pH level is out of whack, you can add the right soil amendments to bring it to the right level.

Maybe your lawn is battling a disease that’s preventing it from becoming healthy.

You get the idea. There are many reasons a lawn struggles, and a variety of ways to fix it, depending on the problem.

But if you’re frustrated and tired of trying everything, and pondering lawn renovation vs reseeding, it’s probably time to start over with a whole new lawn, especially if you’re battling a lot of grassy lawn weeds that are tough to kill without killing the rest of your grass, too.

Aeration and Overseeding Help Healthy Lawns, Too.

Even if your lawn is healthy, it still benefits from occasional aeration and overseeding. This helpful lawn task isn’t just for struggling, thin, patchy lawns. Aeration makes the soil looser and airier, allowing crucial water, fertilizer, and oxygen to reach the roots.

If your lawn is thick and healthy, you might not need to overseed as often after aeration. But if there are thin spots, or you see fungus or disease, those are signs some fresh, quality seed can do your lawn some real good.

What kind of seed?

Lawn Buddies uses a blend of Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass — about 80 percent Kentucky bluegrass and 20 percent perennial ryegrass. Unlike a single-variety grass seed, blends give you the benefits of more than one variety or species.

Frequently Asked Questions About Lawn Renovation vs Reseeding

Q: What is the best time of year to reseed a lawn in Idaho?

A: 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.

Q: How Often Does a Lawn Need Aeration and Overseeding?

A: Aeration is helpful for all lawns once a year, but your lawn might not need to be seeded every time. If you’re following good lawn care practices like proper mowing, watering and fertilizing, your lawn should be thick enough and not need seeding.

Q: Can overseeding fix a patchy lawn, or do I need renovation?

A: It depends on why your lawn is patchy. Idaho lawn repair service pros can evaluate your lawn and help you decide which procedure is best for it.

Q: How long does lawn renovation take to show results?

A: You’ll start to see new grass growth in 2-4 weeks, but it takes several months before you’ll see thicker, healthier grass.

Q: Should I hire a professional for lawn renovation in Idaho Falls?

A: This is one lawn job where it really helps to hire a pro. Experts can help you determine if your lawn really needs a full renovation or if aeration and seeding might do the trick. If renovation is needed, it’s a demanding, time- consuming job. Idaho lawn repair services have the skill, expertise and access to professional-level products and equipment to do the job right.

Get Great Lawn Care Results with Lawn Buddies

How do you know if your lawn needs renovation or just reseeding? We’d love to help you figure it out.

Lawn Buddies offers expert aeration and overseeding to help your compacted, patchy lawn thrive again.

If your lawn needs a full renovation, the pros at Outback Landscape, our partner company, can give you the green, healthy lawn you’ll love. No flamethrower needed.

A healthy lawn takes a lot of time, knowledge and care. It’s not a one-time fix.

A proactive, comprehensive lawn care program is designed to nourish your lawn year-round with everything it needs to grow healthy and strong.

If you want simple, hassle-free lawn care in 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.