Aeration & Overseeding: A Summer Romance

On the surface, you wouldn’t necessarily guess that you should fry peanut butter and bananas on a sandwich, but Elvis loved it. And we’ve all seen those videos of lions hanging out with dogs and the many variations of interspecies friendship.

They say opposites attract. You can’t always tell what will be perfect for you until it’s staring you right in the face. Here in LA, the home of countless romantic comedies, we know this well and have made a business out of the opposites attract story.

That’s how it is for aeration and overseeding. They might not seem like an obvious fit. One comes in, pokes holes, and tears up everything, while the other is all about adding something to nurture, but together, they’re a match made in heaven.

So how do they work, why do they go better together, and how can you arrange this meet for your lawn? M1 has the answers to get you to your happily ever after.

500 Footpounding Days Of Summer – Compact Soil

In the summer, we gather. Whether you have barbeques or pool parties, if you’re a fan of outdoor summer entertaining, your yard is getting more foot traffic than it does the rest of the year. But, of course, the weather is always summer around here, and we have many more outdoor gatherings!

Unfortunately, that foot traffic has an effect. Wherever people are walking more, your soil is getting pounded. And as it gets stomped, the dirt settles and gets denser.

Space is the friend of grass and other plants. Loose, spacious soil allows nutrients and water to reach the plants. On the other hand, when soil is too dense, growth becomes more difficult.

You’ve Got Bare Spots

Bare spots in your lawn signify that your soil has gotten too dense. It can also indicate erosion problems which can further increase soil density. Dense soil can make drainage problems worse, which makes erosion worse, which then makes soil denser!

Putting it all together means it’s time to fix the problem.

Up In the Aer(ation)

Here is where aeration comes in. Aeration is a method of airing your soil, creating more room in and underneath the surface. The result is similar to that of sifting flour though the process necessarily differs due to the soils’ earthen nature.

To aerate the soil, we poke holes in it. But because only poking holes would make parts of the ground denser, we must also pull out cores of earth called plugs.

Not using professional aeration equipment can create denser soil if pulling up the plugs is not part of the process. That’s why just going out with cleats or something else sharp is not the best way for your lawn aeration needs.

On A Clear Day, You Can Seed Forever

As for overseeding, you can probably guess how it works by reading the word itself. Overseeding involves spreading seeds over the lawn.

While you can lay down sod or plant seeds over bare spots, overseeding is a way to continually add healthy new grass to a lawn as a form of maintenance. Overseeding is performed over the entirety or a wide swath of the property rather than planting seeds as a spot treatment.

Overseeding keeps your lawn healthy and has other benefits.

Can’t Hardly Weed (Because You Won’t Need To)

One extra benefit of aeration and overseeding is that it inhibits weed growth. So when your yard is crowded with plants you want – like thick beautiful grass- it leaves no room for plants you don’t, like weeds. In other words, if you don’t want weeds, don’t give them a place to call home!

Thatchless in the Greater LA Area

Another problem that lawns experience, particularly over the summer mowing season, is thatch. Thatch is the accumulation of plant matter that builds up around grass faster than it can break down.

Though thatch can help to create resilience in lawns, the problem with too much thatch is it can kill your grass. When thatch builds up around your grass, it can have difficulty getting the resources it needs to be healthy, much like the dense soil we discussed earlier.

So it’s not a coincidence that you are also dethatching your lawn when aerating it. As you pull up cores or earth, you also pull up cores of thatch. You can think of dethatching as the wacky sidekick of the extended rom-com metaphor.

About Timing

Aeration can happen anytime, but it is typically done in the fall. That’s because overseeding is best performed after aeration, And it’s best to plant before the primary growing season while the weather is mild.

M1 is here to perform all of these tasks that many property owners don’t have the equipment or time to undertake.

“You Complete Me” – Aeration to Overseeding

So why do aeration and overseeding go so well together? Why do these opposites attract?

Aeration creates the perfect conditions for new life to grow. So the best time to plant seeds is after aeration.

Seeds need water, nutrients, and air. Aeration makes it possible for all of these resources to reach the seed. It also gives them the space required for growing.

So when you overseed after aeration, the seeds have a space to call home and routes for all their needs to reach them.

Growth: Actually – What To Do After

It’s essential to keep your grass well watered after aeration and overseeding. New seeds need all the help they can get to grow into healthy grass and a beautiful lawn.

We will also often fertilize grass seeds when we do aeration and overseeding. But, again, the combination can’t be beat.

Hollywood Ending

So has your lawn met its match yet? Or are you a homeowner looking at a yard, asking it to love you?

M1 is here to help you make your lawn the best it can be, and we can help you with all your other landscaping needs too!

So if you’re looking for the landscaping match made in heaven, give us a call. If you have questions, let us know or check out the M1 Facebook page.

Or maybe we had you at the lawn?