Aeration & Overseeding: Organic ways to improve soil and strengthen roots
Keeping your yard a lush green can be a challenge, especially with the intense heat this time of the year. To make the job easier, simple techniques like aeration and overseeding are a must, but to be successful it’s crucial these are done properly.
Aeration allows air and water to reach roots
Aeration is the process of making small holes in the soil throughout your yard, which allow air, water and nutrients to reach the roots. To aerate your yard, first wait until the soil is moist, since that is when this process will be most effective. Then it would be ideal to use a plug aerating machine and thoroughly run it over your lawn, which means multiple passes over every area. Avoid standard aerating tools like spike aerators, as they can actually cause extra soil compaction and even root damage. Once you’ve aerated, you’ll want to get rid of the removed soil plugs to give your yard a clean look. To do this, allow the plugs to thoroughly dry and then run over them with a lawn mower.
Overseeding improves lawn density and fights insects
Overseeding is as simple as it sounds, but there are some crucial things to remember when doing it on your own. To overseed, you first want to cut your grass as short as possible, remove any debris, and then loosen any soil that is grassless. Next, you’ll want to fill a seed spreader and run it over the entirety of your lawn to ensure the seed is evenly distributed. Perhaps the most critical part of the process is watering, which should be done once or twice a day after seeding.
Call Gerbert & Sons to learn more about aeration and overseeding techniques.
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