Lawn Aeration and Overseeding Services: What You Need for Your Louisville Home

Did you know that a healthy lawn needs to breathe? Because Louisville’s soil is predominantly clay, it becomes compacted pretty easily. Clay soil has small pore space to begin with and when it becomes compacted, it’s very difficult for not only oxygen but also water and nutrients to move toward the subsurface levels where they’re needed most.

This is why lawn aeration in Louisville, KY is so valuable. This is a lawn care service that helps break up compacted soil and improve the overall structure of the turf.

In this article, we’ll explain how to aerate a lawn and provide more details on why it’s so important. If you care about having a healthy and thriving lawn, this is a service that you really shouldn’t skip.

What is Lawn Aeration in Louisville, KY?

Lawn aeration is a service that involves making holes throughout the lawn by pulling cores of soil using a machine called an aerator. The cores (or “plugs,” as they’re also called) are then left on the ground where the natural breakdown process will add nutrients into the soil.

This process allows more oxygen, water, and nutrients to penetrate down to the root zone. This creates a more favorable growing environment for your lawn’s roots. 

Healthier roots add up to a healthier lawn.

What are the Benefits of Lawn Aeration in Louisville, KY?

When soil is compacted and oxygen, water, and nutrients are failing to make it to the root zone, a lawn can really struggle. But lawn aeration helps to break up that compacted soil.

This can lead to important benefits, including:

• Healthier Grass: When the roots are getting what they need, your lawn is going to perform better. From a resilience standpoint, that means a lawn that can better stand up to problems. Lawn problems like weeds, disease, and pests tend to be more prevalent in lawns that are already struggling.
• Improved Aesthetics: Healthier grass tends to be greener and thicker which means a well-aerated lawn will have improved aesthetics. Before lawn aeration, compacted soil can mean that your lawn isn’t achieving its full potential because oxygen, water, and nutrients are struggling to move down to the root zone where they’re desperately needed. 
• More Value out of Lawn Care Services: If you are paying for services like lawn fertilization and weed control but you aren’t investing in lawn aeration, you might not be getting the maximum value out of these other services. These lawn care products are going to be sitting atop the compacted soil instead of penetrating down to the root zone where they’re needed.
• Improved Drainage: Compacted soil can also become waterlogged. Waterlogging occurs when water is unable to drain. With no air space left, your grassroots can literally drown.

What are the Benefits of Aerating and Overseeding at the Same Time?

Overseeding and aerating go hand-in-hand, which means that we’re also introducing putting down grass seed at the time of aeration.

Seeding is best done at the time of lawn aeration in Louisville, KY since the compacted soil is being broken up. If you seed without aerating, the seeds are just going to sit atop hard and compacted soil and won’t germinate. Seeds require seed-to-soil contact in order to grow.

When we seed, we are adding new and improved grass types which are ideally suited to the area and will help you grow a healthier lawn.

Seeding is also important to fill in bare spots. If your lawn is getting thin or has bare patches, seeding will help.

How to Aerate a Lawn

Aerating a lawn involves pushing or riding a lawn aerator around your property to mechanically pull the cores of soil. You would then follow this service with seeding in which you would push a seeder around the property to distribute grass seed.

Keep in mind that the best time for lawn aeration in Louisville, KY is in the Fall. This is because the Fall is the best time to grow grass seed. The air is cooling down but the soil is still warm. 

While some people try to seed in the Spring, this is a very difficult time to grow grass. For one, the newly grown grass has very little time to mature and establish itself before having to deal with the intense effects of the heat and sun. But, seeding in the Spring is also not recommended as this will impact your ability to control early Spring lawn weeds like crabgrass. The crabgrass pre-emergent products that can be applied to prevent crabgrass growth will also inhibit your new grass seed from growing. 

While it’s true that you can rent an aerator and perform this service yourself, there are a few key reasons why it’s best left to a professional.

These include: 

• The Quality of the Equipment: One big reason is the quality of the equipment you’d be renting for a DIY job. You’re going to get a machine that many other people before you have already used…and many may have used improperly. It might be beat-up equipment that produces subpar results. It’s important to recognize that the quality of the equipment will directly relate to the quality of your results.
• The Hassles, Headaches, and Stress Involved: Lawn aeration can be a bit more involved than people tend to realize. For one, it involves having to rent and transport the equipment yourself. If you don’t have a truck or trailer, you may have to rent one. It can also be more arduous work than homeowners think. It can be exhausting and stressful to push a clunky rental around your property. You’ll have to give up free time and might be unhappy with your results. You should also keep in mind that operating heavy machinery can be dangerous. If you make a mistake you could damage your property.
• The Quality of the Grass Seed: It’s also worth mentioning that the quality of the grass seed used by a professional is going to yield much better results than the store-bought grass seed you might pick up yourself. This will also make a huge difference in your results. 

Hiring a Professional for Lawn Aeration Louisville KY

Given the importance of aerating and overseeding, you want to make sure that these services are done right. When you hire a professional to perform these services, you can remove the guesswork and help ensure the best results.

At Limbwalker, we not only offer lawn aeration but also a service called power seeding, which is more intense but can yield enhanced results. If you have a lawn that is in rough shape, this might be the preferable service.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to getting the results that you desire and deserve. 

When you choose Limbwalker to help grow and care for your lawn, you can gain confidence that we’re committed to offering the best over everything. That means the best grass seed, the best lawn care services, AND the best customer experience.

We are here to be your lawn care partner and set you up for long-term success.

Are you ready to have a thick and healthy lawn that’s getting everything it needs at your Louisville, KY home? Get in touch with us to get a quote for our lawn care programs, which include three lawn care pricing options, and about adding power seeding to one of those programs.