Power seeding Vs Aeration and Overseeding: Which Should I choose for My Lawn?

If you’re looking for a lush and thick lawn, you might be considering power seeding.

Even the healthiest lawns have some bare patches where weeds can sneak in. But adding new grass growth to your lawn with a service like power seeding can help you continually produce the best results.

Of course, we often get questions from homeowners who have also heard of aeration and overseeding, another service for growing new grass. These homeowners want to know: Is power seeding worth it….and what’s the difference between power seeding vs aeration?

We understand that there’s a lot of lawn care lingo out there and you might need some help figuring out what’s best.

In this article, we’ll dive into the differences and help give you a better understanding of what power seeding is all about so that you can determine if it’s right for you.

What Exactly is Power Seeding?

Power seeding, which has also been called “slice seeding” or “slit seeding,” is the process of using a machine to cut rows into the soil and plant seeds. It’s a service used by golf courses to achieve some of the thickest, healthiest turfs around.

With power seeding, the cutting of the soil and the planting of the grass seed is all methodically completed in a mechanical way so that you know your grass seed is actually being planted in the ground. Much like a farmer would cut rows into the soil to plant his or her crops, with power seeding, you are installing a lawn in an efficient and effective way.

This is quite different from the other primary method for planting grass, which we’ll talk about next.

At Limbwalker, when we power seed, we use a custom blend of premium turf-type tall fescues to fill in your bare spots and create a thick and healthy lawn. It’s important that you’re also using a high-quality seed when power seeding your lawn if you truly want to get the best results.

house with tree and lawn

Power Seeding Vs. Aeration and Overseeding

First and foremost, you should know the goal of both of these services is the same (to grow new grass). They just have two different ways of attempting to achieve these results.

With aeration and overseeding, a machine called an aerator is used to pull cores of soil and create holes throughout the lawn. Then seeding is performed (seeds are tossed onto the lawn) with the hope that those seeds will fall into the holes.

It’s important that the seeds do wind up in the holes as seeds require “seed-to-soil contact” for germination. If seeds are just left atop the ground, they are unlikely to actually germinate.

The trouble with aeration is that many of the seeds are just left on top of the ground.

Oftentimes they just become really expensive birdseed!

Or, they might just dry out before ever getting the chance to germinate.

But with power seeding, we are actually cutting rows into the soil and planting the seed there. It’s a big difference in terms of germination success.

Because we want to help Louisville homeowners achieve the best possible results, we offer power seeding…and yes, we do feel that power seeding is worth it.

dog and lwan

In fact, we find that people get results they are much happier with than aeration, where there’s just too much uncertainty. When you’re paying good money for seed, you don’t want it just thrown about your lawn with hopes that it will land in the holes.

You want that grass seed actually planted.


And that’s what you get with power seeding. There’s a visual component to it and you’ll actually see the planted rows. You’ll also see that new grass starts growing pretty soon after. Homeowners tell us it’s a good feeling when they start to see that new grass pop up…especially in those bare spots.

It’s new life that they can actually see!

When Should I Be Power Seeding My Lawn?

Here in Louisville, Kentucky, the best time for power seeding is in the fall.

That’s because the soil is still warm but the air temperatures are cooler. That makes for favorable conditions for new grass growth. Trying to grow new grass seed in the spring can be very challenging because your brand-new grass won’t have much time to establish itself before it has to contend with the hot summer sun.

On top of that, when you plant grass in the spring, it can also interfere with using weed control products.

Is Power Seeding My Lawn Truly Necessary?

We know that you invest a lot in lawn care and you might be wondering if this is an extra service that you really need.

The answer to this honestly depends upon your expectations. We understand that not all homeowners want a golf course-like lawn. They just want to get rid of weeds and have an overall healthy lawn.

But we also have plenty of homeowners who really want their lawns to be the best they can be. For homeowners who really do want the best lawn on the block, power seeding makes a lot of sense.

Lawn-care-customer-1-1

Not only is it the best way to fill in bare spots, but it will also thicken up your lawn as a whole, which comes with other benefits like naturally choking out weeds.

Finding Power Seeders in Louisville, KY

If you’re someone that falls into the category of wanting the best possible lawn, then you will definitely want to consider adding power seeding to your lawn care program.

You’ll find that there are lawn care companies that only offer aeration and overseeding, but to get the most value for your investment, we do advise looking for power seeders. For the reasons we explained in this article, we believe power seeding is the best way to grow a thick and healthy lawn.

At Limbwalker, we recommend power seeding every other year to help keep your lawn thick and healthy while pushing out pesky weeds and reducing the need for herbicides. The thicker and healthier your lawn is, the happier you’ll be.

When looking for power seeders, our advice is to look for a company that has your best interest at heart.

At Limbwalker, we want to make everything as easy and successful for you as possible. That’s why we perform quality checks for all of our clients who have had power seeding done. We come around to check to make sure that everything is growing as it should.

At the end of the day, it all boils down to your happiness. We want you to be able to get out and enjoy your lawn to the fullest and we’re here to help.

Lawn-care-customer-cornhole-1

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.

Get a Quote

Chris O'Bryan

Chris O'Bryan

Chris grew up in Louisville, KY. He holds a Forestry degree from the The University of Kentucky and a Master's Degree in Economics from Clemson University. He is a Certified Arborist and 5-time Kentucky Tree Climbing Champion. When not at work, he has fun with his family, enjoys traveling, one-wheeling, and working in his yard.

Related Posts