Aeration and Overseeding

Aerating and overseeding your lawn is one of the most important steps in your Raleigh lawn care program to achieve a healthy, thick and weed free lawn.  Aerating is the process of punching holes and pulling out plugs of dirt in your lawn, most often done with a walk behind machine that looks similar to a lawn mower.  There are also large ride on aerators and separate units that can be towed behind another machine such as a tractor. 

Aerating has numerous benefits that include loosening compacted soil so air, water and nutrients can freely flow to the grass roots.  Aerating also provides a desirable seed bed for growing new grass, increasing seed to soil contact.  

For cool season grass such as fescue, aerating should be done annually in the fall, and overseeding at this time is the perfect complimentary service.  Warm season grasses such as bermuda and zoysia are typically aerated in the spring, but not usually overseeded, as these types of grasses grow differently than fescue and do not benefit much from the overseeding process.  

Overseeding your fescue lawn in Raleigh is crucial to the health of your grass.  The hot and humid weather in Raleigh can really damage a fescue lawn, and typically by fall, your fescue lawn will have taken a beating from drought, crabgrass and disease. Seeding your lawn is a simple process and can be done by any home owner.  Any big box store will carry seed and a spreader.  Just read the label on the grass seed and match the settings on the spreader of your choice.  Keep in mind that a common mistake is putting down too much seed.  Grass seeds need space to take root, and over crowded seeds with choke each other out.  

Remember to water immediately after seeding.  Regular light watering for 2-4 weeks will achieve optimal results.