North Carolina lawns can go through a lot throughout the winter season. Your turf will likely struggle to stay healthy with all of the changes it goes through during the change to the seasons. One of the major issues that your turf can start to show signs of in the springtime is compacted soil.

Compacted soil can cause several different issues, but it can really only be rectified in one way. This is by aeration. And to really make your lawn thrive, you should follow the core aeration process up with overseeding.

If you aren’t sure what either of these really means, Pine Valley Turf is ready to help you understand. The better you understand the struggles your lawn may face, the better you can treat your lawn.

Follow along to educate yourself on spring aeration!

When Is The Best Time to Aerate Your Turf?

The best time to aerate your turf is when your soil has become compact. Compact soil can be detected by

  1. Testing the soil with a screwdriver – if you cannot get the tool more than a few centimeters into your lawn, you might be dealing with compacted soil.
  2. Water overflow – if you are watering your grass the proper amount but you notice that a lot of the water filters out onto the sidewalk, it is a sign your grass is no longer absorbing the water. This means that it is likely that your fertilizer isn’t being absorbed by your turf either.

When your lawn is compacted and is unable to accept the nutrients, you aren’t going to have a thriving lawn, you are likely going to have a dead lawn. So once these issues are identified, it is time to take action. That is where aeration comes in.

 

man aerating

 

Traditional

Core Aeration

The act of traditional core aeration is using a machine to pull up bits of your lawn, ranging anywhere from one inch deep to three inches deep. These are pulled up in little “plugs” by metal machinery. What this strategy does is allow the compacted soil to receive better airflow. When soil becomes compacted over time, it is likely the issue isn’t deeper than three inches.

After this process is in place, your lawn will look a little messy. But trusting the process is part of how you can make your lawn thrive. You might have to get messy to make your lawn healthier in the long run.

Then Comes Overseeding Practices

Overseeding is a lawn practice that is most effective when done following the aeration process. When your soil has all this newfound airflow but is also torn up, it is ready to be fed again. And this time, it has the capacity to accept the nutrients you are giving it.

So we will take an initialized blend of seed fertilizer and layer it over your freshly aerated lawn. This will begin the regrowth process and the journey back to health. But the work doesn’t stop here. A newly aerated and overseeded lawn will rarely thrive without a proper watering schedule. Hydration is the number one aftercare method to ensure all the progress created thus far is not wasted.

aeration

 

 

Contact Pine Valley Turf Today to Get Your North Carolina Lawn Aerated and Overseeded 

Are you ready to bring your lawn back and make it better than ever? Then it is time for you to consider spring aeration services followed by overseeding services. Pine Valley Turf’s aeration and overseeding services can be used alone or as part of our comprehensive lawn care strategy.

We understand that each person’s lawn is unique, so we make an extra effort to work with our customers to develop individualized approaches.

Learn more about our aeration and overseeding services by calling us at 704-831-8917 today.

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