Fort Collins, CO 303-682-2857
Longmont, CO 303-682-2857

Why Hire A Pro to Aerate, Overseed And Topdress Your Lawn?

by Emily Durgan | Wed, Oct 22, 2014

Why Hire A Pro to Aerate, Overseed And Topdress Your Lawn?Maintaining a beautiful lawn requires some work. More than just mowing, watering and fertilizing, your lawn may need some sprucing up. Think of it as a trip to the hair salon for the works. Or maybe to a personal trainer who analyzes and improves your nutrition, body composition and exercise routine.

In your lawn’s life, that seasonal overhaul might include aeration, overseeding and topdressing. We’ve got five great reasons why you should hire a professional to do them for you — but first, what do these processes actually do for your lawn?

What Are Aeration, Overseeding And Topdressing?

Why Hire A Pro to Aerate, Overseed And Topdress Your Lawn?Aeration is essentially perforating the soil to allow air, water and nutrients to reach the grass roots. Sometimes the soil becomes compacted or thatch takes up space below the surface, preventing the roots from absorbing what they need to properly grow. When aerated, the roots can grow more strongly, producing a heartier, healthier lawn.

Overseeding is when you plant new seed on top of existing turf. It helps to fill in bald spots, build the turf up to a denser consistency and improve the lawn color.

Covering your grass with a topdressing is just what it sounds like: adding a thin layer of organic matter to the top of your soil. This mixes with your soil to improve it, adding nutrients via compost, or sand to help the soil structure.

Combining aeration, overseeding and topdressing is a complete system approach, allowing the topdressing and seeds into the soil to improve it and to grow more grass.

Some homeowners opt to tackle these tasks alone, but here are five reasons we recommend hiring a professional.

Save Time And Money

Aeration machines are heavy and you need to rent them. It’s not just the cost, but you will need to get the machine into and out of your car (twice), and suffer the consequences if you throw your back out.

The best aeration machines are plug aerators, which remove a grass core or plug from the ground. It’s time consuming if your lawn is any bigger than a postage stamp.

Some people use spike aerators, which are tools that pokes holes in the grass. But they’re less effective and do more damage than good for the soil.

Timing Is Everything

Why Hire A Pro to Aerate, Overseed And Topdress Your Lawn?Professionals know when to aerate, overseed and topdress. Should you do it every few years? Which season is the best in Florida for these steps? Should the soil be wet or dry? What if you have thatch? What if you have weeds? Does it matter what type of grass you have?

A professional will know the answers to these questions so your aeration, overseeding and topdressing are only done when needed, and it’s done the right way.

You May Not Need All Three Services

Do you need all three steps? Maybe not. A professional can look at your lawn to see how compacted it is. If your lawn gets a lot of traffic with kids or pets running around on it, aeration can be helpful. If you have a new home, contractors might have compacted the lawn during construction. If your lawn has a spongy feel or dries out easily, you might have a thatch problem, a layer of dead and living roots between the greenery on top and the soil below. Aerating can help with thatch. But not all lawns need aerating.

Not All Topdressings Are Alike

Often, the best topdressing for your soil is compost, which adds living organisms to the soil that can help with its health. But your soil structure and acidity level might need testing first.

Some professionals use sand as a topdressing (more common with golf courses) or mix sand with compost.

A professional knows the best topdressing for your lawn.

Seed Choice Matters

When overseeding, many homeowners prefer to add a different grass seed to the mix, to create a more diversified lawn, which might need less fertilizer or grow in with a thicker texture.

A professional can determine the best seed to use.

We’re Your Aeration Professionals

If you’re thinking of aerating, overseeding and topdressing your lawn, give the professionals at GreenEarth Landscape Services a call. You can reach us at our Panama City Beach office at (850) 236-1959 or our Santa Rosa Beach office at (850) 267-0010 if you’d like to set up an appointment to learn more.

You can also fill out our online form to schedule a consultation.

free landscape planning guide from GreenEarth

Subscribe Now

Additional Reading