Time to Aerate and over seed your lawn.

Fall is here and it is time to regenerate your lawn. The hot summer, drought conditions and insects have damaged and thinned out parts of your lawn. Not to worry a few steps will have it looking great again.

The first thing you need to do is mow the lawn a little shorter than you normally would. Typically Tall Fescue should be about 3.5 – 4 inches. When reseeding and aerating you would mow the lawn to 2.5 inches. This will help with seed germination and composting of the grass clippings. Some suggest that you gradually lower the lawn height over a few weeks as to not stress the lawn.

Next you will need to aerate your lawn. What is aeration you ask? It is the process of poking hundreds of holes in your lawn and removing a core of earth. What this does is open up the soil and help to break up the compacted top layers. The small cores allow a nice home for the seed to germinate and form a root structure. It also allows water and nutrients to penetrate deeper into the soil. You can rent a core aerator at your local tool rental or home improvement store or simply contact a landscaper in the area to do it for you. You will get the best results if you aerate when the soil is wet. This will allow for better penetration of the tines.

Top dressing the soil is an option here. The more you do the better the results. Top dressing is the process of spreading a thin layer of organic material on top of the soil. Peat Moss is a great option for top dressing your lawn. It will hold moisture and help the grass seed to germinate. Top dress the lawn after aeration and before seeding for best results. You can also follow the seed with a quality starter fertilizer.