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Tag: aeration and overseeding

Is Overseeding Lawns in Spring Ideal?

Every homeowner wants to keep their lawn looking full and beautiful, but sometimes, issues arise to make having the perfect landscape difficult. Hot, dry weather, pests and diseases, and many other factors can leave lawns looking thin and unhealthy. When those problems occur, overseeding is a solution that can help mitigate and prevent some of the issues homeowners face. But when is the best time to overseed a lawn, and why? Spring is an ideal time, and below we discuss the benefits of overseeding lawns in spring.

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What is Overseeding a Lawn?

Overseeding is spreading grass seed over an existing lawn without turning the soil. A lawn care professional will overseed a lawn for various reasons, from correcting a thinning lawn to adding more color (creating a full green lawn) or introducing enhanced grass varieties. While overseeding is a great step to maintaining a healthy, lush lawn, like other landscaping processes, choosing the best time is crucial to success.

When Should Overseeding Be Done?

The best time to overseed your property depends on where you live. For Pennsylvanians, most of whom have cool-season grass lawns, that means overseeding in spring. Spring brings favorable conditions for the new turf seeds.

During spring, the soil retains moisture well enough and is warm enough to support germination. The weather is also more temperate than mid-to-late summer, which is ideal for newly planted, tender grass to develop and grow. Grass will also get plenty of sunlight since your trees will likely have fewer leaves than in summer.

If you decide to overseed your lawn during spring, reach out to a turf care professional

Lawn with holes | overseeding lawns in spring | Burkholder Brothers

as early as possible to give the grass the most time to grow before the hot, dry summer kicks in. Fall is another option for overseeding, as the environmental conditions for proper turf growth (cooler air, moist soil, sunlight) are suitable. Summer and winter are generally poor times to start overseeding, as the temperatures are too extreme and can be a detriment to the new grass.

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Landscaping backyard turf, plan your 2020 backyard paradise, Burkholder

What Are The Benefits of Overseeding Lawns?

Whether you decide on spring or fall, overseeding lawns benefits your property. As previously mentioned, overseeding is a good solution if your lawn suffers from thinning due to drought, insect, or disease damage. So, if your grass looks thin and sparse or has patches of dead grass, overseeding can make your lawn thicker, fuller, and healthier.

The newly planted grass seeds can also prevent future issues. If a lawn looks bare, thin, or has a brown color, the grass may be stressed and vulnerable to pests and diseases. While overseeding grass, landscape professionals can use new grass varieties that are healthier, more disease-resistant, and deal better with stress.

In addition to making a lawn fuller and healthier, overseeding is also a great way to

maintain a uniform property without an entire renovation. Instead of having to renovate your current lawn with new sod, landscape professionals can add new seeds. Combine this with the proper watering and maintenance, and you can have a lush yard relatively quickly.

Common Questions About Overseeding

If you are considering overseeding your lawn, you may have questions about the process. Below are 3 of the most common questions people have about overseeding.

Will Overseeding Kill Weeds in Your Lawn?

Overseeding will not directly kill existing weeds but can help prevent new ones from growing.
A thick, healthy lawn with dense grass blades shades the soil, making a less hospitable environment for weed seeds to germinate.

A dense lawn also forces weeds to compete for water and nutrients. So, overseeding is a great strategy to create a thicker lawn that prevents weeds over time. However, if you already have many weeds in your lawn, we recommend treating/removing those weeds before overseeding.

How Do Lawn Overseeding and Lawn Aeration Work Together?

Overseeding and aeration are complementary lawn care techniques that create a thicker, healthier lawn. Here is a breakdown of how they relate to each other:

  • Overseeding involves spreading grass seed over an existing lawn to fill in bare patches, thicken up thin areas, and introduce new grass varieties.
  • Lawn aeration, on the other hand, loosens compacted soil by creating small holes or cores throughout the lawn. This allows air, water, and nutrients to reach the grass roots in the deeper layers of soil more efficiently, which aids healthy growth.

These two techniques work together because aeration creates openings in the soil, providing an excellent spot for grass seeds to land and germinate during overseeding. Without aeration, these new seeds might sit on top of the hard, compacted soil and fail to establish themselves. The result is improved seed-to-soil contact.

Another benefit of combining these lawn techniques is establishing strong grass roots. The loosened soil from aeration allows grass roots to grow deeper and stronger, making them more efficient at absorbing water and nutrients. This is especially beneficial for new grass seedlings trying to establish themselves.

Can Overseeding Change the Type of Grass on a Lawn?

Overseeding introduces new grass seeds to fill bare patches, thicken up thin areas, and introduce new grass varieties rather than replace the existing grass.

If you want or need a different type of grass for your lawn, a full renovation may be better than overseeding. A lawn renovation involves removing the existing sod and then seeding with a new type of grass seed or installing new sod. Contact us, and we can advise you on the ideal plan to get healthy grass and a more vibrant-looking property.

Contact Burkholder Landscape for Overseeding & Turf Care Services

Do you want to have a vibrant, healthy lawn? If so, contact Burkholder Landscape. Our team of passionate, knowledgeable landscape professionals has years of experience in turf care and our professionals are certified and trained in turf care best practices. We also offer many other services that will benefit your lawn, such as irrigation, landscape design, and more. Our sister company Burkholder PHC offers plant health care. Our history has many examples of working with Main Line area residents to beautify their properties. For more information on overseeding lawns in spring or our services, request a free consultation today.

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Fall is a Great Time for Aeration and Overseeding

Jealous of your neighbor’s lush and verdant lawn? The secret behind a fantastic-looking property is aeration and overseeding in tandem with a comprehensive maintenance plan. Aeration and overseeding is a two-step process designed to de-stress lawns, encourage root development, and promote new growth. The following is a more detailed look at these two essential processes and why the fall is an excellent time to complete these yard tasks.

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Why Fall is Ideal for Aeration & Overseeding

The reasons to aerate and overseed your lawn during the fall are plenty. Cool nights and short, mild fall days provide the ideal conditions for grass seed germination. Other benefits include increased lawn density and slower-growing turfgrass.

Temperature

When thinking about fall aeration, the temperature is often a significant concern. The ideal temperature for aeration is in the 60s.

As for overseeding, cool temperatures have another benefit: less chance of disease problems in newly seeded areas. 

Cooler soil temperatures mean slower growth rates. So your new grass seedlings are less likely to become infected by diseases like brown patch. In addition, the cooler air temperatures equate to warmer soil temperatures in which seeds are better able to retain moisture and thrive once their roots take hold.

hole in grassy earth from aeration and overseeding | Burkholder Brothers Landscaping
picture of soil and grass layers | aeration and overseeding | Burkholder Brothers Landscaping

Overseeding Increases Lawn Density

Whether your lawn is bare or thin, overseeding is one of the best ways to spruce up your yard.

  • Fill in bare spots: If you have bald patches on your yard, overseeding can make them look lush again by seeding them with an appropriate blend of grasses.
  • Fill in thin spots: If areas of the yard have sparse grass coverage, you can fill those spots by overseeding.
  • Add height: Lawns that receive heavy foot traffic lose their density quickly due to compaction, which a combination of aeration and overseeding alleviates.

Turf Growth Slows Down

While laying turfgrass seed in the fall may seem counterintuitive, there are several advantages to seeding at this time. First, because of cooler temperatures and shorter days, turf growth slows significantly during fall.

As a result, the newly seeded grass can properly compete for nutrients and water supplies that established turfgrasses would otherwise use.

In addition to allowing the new seed a good chance to compete with established turf, the fall also acts as natural weed control. The cool soil of the fall helps prevent weed seeds from germinating while your new lawn takes root and establishes itself.

The Aeration and Overseeding Process

Aeration is a way to de-stress lawns that have become compacted over the long, hot, and active summer days. Aerating does so by perforating your property with many tiny holes that allow air, water, and other nutrients to penetrate straight to your lawn’s root systems. In return, the grass root zone will be better able to extend more deeply and produce a more robust and vibrant above-ground look. In addition, loosening up your lawn’s compacted soil results in encouraging root development and creating an overall grass-growing environment.

Other advantages of the aeration process include:

  • Improved fertilizer uptake and use by your soil and plants
  • Improved water uptake and use by your soil and plants
  • Increased activity of soil microorganisms that are essential in soil decomposition processes
  • Enhanced infiltration of rainfall and human irrigation techniques
  • Increased oxygen movement between your soil and the atmosphere
  • Reduced risk of fertilizer and pesticide run-off that occurs from overly compacted ground

Proper aeration is also vital in setting up your lawn for overseeding. Overseeding involves planting new seeds over the top of current yards, whether they are bare, thinning, or appear normal. When done promptly after aerating your soil, the seeds can fall neatly into the holes left behind by the aeration machines and have ample space to germinate and thrive. After overseeding, professional lawn care technicians work to ensure excess seeds fall into the open aeration holes. This process is excellent for improving the density of your grass and enhancing its overall color.

Burkholder Landscaping Offers Professional Results from Aeration and Overseeding

With over 25 years of landscaping experience, Burkholder Landscaping knows how to make your lawn and landscape thrive. We have a team of highly experienced and knowledgeable lawn care professionals. Our aeration and overseeding service in the fall, followed by one of our comprehensive landscape maintenance packages, will ensure you can enjoy that beautiful lush dream yard! Contact us today for a consultation and more information about our lawn care services!

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