Aeration’s main goal is to relieve compaction in your lawn. A core aerator pulls out soil cores to reduce compression. A spike aerator, however, punches holes in the ground and adds more compaction.

Watering is crucial, but also avoid heavy foot and pet traffic on seeded areas. Newly germinated grass has weak roots, so avoid trimming with weed eaters, as they can uproot plants. Seed germination takes 10–21 days, depending on the grass variety. During this time, mow carefully to prevent uprooting, especially with riding or zero-turn mowers.

Turf grasses in our area greatly benefit from annual aeration in the fall. It reduces thatch buildup and relieves soil compaction. This improves air, water, and nutrient flow to the roots, helping them grow deeper. As a result, your grass becomes healthier, thicker, and greener. Annual aeration is the most important step for your lawn.

Any seed germination or growth that hasn't matured before winter will resume in the spring when the ground warms. Generally, if your lawn was seeded in the fall, it should be fully germinated and matured by the end of May.

Yes! Mowing, even with commercial mowers, won’t lift and spread grass seed across your yard. If the ground isn’t bare, mowing won’t affect the seed. And if it is bare, there’s no need to mow. Grass seed germinates in 10–21 days, depending on the variety. During this time, mow carefully—new grass can be uprooted by mower tires, especially when turning with riding or zero-turn mowers.

Grass seed won’t germinate until it’s below the surface and has enough moisture. Overseeding uses a broadcast spreader to apply seed on top of the ground. For better germination, we recommend pairing it with aeration. Aeration pulls cores from the soil, letting seed drop below the surface for improved results. Slit seeding uses knife blades to create slits in the soil, placing seed directly below the surface to maximize germination. If your lawn is at least 80% thick, aeration with overseeding works well. For thinner lawns, slit seeding is the better option. We've seen 50% lawns take three years to fill in with overseeding, while slit seeding filled others in one season.

Once grass seed is below the surface and stays moist, fescue takes 10–14 days and bluegrass up to 21 to germinate. After germination, grass needs several weeks to mature and fill in. During the first few months, keep the ground moist with rainfall or irrigation. Depending on sun, shade, slope, and soil, you may need to water daily or every few days.

Seeding can be done throughout the year as long as the ground is not frozen, but the most optimum time of year is between September 1^st and October 15^th for our local area. Weather conditions and ground temperatures all play a role in successful seed germination.

Lawns greatly benefit from an annual aeration; however, you could aerate twice per year.

Yes, many homeowners prefer to seed themselves. It is always best to communicate this with our office if you are on our lawn care program due to weed control products that will hamper the germination process. In general, it is best not to use weed control herbicides for at least 30 days after seeding or until the newly seeded areas have been mowed at least 3 times. When you contract seeding services with TurfGator, we coordinate both the seeding and lawn care treatments for you for the best results.

For cool season grass varieties, such as bluegrass and fescue, the fall is the most preferred time of the year to aerate a lawn, beginning in early September all the way up until the ground freezes. In the spring, prior to a pre-emergent application, is another excellent time of year to aerate. You want to avoid any other times of the year as the holes created by an aerator will break down a pre-emergent barrier, applied in early spring, allowing weeds to germinate. As for warm season grass varieties such as zoysia or bermuda grass, June is the ideal time to aerate a lawn as this is the peak growing time of the year for these type of grasses.

Weed control herbicides can be used prior to seeding, but it is best to wait until the third mowing before using herbicides after seeding has been done.

Traditional aerators use the weight of the machine for down pressure, approximately 200-300lbs and by cutting your lawn prior to aeration helps somewhat in removing that additional resistance. At TurfGator we use aerators with 1200lbs of hydraulic down pressure, so cutting your lawn prior to an aeration is not necessary.

The pros are straw helps control evaporation in shading the sun’s rays and can somewhat help in erosion control. The cons are straw bales are filled with weed seeds and quite often the next spring you can have some unwanted wheat growing within your lawn, also straw doesn't hold up to high winds or heavy rain very well. An alternative is straw blankets which contain no weed seeds and are woven in a biodegradable nylon net which provide excellent erosion control while helping the ground stay shaded controlling evaporation. Peat Moss is another excellent option for smaller areas. Peat Moss retains water and is organic matter so when it breaks down it will be adding nutrients to the soil, however it will not provide any erosion control.

Typically they will decompose in a week or two and there is no need to rake or remove them from your lawn, it is actually recommended to not remove them.

Depending on your lawns condition of sun, shade, flat or hilly and even soil conditions watering may be required multiple times per day to once per day. The most important thing is to keep the soil moist which will help in germination and growth of the new grass plant. For more details on watering newly seeded areas, please see our blog post on "taking care of a newly seeded lawn".

Yes, aeration is actually the preferred method of control thatch and is less destructive to grass plant root systems over a typical dethatcher.

No, pre-emergent prevents seeds from germinating so if you are planning on seeding, a standard fertilizer blend will need to be substituted in the early spring instead.