Lawn Aeration 101

When most people think about lawn care, they consider the basics like mowing and weeding. Yet one of the most important steps to getting green, lush grass is lawn aeration.

What is lawn aeration?

It’s a lawn care process that works to let air and nutrients get into the soil. Overtime, the soil in lawn areas gets compacted. Compacted soil isn’t healthy soil, so grass doesn’t grow as well as it should.

Most of the time people notice problem areas in their lawn that need to be addressed, like brown spots or thatching.

brown spots and thatching

These are major signs that a lawn needs to be treated with lawn aeration. We recommend this step be done in the fall-time in the St. Louis area.

Usually you need to pay closer attention to high-traffic lawn areas the most, however all lawns can benefit from annual lawn aeration.

You may also notice problem spots in your lawn for other reasons. If your lawn requires extreme maintenance you may have other options that will be lower maintenance in the long run. For example you could transform a problem lawn area into a new flower garden space, patio, or even a raised garden bed.

Lawn Aeration 101

Lawn aeration for small spaces can be done by plugging small holes into the lawn with a spiked rake or other gardening tool. For larger lawn areas, it’s easiest to use lawn aeration equipment like a lawn aerator.

This is what our lawn care team uses to expertly aerate lawn spaces. We use a lawn aerator to make sure removed soil plugs are deep enough to be beneficial to the health of your lawn, not causing damage to your lawn.

The best place to start is with an evaluation of your yard, as is. You can take a quick walking tour of your yard to see what the current conditions are, taking photos or short videos along the way. You can then email this to us, and we’ll work with you to review all of your options on the best way to treat your lawn, with lawn aeration or other improvements.

Lawn aeration is included in our year round Fertilization Program. This program includes 8 lawn care steps throughout the year. Lawn aeration and overseeding is combined with a fertilization treatment. We also spray for broadleaf control, setting up your lawn for a healthy look year-round!

Send your lawn photos to: customercare@gandg.cc. You can learn more about our lawn mowing services here.

Almost everyone knows how to cut their own grass. But when you think about keeping up with technology and innovation, you usually don’t think it applies to…. grass seed.

G&G Lawn & Tree is always finding out what’s new in lawn care, which is how we found out about XCD coating technology. Coated grass seed means a better chance of grass seed survival. With smarter seed, you can significantly increase the chances of seedling survival. This is critical in the St. Louis-area climate because of our harsh winters and unpredictable springs.

Coated seed help seedlings in two main ways.

First, the coated grass seed doesn’t disappear as the seed grows, it lasts in the soil. Because the coating stays, the roots can stay wet and use the added moisture from the coating to germinate, grow roots, and grow into a mature, healthy plant.

Second, the beneficial additives in the coating work to protect the seedlings against diseases. It also helps to make sure seedlings have the nutrients they need to begin development.

This is why G&G has made the switch to using higher quality coated grass seed. We want every lawn we take care of to be healthy and strong. As professional landscapers we know you expect the very best in service and in the products we use.

Fall is the best time to give your own lawn some major TLC to stay healthy. It’s recommended that lawns be aerated and seeded in autumn. This allows lawns to “breathe”, and seeds and nutrients to penetrate overly compacted soil areas. Then, new seeds are established to grow into and bare patches to create a dense thick layer of grass. When your grass is lush and full, weeds won’t be able to find a place to grow!

As a locally owned and operated landscaping company, we rely on other small businesses who care about the best in lawn care and lawn care products. Advanced Turf and Scott’s Power Equipment are both St. Louis-area companies that we work with to bring you the very best in lawn mowing and lawn care in the area.