Preparing Your Lawn For Aeration And Seeding – What You Need To Know Charlottesville | Sponsored

It’s that time of year again when Charlottesville fescue turf needs to be aerated and sown. With the cooler temperatures October brings, it’s the perfect time! Every summer, fescue turf struggles with the complex weather conditions in Virginia: high humidity, shade, high temperatures, and wet and / or dry conditions. Fescue grass cannot regenerate and has to be re-sown to create a new lawn. Virginia Green Lawn Care is the local authority for ventilation and sowing. Here are some tips that can help prepare your lawn for this vital fescue turf service.

A lawn should be mowed at a height of 1.5 to 2 inches before aerating and sowing. Any clippings left on the lawn after this narrow cut should be wrapped, blown, or raked from the lawn. This is necessary in order to maximize the contact between the seed and the soil when the seed is being spread. This is a key factor for successful germination. This allows the new seedlings to settle for several weeks before mowing is required.

We use core aerators to aerate lawns. The machines have weights at the front to help them pull a deep plug out of the ground. Watering the lawn before serving further adds to the depth of the plug to be pulled. The soil should be damp but not soaking wet. If the ground is too wet, the machines get stuck and work poorly. In clay areas that are covered and compacted with clay, irrigation before service is particularly important. Says a longtime customer, Cindy Clark, “Virginia Green always calls me the day before I aerate my lawn so I know I need to drain some water to keep things running smoothly.”

The metal tines on the aerators will damage any obstructions at or below a slope of up to 3 inches. Items to be tagged include: irrigation heads, valve box covers, drain pipes, flat electrical lines, and / or other underground objects. Wire merchandise flags available at hardware stores are the best tool for marking and should be placed directly over the object. “We recommend our customers NOT to use spray paint as a marking tool. Spray paint is normally only visible after the aerator has run over the painted object and damage occurs, ”explains an Inside Agronomist in Virginia Green.

The machines can easily be maneuvered around obstacles provided the operator can easily see the flag and plan his route. Lawn furniture, children’s toys, and other moving objects should be removed from the lawn so that operators can efficiently aerate the lawn without having to stop and move the objects.

If you follow these simple tips, the aeration and sowing process will go smoothly. Your lawn will benefit greatly from core aeration and overseeding.

Virginia Green Lawn Care is a locally owned professional lawn care company providing lawn fertilization, weed control, ventilation and seeding, and tree and shrub services. Our programs are specially designed for your Charlottesville lawn and contain all of the nutrients necessary for the year. Call us today at 434-975-0100 to treat your lawn and stay on schedule! Please also visit our website at www.virginiagreenlawncare.com to learn more about our services.

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