How to Aerate and Overseed Your Lawn

Correcting your soil for the proper pH balance is important for a healthy lawn.

For many homeowners the lawn is the centerpiece of the home's landscaping. Lush, green, weed-free grass is the goal. Lawns such as this don't happen by themselves but must be planned and maintained. Using an aerator and reseeding every few years ensures that the soil and grass is constantly rejuvenated. The necessary equipment is available for rental at most lawn and garden stores. It's also important to know what type of grass seed grows best in your climate. The fall is the best time to aerate and overseed.

Things You'll Need

• Power dethatcher
• Core aerator
• Grass seed
• Rope
• 2x4-inch wood stud
• All purpose lawn fertilizer

Instructions

1. Remove any weeds from the area by pulling them or using herbicide. If using herbicide wait two weeks before dethatching the lawn.

2. Power dethatch the lawn to rid it of all the thatch, ensuring a good seed-to-soil connection. Dethachers are operated like lawnmowers, but instead of cutting the grass they use finger-like tines to reach into the grass and pull out the fibrous thatch that has built up between the soil and the grass blades.

3. Roll over the lawn using a core aerator. A core aerator has small cutting cups on a roller that removes cores of soil about 1 inch long and a 1/2 inch in diameter and then deposits them on top of the soil. This opens up compacted soil, allowing air, water and fertilizer to freely flow to the grass roots. The aerator is similar in size to the dethatcher.

4. Continue to use the aerator until the holes in the lawn are 2 to 4 inches apart.

5. Reseed the lawn with approximately 8 lbs. of grass seed for every 1,000 square feet. Use a hand broadcaster or other seed dispersal tool. Fill the broadcaster with half the seed and walk with a horizontal direction across the yard. Use the other half of the seed while walking in a vertical direction. This ensures there are no gaps in the seeded area.

6. Attach a 2x4-inch wood stud to a rope and drag it around the yard to break up the clumps of soil the aerator left behind.

7. Fertilize with a lawn fertilizer designed for starting grass seeds, using the amount recommended on the package. Water the seeds and fertilizer into the soil.

References

• Hejny Rental: Lawn Overseeding
• Lawn Care Tips: Greg Pierce
• University of California: The UC Guide to Healthy Lawns

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• University of New Hampshire: Building a Healthy Lawn