Aeration & Overseeding

Why it matters

You can feed a compacted lawn all year and get very little back, because the nutrients never reach the roots. Most residential soil in our service area is clay-heavy, and after a few years of mowing traffic it packs down hard enough that water runs off instead of soaking in. Core aeration is the fix, and it is genuinely the highest-return single service we sell. We pull cores rather than spiking, because spiking compresses the walls of the hole and makes the problem slightly worse.

Core aeration Overseeding Certified seed Compacted clay Thatch management Irrigation flagging Starter fertilizer

What is included

Six things in the price

Utility and irrigation marking

Heads, valves and shallow lines flagged before the machine comes off the trailer. This is the step that gets skipped and it is the one that costs money.

True core aeration

Cores pulled two to three inches deep on spacing appropriate to your soil, in two directions on compacted lawns.

Cores left to break down

We leave the plugs on the surface. They look untidy for about ten days and then melt back in, returning soil microbes to the thatch layer.

Overseeding for cool-season turf

Certified seed matched to your lawn, dropped while the holes are open so it reaches soil instead of sitting on thatch.

Starter fertilizer

A phosphorus-forward starter application at seeding, which is the one time of year phosphorus is actually the right call.

Germination follow-up

We come back at three to four weeks to check establishment and reseed thin areas at no charge.

The season

Visit by visit, in order

Timing shifts by a few weeks north to south, and your local owner adjusts to the actual weather. Soil temperature decides the schedule, not the calendar.

Late spring

Warm-season aeration window

Bermuda, zoysia and St. Augustine are aerated once they are actively growing and can heal quickly — usually late May into June here. These grasses spread to fill the holes rather than needing seed.

Early fall

Cool-season aeration and overseed

Tall fescue and rye go in September into October, when soil is still warm and nights have cooled. This is the single best window of the year for seed.

7 to 14 days after

Starter feed and watering plan

Light, frequent watering keeps the seedbed damp. We leave a written schedule and adjust it if the weather turns.

21 to 30 days after

Germination check

Your technician walks the lawn, checks establishment, and reseeds anything that came in thin. Included in the price.

What you get

On paper, every time

Everything below is part of the standard program. If a visit skips something, the service note says why.

Irrigation heads flagged and mapped before work starts
Core aeration at correct depth and spacing for your soil
Certified seed appropriate to your lawn, where overseeding applies
Starter fertilizer application at seeding
Return germination check with free reseeding of thin areas

Questions

Asked often enough to answer here

How often does a lawn need aerating?

Once a year for most lawns in heavy clay soil. Sandy soil and low-traffic lawns can go every other year. If a screwdriver will not push six inches into damp soil by hand, it is time.

Will it damage my sprinkler system?

Not if heads are marked, which is why we flag before the machine starts. We ask you to point out anything shallow we would not know about — invisible fencing, low-voltage lighting, dog runs.

Why does my lawn look worse afterwards?

Because there are soil plugs all over it. They break down in one to two weeks, faster if you water. Raking them up defeats most of the benefit.

Also worth reading

Get aeration & overseeding quoted

Your local owner measures the property, prices the program, and tells you whether starting now or waiting for the next window makes more sense.

Get a free quote Call (210) 555-0142

The one service that fixes what fertilizer cannot