Late July might seem too soon to start thinking about your fall to-do lists, but before we know it, kids will be returning to school, crops will be harvested and temperatures will be dropping. Start planning your outdoor fall projects now, because a little planning will translate into a thicker, healthier lawn over the next few months and will allow your lawn to truly stand out next spring. A beautiful healthy lawn requires yearly maintenance and many of the most effective, natural lawn care services are only offered in the fall.
AERATION
Aeration is among the most important things you can do for the health of your lawn. Summer’s high temperatures bake the ground, which binds up roots systems and stops life-sustaining nutrients from getting to our lawns’ root system. Lawn aeration is the process of piercing the ground with closely spaced tines to break up the ground and loosen down through the root zone. It’s benefit is getting air, water, and nutrients to the lawn’s deeper roots to strengthen the entire root system. At Portage Turf, we recommend that homeowners aerate their lawns every fall so we have the best commercial machines on the market to deliver optimal results. Sports fields and golf courses never miss this vital step and a healthy residential lawn should not either.
SEEDING
Adding seeding with aeration in the fall is the best way to reduce weed pressure and thicken a thin lawn. The aeration breaks up the soil creating a perfect seedbed, therefore increasing germination percentages. At Portage Turf we offer a few different seeding options to choose from:
- Over-seeding– Over-seeding the entire lawn with your aeration service. This option is to thicken an existing lawn that has thinner, weedy areas. Over-seeding with newer, improved, more drought and insect resistant varieties dramatically and cost effectively improves your lawn!
- Slit Seeding– Our slit seeder plants seed in one inch rows at a shallow depth and is ideal on smaller lawns when a customer has pure dirt areas or very thin areas of the lawn.
- Repair Seeding– A partial seeding to repair thin or pure dirt areas.
- Frost Seeding- A Late winter seeding on shady lawns where seed is pulled into the ground naturally with the spring freeze/thaw cycle. Very shady wooded properties should frost seed every year to maintain a lawn that is competing with large trees.
A lush, healthy, green, weed-free lawn doesn’t happen by accident. Professionals can only do so much with fertilizer and weed control alone. Proper mowing and watering along with regular aeration and seeding will keep your lawn looking great year after year. We at Portage Turf are committed to responsible, organic-based lawn care. Aeration and seeding, when needed, are the best defenses against weed pressure, disease, and drought damage. No chemical solution can duplicate the natural results of healthy balanced soil and thick turf.
