In this article I will go over and explain the best way to properly approach and do lawn aeration (also known as “plugging”), lime application, and grass seed over-seeding for new and existing lawns.

Most people I hear say something like “my yard is a mess, it’s full of weeds”, or “I don’t know what my yard needs”, so they ask a friend or a neighbor and get advice, some of it good and some of it bad. What I have found is that most all lawns have a few criteria that can alter the advice I would give or the approach I would take. When someone asks for advice, I almost always need to see the lawn in person. Just saying you have weeds, or you have “no grass”, isn’t generally enough to go on. I would look at the “lay of the land” as they call it, does your yard drain properly? Do you have all shade, mostly shade, no shade? Do you have steep hills or banks? From where I would look at the quality of your soil, does it look like it has top soil that lends itself to growing and sustaining a healthy lawn or does it have rock and very little to no top soil due to erosion or perhaps the builders excavation phase removed most or all of your top soil leaving you with hard ground. Or maybe it’s a brand new home and it has been rough graded and nothing else done but maybe a contractors mix of grass seed and straw was applied in order for the builder to pass inspection and get the “CO” (Certificate of Occupancy).

So once we’ve established what you have in place then it’s time to develop a plan. The plan would take criteria that I listed in the previous paragraph and adjust accordingly. Taking into account the season we’re currently in can affect the plan of action as well. If your yard doesn’t property drain away from your home, then I would suggest we either move existing dirt or bring in new dirt and grade the site for proper drainage. If you have a brand new lawn, say for new construction, then ideally we would want to come in behind the dozer operator that rough-graded your lot and left toothed soil. Toothed soil is where the dozers bucket back-raked and left tooth marks which is what’s called rough graded. We would amend the soil with top soil if needed, then power rake, sew grass seed, starter fertilizer and straw (in that order). If you have an existing lawn, power raking is not needed nor recommended. I would suggest utilizing the seasons for our benefit. As we have experienced, timing is everything when applying grass seed and fertilizer. And existing lawn needs to be approached with care. If there’s 60% or more that is weeds, I would suggest we tackle the weed issue first since weeds absorb 5x the amount of water that grass does which is way your grass is not thriving due to the weeds. Getting rid of weeds generally means putting something down that kills weeds and this generally means you cannot put down grass seed because anything that’s put down to kill weeds also retards germination of grass seed. So, it’s one or the other, tackle weeds or plant grass. I would say tackle weeds, then wait for September to aerate, over-seed and apply fertilizer. It generally takes a few seasons to take a yard from zero to hero so be patient and don’t try to over-do or over apply materials like seed or fertilizer.

Once you have the weeds under control or maybe even gone completely, then you can focus on the lawn. Once your lawn is healthy it will block out weed growth and is the ultimate goal when lends itself to being almost on auto-pilot with your lawn. That’s when things get a bit easier to manage and keep going. Keeping a healthy lawn is not a one time thing, nor is it something you do every other year. Keep in mind tackle weeds first, then focus on growing grass. Anytime the temperature is 50 degrees Fahrenheit or above at night, that’s the idea time you can grow grass.

Now that a few seasons have passed and the proper materials have been applied and you have established a nice stand of grass, it’s time to start thinking of your annual maintenance which makes sure your lawn stays healthy. Generally speaking, I recommend over-seeding and fertilizing an existing lawn in the Spring, then plugging/aerating your lawn in the Fall (mid September is perfect for our region here in Central Virginia). The same day you plug your lawn I suggest over-seeding and applying fertilizer.

What type of grass seed, fertilizer, and how much to apply is very important. I’ve heard some people say “I put down grass seed but it never come up”. They wasted their money and time buying and applying grass seed because they failed to either buy the right kind of seed, failed to rough up the yard some with either plugging or raking, and/or they failed to apply the seed at the right time of year. The timing of when to apply grass seed really is based on the seasons. The cooler seasons like Spring and Fall are ideal for germination of grass seed, however if you plant in the Spring theres not enough time for the seed to germinate and grow strong enough to survive the hottest months of the year like July and August. Therefore Fall is the better time to plant grass seed since it has time to germinate and grow, then go dormant for the winter months and be ready to take off come Spring time. You need seed to soil contact, hence the plugging or raking, you need a good quality seed, you need enough (I like to apply a little more than what is called for since some seeds never germinate, you can read the germination rate on the bag tag), and it always helps to put down slow-release starter fertilizer to help give the seed a little boost to germination and growing strong. If you have bare soil spots, or as with new construction, you are going to need to apply wheat straw which helps hold moisture in and aid in germination.

It takes time to learn the seasons, what seed and fertilizer to use, how much to apply and when, so patience is one of the key ingredients in having a nice plush healthy lawn. Contact us here at Lynchburg Property Works LLC if you have questions about your lawn and want advice or want help with getting your lawn maintained.