Why do you aerate?

aerate overseedingThe purpose of Aeration is to decrease soil compaction and stimulate existing grass root growth. It is not the proper activity to be done in conjunction with overseeding. If your lawn is thin and in need of more grass, then the answer is to verticut, de-thatch, overseed and place a starter fertilizer. If your lawn has high traffic areas, recent activities the may have compacted soils or if the ground is generally hard, aeration is the proper action to take. 

When do you aerate?

Aeration can be done just about any time of year the ground has adaquate moisture and is not stressed. We recommend Spring or Fall. We would not recommend performing an aeration in the hot summer months of July and August. The lawn is already struggleing and it is prime for broadleaf weeds to have an opportunity to enter the soils.

How is aerating done?

Lawn Core AerationAerating is done by a machine that has several tubes attached to a drum. These tubes dig into the ground, by the weight of the machine, about 2-3 inches as the machine moves forward. The hollow centers of the tubes collects your soil, grass and thatch leaving a hole in the ground while pushing out the soil from the previous rotation and hole.

Core aeration or plugging as it may also be called, decreases soil compaction by taking out a plug of Olathe soil and leaving behind the hole it came from. This void created with then close over time from the Lenexa soil surrounding the hole expanding. The plug, then just blends back into the Overland Park surface. This hole provides the necessary breathing space for Leawood roots to expand and grow. The plug will also help to break up heavy thatch. You want thatch gone, because while in place, it intercepts the delivery of water, fertilizer and other nutrients to you soils and grass roots.

Where does Hometown Lawn perform aerations?

We offer our lawn aerating / verticut / verticutting / overseeding services to all the cities of Olathe, Lenexa, Overland Park, Shawnee, Prairie Village, Fairway, Gardner, Spring Hill, Merriam, Mission, Mission Hills, Leawood and more in Johnson County, Kansas as well as in Kansas City, Mo and Kansas City, Ks. Don’t see your city? Just contact us and we would be happy to discuss it as we service most of Kansas City and the Metro.