Lawn aeration and top dressing

[MoneyGuy]

Anyone know how often this should be done? I have started using Weed Man this year and my lawn is looking terrific and now they're calling me to sell me this extra service and I don't know if this should be done yearly or less often.

[return to the red]

It really depends on the age and look you are going for.

Over time thatch builds up and lawns become compacted, the whole idea with aeration is to loosen the soil and provide air, water and nutrients to the roots of the grass. Some people are completely anal about their lawns and insist they get it done at least once every year, others don't do it it all. If you find that you have a healthy, lush lawn than you may be able to postpone aeration but if you notice that your lawn (ground) has become hard in areas, water doesn't infiltrate or is starting to brown no matter how much you water, it may be time to run an aerator over it.

In regard to top dressing, residentially it has become a new practice but has been around for decades in the golf industry. Top dressing provides add microbes, nutrients and amends the existing soil to maintain a healthy looking lawn. I've never actually seen it done on a residential lawn but if it's for a good price why not, it won't hurt anything besides slowly building up your base level (years to do).

I'm not a lawn expert but I'm in the water side of it so I may be incorrect in some aspects but everything I've been told and taught said pretty much the same thing.

Hope this helps

[Bill Bumface]

I aerated and top dressed my 100 year old lawn this summer.

As return to the red stated, I had parts that were so hard the water would just run off and they stayed brown all summer.

This year I've never watered less and my entire lawn is really green, by far the best its looked with the least work.

I top dressed as well because I had some extra top soil and that was the easiest way to get rid of it. This was just before all our hot weather and I swear I watered 3 times between the beginning of August and now and my lawn is totally green.

The good part of an old lawn is that it's too thick to let dandelions grow. I've never had to pick a single one out of the lawn. All I do is mow once a week and water here and there.

[tvp2003]

If I can piggyback on this thread -- we just purchased a new home and the backyard lawn appears to be growing quite well (it has grown a surprising amount in the past 3 weeks!). It's an older property so it may very well be 100 years old as well (not sure when it was last or ever replaced).

The problem is that it's quite bumpy and hard in some spots -- I was thinking aeration might do the trick to soften it up and/or even it out (so our kid can play out there). Should I try to DIY or just let a landscaping company (or someone like Weedman) come in and diagnose/fix the problem. Also, should I bother getting it done in the fall, or just wait until the spring?

[Bill Bumface]

Aeration won't even it up. It might soften it a bit.

The only way to even it up is to do some sever top dressing. If it's anything like my lawn (also lumpy) if I top dressed to the point it was level, some parts would be all dirt and I'd have to re-seed. It would look a bit cruddy for a summer or less, but it would do the trick.

[tvp2003]

^ Thanks -- I'll go back and check it out tonight. I figured that the weight of the damn aerator thing you can get might flatten out some of the bumpy spots. But I guess if it's bumpy and hard, that might not work.

[MoneyGuy]

My lawn is great and two seasons old. I redid the whole yard. I'm not sure it needs this done yet. Does it?

[Madman]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

My lawn is great and two seasons old. I redid the whole yard. I'm not sure it needs this done yet. Does it?

Aeration is not just for old yards, it actually benefits new yards immensely. New yards suffer from compaction of the limited amount of topsoil used, which after a year or two really starts to affect the new lawn.

I'm a Weed Man customer as well and my lawn is in great shape right now, but I have ordered the aeration for this fall. (A fall aeration is great because of the greater depth they can achieve with the cores right now compared to a spring aeration.)

Think of it this way, you aren't getting an aeration to see results this year, where you'll really see it is next spring and all next year - doing it now sets the lawn up for a very strong season next year.

[socktape]

As a younger pup I worked at a golf course and we used to aerate and topdress the greens twice a year... it might be overkill for a personal lawn but doing it once a year definitely wouldn't hurt. As mentioned before, the fall is better for the deeper core and the absorbtion of all the winter/spring moisture.

If you have a bumpy lawn there are a couple things you can do. Soak the area with water really well and run a roller over it a few times for a couple days. This will only work mind you if your lawn isn't really compacted, hense do it after you aerate. If you have really noticable dips/depressions etc. throw down some topsoil in the depression, roll it again... you can throw down about an inch deep and the grass will grow right through. Repeat as necessary. roll every day for a week or so and keep the rug rats off the area.