By Fiona Vernon

There are two kinds of homeowners when it comes to taking care of the outdoors. You either love yard work, or you hate it. Either way, you can have the best yard in the neighborhood with one phone call to Bluegrass Incorporated. We can take of the things that you don’t have the time or desire to complete, like reseeding and aerating, or we can do it all.

The more you prepare your lawn for the harsh winter weather, the less you will have to do to help your grass recover when the snow melts in the spring. Winter prep includes fall clean-up so that a clump of leaves or branches won’t suffocate new growth underneath when the snow is gone. We can trim, prune, place fresh mulch, and aerate your lawn.

Why is aerating a yard important?

You may have grown up not realizing the benefits you could achieve with simple aeration of your grass, but it is time for you to help your lawn stay healthy as you venture into owning your own home. It is best for you to aeration your lawn in cooler weather, which means fall. The point of aeration is to break up compacted soil. How do you know if you should aerate? If you stick a screwdriver in the yard, and it is either hard to push through or comes out clean, then it is time to aerate.

Aeration helps relieve the problem of compacted turf, which inhibits growth by causing stress to the root system and prevents fertilizer from reaching the roots. The ground becomes hard and compressed when played on and mowed but should only be aerated once every year or two. Some benefits to note include:

• Improvement of turf health
• Reduction of thatch build-up
• Reduction of puddles and water run-off
• Helps overseeding operations
• Encourages a greener spring while preparing the grass for winter dormancy
• Stronger roots
• More resilient

How do I aerate my yard?

Aerating is simple; however, it can be a physically strenuous process and is easiest performed with special equipment. Calling professionals is not a bad idea. Soil should be moist when you begin but not so wet that the plugs stick to the machine or tool.

Manually, an aerating tool with a hollow tube of ¼ to ½ inch in diameter or a spading fork is pushed into the soil to a depth of about four inches. You may need to rock the spading fork back and forth. This is repeated every four to six inches throughout the entire yard. There are machines that you simply push back and forth over the lawn like a mower that will do this difficult job for you.

What other important tasks need to be done in the fall?

In addition to cleaning the gutters from fallen leaves, draining garden hoses, winterizing the mower, and deadheading plants before the freezing temperatures arrive, there are things you can do to ensure your lawn thrives in the spring. Whether it’s for the entire yard or a smaller patch, reseeding in the late summer or early fall is best for a lush, green lawn next year.

If you want your grass to recover from the trauma of the summer sun and prepare it for the long winter ahead, keep watering it until the ground is frozen or if your area receives less than one inch of precipitation each week. You will also need to feed it with an appropriate fertilizer. Watering the lawn will also help the fertilizer dissolve, allowing the ground to absorb it. For your last mowing, you will want to lower the mower to the height of 1 ½ to 2 inches.

You must stick to a specific schedule and perform each of these tasks during precise times to create the desired effect. If you overseed and do it too late in the season, the baby growth may not survive. Blades may arise and be killed by the extreme cold and snow if you fertilize too early. If you run out of time to aerate this fall, doing it in the spring only helps weeds to take hold.

Bluegrass makes your life easier by sticking to the schedule for you. When you want your lawn taken care of but don’t have the time or inclination, let us do it for you. We not only help make you proud to pull into your driveway with fall clean-up, but we also help add beauty every day with custom landscape designs that include irrigation systems, artificial turf, landscape lighting, ponds, fountains, pet fencing, and so much more. Call us today to get on the schedule!
 
Bluegrass Incorporated
4855 Hills and Dales Rd NW
Canton, Ohio 44708
330.492.8733
bluegrassincorporated.com
Facebook Page