Your lawn can take a beating throughout the course of a year here in the North Shore.  In the winter when the grass isn’t even growing it could face the prospect of disease in the form of snow molds.  Other diseases can come into play in both the spring and summer.  Heat and drought can stress a lawn to the point of dormancy. 

Normal wear and tear of kids playing on the lawn and even just the weekly passing of the lawn mower over the lawn can lead to soil compaction.  Compacted soil reduces root growth since the grass roots can’t get into the soil to capture water and nutrients to help the shoots grow.

Late summer through fall is the ideal time to aerate your lawn.

Benefits of Aeration

Core aeration, removes plugs of soil from the lawn, helping your lawn combat some of the above issues and look better for it.  The holes that result from this process allow for the increased infiltration of water, nutrients and air down into the root system of the grass.  Getting the air, water and nutrients down deeper into the soil also means the roots will follow them deeper down into the soil resulting in better root development.  Longer, stronger roots mean stronger grass. 

The increased airflow also allows for more microbial activity that can break down thatch.  Thatch is a tightly intermingled layer of living and dead stems, leaves, and roots which accumulates between the layer of actively growing grass and the soil underneath.  Reducing thatch also gets more water and nutrients into the soil.  Getting the water off the surface of the lawn and down into the soil can also help alleviate diseases by ameliorating conditions during next year’s growing season. 

Overseeding Helps Too 

Being in the North Shore, you will want to use a mix of cool season grasses like Kentucky Bluegrass and Perennial Rye. Introducing new cool season grass seed into your lawn on a yearly or bi-yearly basis can really benefit the long-term health of your lawn.  Fall aeration also creates a good seedbed on which the new seed can germinate.  Moisture in the form of rain is typically more abundant in fall and the soil temperatures are still warm enough to promote seed germination.

Aerating your lawn is one of the best things you can do to help your lawn recover from the stresses of the growing season.  Contact your local lawn care company today and your lawn will be thanking you next spring.

Get More Info From The Pros!

Looking for more information on aeration and/or overseeding or just ready to let the professionals take over your lawn care needs from here? Visit www.GrassmasterPlus.com or call the Grassmaster Plus team at 978.769.3595 today!