Has your lawn been in slow decline over the last
few years? Grubs, chinch bugs, and a variety of fungus problems can act alone
or combine to ruin the quality of your turf. Weeds may have slowly taken over
your lawn and nothing you do seems to stop them. You may be frustrated with
the way your lawn looks and have even tried several methods of reseeding yourself
with little success. Aeration and topdressing are probably your best choice
to get your lawn back on track.
Aeration and topdressing have been the preferred
method of controlling compaction and thatch build up on tees and greens, by
golf course superintendents for years. This process allowed the superintendent
to amend the soil, reseed thin areas and stimulate the existing grass to grow
faster, all at the same time. For home lawns though, this labor-intensive process
seemed too expensive for many home lawns. Today, with the help of the Landscape
Support Services, we can economically complete this task, bringing professional
results to the home lawn.
The process is a fairly simple one. If you have excessive
weed problems we will treat all or part of your lawn to remove them. Approximately
one week later, we will ask you to water your lawn thoroughly and then cut it
as short as possible. Core aerate is the next step, this will loosen the existing
soil making more room for new roots and airflow. We will then cover the entire
lawn with a ¼ to ½ inch layer of compost and seed. This process will also remove
any minor grading problems you might have, reducing the chance of scalping your
lawn as you mow. When we finish, you will water your lawn much as you would
for a new lawn. Within a few weeks your lawn will begin to grow, filling in
voids and creating a dense weed free turf. Your lawn will look better than you
imagined it could.
You may wonder why we use compost instead of sand
like the golf courses do. The reason is simple; in most cases we have different
objectives for making the same kind of application. By varying the material
we use to topdress with, we can manipulate the kind of response we get from
the application. Most home lawns lack significant organic material. Adding compost
to your lawn will improve water and nutrient holding capacity as well as reduce
the occurrence of many turf diseases. We may also add wood ash or other natural
additives to the topdressing mix to adjust soil ph or reduce compaction. By
topdressing in this way we are mimicking the way nature builds soil structure,
accelerating the process so that you can get the benefit of decades of natural
soil building in one easy application.
Topdressing and aeration is a better choice
- More cost effective; less time, materials and
labor are required using this method
- Little of the soil’s original structure is disturbed,
creating less opportunity for erosion
- Blown in compost, produces a layer of well-drained
non-compacted material, a perfect medium for seed germination
In most cases Topdressing and Aeration is the cost effective solution for your
home lawn!
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Aeration
and Topdressing