There are things in life that just go together – peanut butter and jelly, shoes and socks, and aeration and overseeding. Trying to overseed without aeration will greatly reduce its effectiveness. If you try to overseed compacted soil, your seeds will not get very far, and it is unlikely they'll even germinate at all. Aeration benefits overseeding by loosening the soil, allowing the seeds to seat themselves deeper. It also gives the same improved soil access to essential resources, letting them reach the new seedlings and resulting in a better chance for strong, healthy grass to develop. These two treatments are very different, but so deeply complement each other that overseeding without aerating your lawn first is almost a waste of money!

Overseeding Compacted Soil Is Unlikely to Result in Germination

A field of grass topped with seeds in Carmel, IN.

When overseeding in compacted soil, your plants will have to work much harder for their roots to push through the soil. This means they will need to devote more nutrients to each bit of growing they do, leaving fewer nutrients available for future growth and root development. For seeds planted in compacted soil, it's unlikely they'll germinate at all, and if they do, they probably won't get very far overall since their growth is being stunted. Making this even more difficult is the fact that nutrients, air, and water will have a difficult time penetrating the compacted soil as well. This means that your new seeds will have limited access to the resources that they need to thrive!

Core Aeration Can Loosen Soil & Allow Deeper Seeding

Because compacted soil is so detrimental to the effectiveness of overseeding, core aeration is a huge help when done before the overseeding treatment. Core aeration will loosen the soil, which allows seeds to seat themselves deeper. With this improved seed-to-soil contact, your new grass seeds will be set up for success since they will have a place to establish themselves.

Aeration Allows Resources to Reach New Seedlings

When you take a section of soil, about 50% of it is made up of mineral particles, whether it's organic matter, sand, silt, or clay. The remaining 50% is called "pore space" – that's the in-between that nutrients, water, and air can move through. When soil is compacted, the pore space is reduced, so the resources have very little room to move. By aerating and creating looser soil, the nutrients, water, and air will be able to get deep into the soil and reach the roots of your plants. Especially when you're overseeding, loose soil is essential because it allows the resources to reach the new seedlings and results in a better chance for strong, healthy grass to develop.

Core aeration is when cores of the lawn are mechanically removed and left to break back down into the soil. Liquid aeration is a liquid treatment that softens compacted soil.

Don't waste your money. Call us today to schedule your combination aeration and overseeding treatment!

With all the hard work and money you've already put into your lawn, don't let it go to waste by trying to skip steps. We can help! Precision Cutz Lawn Care has been providing high-quality lawn and landscape solutions to homeowners, business owners, and HOAs in Carmel, Fishers, Westfield, and nearby areas in Indiana. We're so confident that we will be able to transform your lawn and landscape, we have a 100% ironclad money-back guarantee. What are you waiting for? Call us today at 317-965-7868 to schedule your combination aeration and overseeding treatment! We are standing by and ready to help you get the beautiful, lush, and healthy lawn that you have always wanted!