Sometimes your lawn hits a point where it can no longer thrive unless you aerate the soil.
This necessary practice can result in a far more lush and healthy lawn, but what happens between step 1 (aeration) and step 3 (the payoff)?
What To Do After Aerating A Lawn?
If you want the best results, you have to show patience and let nature do what nature does best.
The following steps will help you avoid common mistakes as your lawn heals.
Don’t Remove The Soil Plugs
One of the most common mistakes people make after aerating is cleaning up the mess.
Bits of grass and dirt lie everywhere, and the aeration holes are visible.
But it’s best to resist the urge to fill in those holes, as it will undo the very process you just completed.
Instead, leave the mess alone, and you’ll see that mess start to clean itself in a week or two.
The grass will begin to spread roots over the holes you’ve made, hiding them.
Meanwhile, rain and other natural processes will degrade grass plugs into compost. Excavated dirt will sink back beneath the grass.
Decide Between Overseeding And Treating With Herbicides
It can be tempting to treat your freshly aerated lawn with Weed & Feed or a similar herbicide. Yet it might be more prudent to take a step back and consider the best course of action.
Advantages Of Overseeding
You want to grow new grass as soon as possible, and overseeding immediately after aerating can have several benefits.
First, the seeds will be safe from birds thanks to those unsightly holes.
Second, overseeding an already sparse lawn will allow it to fill out far more quickly.
Third, it might be too late to seed this year if you wait before overseeding.
That said, overseeding may not be necessary on a lawn that’s already reasonably lush.
The existing turfgrass will fill any tiny gaps in a few weeks if temperatures are suitable for growth.
Advantages Of Treating
Pre-emergent herbicides (including Weed & Feed) are a great idea if your lawn is prone to competition with weeds.
These formulas soak into the soil and attack seeds as they germinate.
They can be highly effective and target many plants without mercy.
Why You Can’t Overseed AND Treat?
Unfortunately, pre-emergents don’t discriminate and are good at their job.
You’ll kill the grass seeds you’ve sown by overseeding and applying a pre-emergent too close together.
Instead, apply pre-emergent herbicides no sooner than four weeks after seeding and six months before the next planned seeding.
Note that post-emergent formulas won’t harm your grass seed and are safe to use after sowing.
Additionally, if you have a cool-weather turfgrass, you can apply a pre-emergent and still overseed 6 weeks later.
Provide Food And Water
One of the great things about aerating your lawn is helps your lawn process food and water more efficiently.
This is the perfect time to apply a quality lawn fertilizer. The aeration holes will help draw it deeper into the ground, which will be more effective.
Best of all, the fertilizer won’t wash away if it rains soon after applying.
And speaking of washing, you’ll need to give the lawn a generous watering.
Thanks to those aeration holes, the water won’t flood your lawn, and it will also help the dirt plugs to break down.
Thoroughly water the lawn twice per week for between 30 and 60 minutes per session.
This extra attention encourages new growth and helps lawns recover if they’ve been turning brown or yellow due to the compacted soil.
The One-Month Reset
As tempting as it may be, avoid watering the lawn for a month after aerating and try to keep foot traffic down.
Continue the frequent watering during this time, and you should have at least 2″ inches of grass by the end of the month-long aftercare.
You can cut back on watering to your regular routine when the month has ended and safely walk on the lawn again.
Mowing
Finally, wait until the lawn is 3 ½” inches tall, then give it a good mowing in one direction.
If using a mower with a catcher, remove the catcher, or the mower may disturb the soil.
Avoid cutting more than ⅓ of the grass’s height so it can fill out even more.
Mowing will push the roots of your turfgrass into the soil, giving the lawn even better access to nutrients.