Late Summer Lawn Care: When to Aerate Lawn and Overseed in Iowa?

July 31, 2021

In 1976 All American Turf Beauty was the first company in Iowa to offer programmed lawn care. The company founders literally invented and developed the industry in Iowa. Get a beautiful weed-free lawn with our professional lawn care services!

Aeration and overseeding are essential elements of lawn care; nevertheless, they need to be performed in the right way and at the right time to get the desired results.

Lawn aeration alleviates soil compaction, prevents thatch buildup, and improves the movement of water and nutrients in the soil. It leads to better growing conditions for grass and results in a more vibrant and healthy lawn.

Overseeding, on the other hand, is an excellent way to improve lawns in poor condition. A lawn may be in poor condition due to insects, diseases, heat, poor management, or other factors. Lawns containing more than 50 percent of desirable turf can be improved through overseeding.

This post discusses when to aerate your lawn, when to overseed lawns in Iowa, and more.

Lawn Aeration in Iowa: When to Aerate Lawns and More

In Iowa, April and September are the best times for aerating Kentucky bluegrass and other cool-season grasses. Although the overall results of core aeration are beneficial, it leads to some damage initially. Aerating lawns in April or September facilitates quick recovery of the grass in the favorable growing conditions of spring and early fall.

lawn aeration

What is the Right Way for Lawn Aeration?

Lawns should be aerated with a core aerator, which has hollow tubes or tines of metal that remove soil plugs. Spike-type devices, which simply punch holes in the ground, should be avoided.

Lawns should be aerated when the soil is moist, not when the soil is wet or dry. In case of dry soil, the tines or tubes will be unable to penetrate deeply, and if the soil is wet, the tines or tubes may get plugged with soil.

To get the right results, seek the core aeration services of a reputed lawn care company in Iowa.

How Often to Aerate a Lawn

The degree of use of your lawn and the soil type largely determine how frequently you should aerate your lawn. Lawns that get heavy foot traffic and have heavy, clay soils need to be aerated twice per year. On the other hand, lawns subject to little foot traffic and that have well-drained soil should be aerated once per year.

Overseeding Lawns in Iowa: When to Overseed Lawns and More

The best time for overseeding lawns in Iowa is late summer, i.e., late August to mid-September.

Overseeding is the process of sowing grass seeds in an existing lawn.

grass seeds

Preparing the Site

Preparing the site properly is important for successful overseeding. Identify and fix the problems, if possible, that are leading to the lawn’s poor condition. If the issues are not fixed, overseeding may only serve as a temporary solution.

Mow your lawn grass at a height of one and a half to two inches to lessen the competition from the established grass.

Effective overseeding also needs proper seed-to-soil contact. Broadcasting or simply throwing grass seeds over the lawn leads to poor germination of seeds because much of the grass seed is lying on the soil surface or thatch layer. To ensure proper seed-to-soil contact, it is helpful to use slit seeders, vertical mowers, core aerators, and rakes.

Overseeding Small Areas

Small areas in the lawn can be prepared by raking the thin spots gently. While raking, the soil surface should be broken without pulling out the existing grass. After raking, the grass seeds should be sown by hand. The seeds can then be worked into the soil by raking the region gently once again.

Overseeding Large Areas

Large areas can be prepared for overseeding with the help of a core aerator. Grass seeds should be applied over large areas, after aerating the area, using a drop seeder.

If you are not a pro at lawn care cores and looking for excellent results, hire the overseeding services of a professional lawn care company in Iowa.

Get your Late Summer Lawn Care Needs Covered with AATB!

Now that you know when to aerate lawn and overseed in Iowa, schedule your lawn care for late summer, which is the time for several other important lawn care chores too. Trust All American Turf Beauty to expertly shoulder all your late summer lawn care responsibilities so that your lawn thrives in the spring next year and year-round.

Let our lawn care specialists recommend the best time to aerate and overseed your lawn as well as determine the right treatments for your lawn and implement them successfully. Request a consultation with one of our lawn care professionals today!

Guarantee of Satisfaction

Our services are guaranteed!

If you are not completely satisfied with an All American Turf Beauty application to your lawn, we will re-apply the application at no additional cost and continue the regular lawn treatment program. Alternately, we will fully refund your cost for the application and cancel any further obligation on your part.

To qualify for the guarantee, you must call All American Turf Beauty within 30 days of application.

Our goal at All American Turf Beauty, Inc. is a simple one:

To provide you with the highest quality products and methods available.

We offer every kind of service that it takes to develop and maintain a beautiful lawn in Iowa based on the climate, soil types, and the varieties of grass that are commonly grown here.

One of the keys to the success of the program is that we provide treatment to lawns approximately every 8 weeks throughout the growing season. This ensures that the grass has fertilizer (food) available throughout the growing season. Dandelions and other Broadleaf weeds are controlled as they germinate thus enabling a weed free lawn, and our Turf Specialist is at the property four to six times per season to address problems as and when they arise.

Another key to our service is our people. The most important person to you in our company is the Turf Specialist assigned to treat your lawn.

We are proud to say that our Turf Specialists are the best trained and most experienced in the lawn care industry.

When you become a customer at All American Turf Beauty, a Turf Specialist is assigned to your account. You will have the same person treating your lawn each time. It is their responsibility to service your lawn, make sure it is receiving the correct applications as scheduled, and to provide you with the best personalized service possible. Their jobs depend on it.

We have several programs to choose from. Your Turf Specialist will recommend the best program that fits the needs of your lawn and your budget.

lawn-service-results
lawn1
Safe-Lawn-3-1

Licensed, Certified, and Insured!

Get the Best Lawn Care Service in Iowa

All American Turf Beauty provides complete services ranging from lawn care to Christmas lighting. We are dedicated to making your yard and home look its best. Let us do the work, so you can enjoy your home and the things that matter the most to you.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.