Are you starting to see lots of bare patches on your lawn? Is your grass spongy when you walk on it? You may have compacted soil.
Here in Tennessee and Mississippi, we love being outside. And after a few months of outdoor barbecues, kids running around, lawn equipment rolling over, and the heat from the hot sun, your soil can become compacted. It’s a natural occurrence, but if you want that landscape you’ve always dreamed of, you probably need to do more than just practice fertilizer, proper mowing, and weed control. None of these things will benefit your lawn if your soil is compacted.
Compact soil occurs when soil particles are pressed together tightly, reducing the space between them. Heavily compacted soils can reduce the amount of oxygen, water, and vital nutrients that get to your root zone, causing brown patches and dried-out grass.
How Do I Know if My Tennessee or Mississippi Lawn Is Compacted?
There are many sure-tell signs, including the two we mentioned at the beginning, bare patchy spots and spongy grass. Other symptoms of compacted soil include:
- Water runs off and/or pools in areas of your yard.
- Brown patches or weak-looking grass
- Thinning grass
- Slowed lawn growth
- Yellowing grass
- Shallow rooting of trees
To know for sure, you can try this handy dandy test out. Take a screwdriver and stick it into the ground. If it’s dry and does not easily penetrate, your soil is probably compacted.
What Can I Do About Compacted Soil?
The best way to combat compacted soil is through a process called aeration. Core Aeration is a process where small holes are perforated throughout your Tennessee or Mississippi lawn pulling up hundreds of tiny plugs to redistribute the turf. Doing this allows the much-needed water, oxygen, and nutrients to once again permeate your soil and reach your root zone. Aeration also helps to reduce thatch build-up, which is the layer of grass clippings and other organic matter that forms a barrier at the base of your grass. The benefits of aeration don’t stop there. It has many immediate and long-lasting benefits that will help improve the overall health and appearance of your lawn. Some of the other advantages of aerating your turf include:
- Deeper root growth which benefits grass during times of drought
- Thicker grass that helps prevent weeds from taking over
- Improvement in fertilizer intake
- Faster growing grass
- Reduction in water runoff and increased water absorption
How Often and When Should You Aerate Your Tennessee or Mississippi Lawn?
Aeration of your lawn can be done anytime during the growing season but can depend on your type of grass. For cool-season grasses such as ryegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, and fescues, aerating in early spring or fall is recommended. Warm-season grasses such as bermudagrass, centipede grass, St. Augustine, or zoysiagrass should be aerated in the late spring or early summer. We recommend having your lawn aerated once every other year.
Follow Up Aeration With Overseeding for the Healthiest, Vibrant Lawn
The best time to overseed your lawn is directly following aeration. Overseeding is the process of applying new grass seeds onto your existing turf. It is usually different strains of grass. Doing this directly after aeration will help fill in any bare spots, create thicker grass, enhance your turf’s appearance and color and fend off pests and diseases. The two services together can produce a healthy, vibrant lawn.
At Greenkeeper, we offer Fescue Overseeding, which is overseeding using a blend of fescue grasses. This will create additional nutrients that will allow your turf to thrive throughout the year. As a cool-season grass, we recommend our Fescue Overseeding service in the fall.
Revitalize Your Lawn Today and Call the Professionals at Greenkeeper
Right now is the perfect time to aerate and overseed your Tennessee or Mississippi lawn. Contact the professionals at Greenkeeper today and schedule your service before it’s too late. We have a location in Tennessee, serving the Memphis area and beyond. We also have a location in Mississippi and serve Olive Branch and beyond. For all your lawn care needs, we offer an eight-step lawn care program, a six-step tree and shrub care program, as well as grub control, mosquito control, flea and tick control, and lawn fungicide and disease control. Contact us today. If you are located in Tennessee you can call us at 901-861-2338. If you are located in Mississippi, you can give us a call at 662-895-2088. Or simply reach out to us online.
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