Time to Aerate

Over time the soil under your lawn becomes compacted. Soil compaction makes it harder for the grass roots to grow and reduces the penetration of oxygen and water. Water and oxygen is not only absorbed by the lawn’s roots but also serve to keep vital micro organisms in the soil alive. Lacking oxygen, water and micro organisms, the soil becomes sterile and the turf’s health will suffer. The results are a thin turf, with poor color, that is less resistant to disease and environmental stresses. Aeration is a proc-ess where a machine is run over the lawn that drives a hollow tine into the soil and removes a "core" of soil about as big around as your index finger and about 1-3" deep. The holes the machine leaves allows water, oxygen and fertilizer to better pene-trate the soil and get to the roots of the lawn. The removal of the plugs not only aid in penetration, but also loosens the soil as it expands to fill the holes, allowing the roots to better grow and develop. The cores left on the surface also bring up beneficial micro organisms, whose job it is to break down organic material, to the top of the lawn. As the cores break up, those micro organisms go to work breaking down the unhealthy thatch that builds up at in the lawn. Our first application on the Lawn Fertilization program contains a pre-emergent weed control. This product sets up in the upper soil profile and kills the weed seeds as they germinate. It is vital that once this product has been applied that nothing penetrates the chemical barrier that would disrupt it and allow the new weed seedlings to grow past it. Consequently, if aeration is to be done, it must be scheduled prior to the 1st

application being applied. As we get into spring and the temperature warms up, our schedules begin to fill up rapidly. So, call us at 836-4000 right away so we can schedule you and co-ordinate these important services to get your lawn off to the right start for 2010.