Proactive lawn care is needed to keep your lawn looking lush and green in Calgary’s challenging climate. Aerating and seeding are one of the best ways you can keep your lawn healthy. Unfortunately, many homeowners have waited until their lawns are in distress well beyond the point where it may have been possible to fix before taking action, which often turns out to be costly and time consuming. Here are ten undeniable signs that your Calgary lawn is begging for aeration and overseeding so you stay ahead.
Table of Contents
When to Aerate Your Lawn in Calgary
However, for Calgary fall is the best time for aerating and seeding. Cooler temperatures and moisture in the soil of autumn are ideal for grass seed germination and root development. Fall aeration helps ensure that nutrients are working their way deep down into the soil and help give the best possible chance to your lawn for the Calgary pains of winter.
1. Excessive Thatch Build-Up
Some of the worse culprits blocking water, oxygen, and nutrients from your lawn are at the top of the list: thatch, a dense layer of dead organic material. At about ½ inch your thatch layer is excessive. Aeration breaks thatch down naturally and improves your lawn’s overall health.1
2. Heavy Foot Traffic
Soil compaction is significant in high traffic areas, those are pathways and play zones or where pets run around. Soil that is compacted limits airflow and water flow which make grass grow very difficult. Loosing these areas using aerating the soil helps new grass to thrive.2
3. Your Lawn Has Clay Soil
And many Calgary properties, especially those of more recent construction, are built on dense clay soil. Clay soil also compacts easily and restricts proper good drainage and root growth. Aeration breaks up the clay and helps move free nutrients, air and water through the soil.3
4. Puddles After Rain
Puddles formed on your lawn after even light rainfall is a major sign of bad drainage. Aerating your lawn helps absorb water better so that lawn doesn’t stand in water which can cause root rot and other lawn problems.
5. Thinning Grass
One of the usual signs of compacted soil or nutrient deficiency is a thinning lawn. Aeration reduces compaction, allowing roots togrow deeper and grass, albeit slower, to fill in those bare spots.4
6. Discolored Patches
If you see yellow or brown areas in your lawn, it means your grassroots aren’t getting the nutrients they need. These discolored patches are a strong combined signal with other signs of distress that aeration and seeding are overdue.5
7. Difficulty Keeping Soil Moist
Wet on the surface, compacted soil often dries out quickly due to difficulty getting water to penetrate the soil. Aeration is something you might want to look at if you’re struggling to keep your lawn sufficiently watered.6
8. Grass Growth Has Stalled
The height of grass should grow steadily with the growing season. Compact soil might be the culprit if your lawn’s growth has slowed or stopped. Aeration allows roots to reawaken and get the air and nutrients they need to chase.7
9. Failed the Screwdriver Test
Here’s a simple way to test for compaction: a screwdriver or pencil into your lawn.
try pushing. If you find it hard to dig it into the soil your lawn probably needs aeration.
10. Persistent Lawn Problems
Compacted soil may be keeping nutrients from getting to the roots if your lawn is always looking lackluster even when you’re regularly watering and fertilizing. This can be tackled and revive your lawn through aeration.
Why Aeration and Seeding Are Essential for Calgary Lawns
Calgary weather is something that can change in a day and so can the soil conditions along with all the foot traffic it gets! Overseeding fills in bare or thining areas with fresh grass and aeration eases the soil compaction. Put together, these practices have rejuvenated your lawn and improve the beaches of your lawn.
How to Aerate Your Lawn
Aerating your lawn involves creating small holes in the soil to allow air, water, and nutrients to reach the roots. Here are two common methods:
- Manual Aeration: Use a garden fork or manual aerator to poke holes in the soil. This method works best for smaller lawns or high-traffic spots.
- Powered Aeration: A mechanical aerator uses rotating spikes or blades to quickly and efficiently aerate larger areas.
Not sure how to get started? Landgeraf Lawn Care experts can be called. Calgary’s unique conditions being within an aeration and overseeding service we specialize in. It will help you achieve a healthy vibrant looking green lawn and stand out against your neighbors.
Trust Landgeraf Lawn Care for Your Lawn’s Needs
The good news is that a healthy, thriving lawn begins with the right care at the right time. When any of these Lawn Aeration symptoms appear, don’t wait—Aerate and Seed! Let Landgeraf Lawn Care professionally take care of your lawn with our aeration services.
Feature Image By Guipozjim, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsCitations
- How to control thatch in your lawn. (n.d.). UMN Extension. https://extension.umn.edu ↩︎
- Lawn aeration. (n.d.). University of Maryland Extension. https://extension.umd.edu ↩︎
- Healthy Lawns—Aerating: When to aerate. (n.d.). http://ipm.ucanr.edu/. ↩︎
- Unknown. (n.d.). CMG GardenNotes #551. https://cmg.extension.colostate.edu ↩︎
- Influence of aeration, topdressing, and vertical mowing on overseeded bermudagrass putting green turf. (1987). In HortScience (Vols. 22–22, Issue 6, pp. 1276–1278). https://journals.ashs.org ↩︎
- Lin, B. B., Egerer, M. H., Liere, H., Jha, S., & Philpott, S. M. (2018). Soil management is key to maintaining soil moisture in urban gardens facing changing climatic conditions. Scientific Reports, 8(1). https://doi.org ↩︎
- Miller, W. (2022, November 30). How to grow and maintain a healthy lawn. OSU Extension Service. https://extension.oregonstate.edu ↩︎
