When to aerate your lawn in Minnesota

Core aeration is the single most effective thing you can do for a thin lawn in the Twin Cities. Most of the metro sits on clay that packs down under foot traffic, mowers, and months of snow load.

Signs your lawn needs aeration

• Water puddles or runs off instead of soaking in.
• A screwdriver is hard to push more than a couple of inches into moist soil.
• The lawn thins out every summer no matter how much you feed it.
• There is a spongy layer of thatch more than half an inch thick.

Why late summer beats spring

The best window is late August through September.

• Warm soil, cool air. Seed germinates fast and new roots grow without heat stress.
• Fewer weeds. Crabgrass is finishing its life cycle, so new grass does not have to compete.
• A full fall to establish. New grass has two months to root in before winter.

Spring aeration works, but it breaks up the crabgrass pre-emergent barrier. If you aerate in spring, skip the pre-emergent or use one that is safe for new seed.

Always overseed afterward

Aeration opens thousands of small holes, which are perfect seed beds. Overseeding right behind the aerator is how you turn a thin lawn into a thick one. Use a Kentucky bluegrass and perennial rye blend for sun, or add fine fescue for shade.

Leave the plugs

The soil cores look messy for a week or two, then break down and return soil and microbes to the surface. Do not rake them up.

Ready to book? See our aeration and overseeding service or get an estimate.