Over time, and with heavy foot heavy traffic, the soil underneath lawns compacts and causes turf to deteriorate. One of the more beneficial cultural practices you can perform on a lawn is core aeration, and in most cases, aeration in conjunction with over-seeding. A healthy well-groomed yard increases a home's value by 15-20%, so as you look to renovate areas inside your house, consider the outside as well.

Aeration is a mechanized process using specialized equipment to remove small cores of soil from the ground and then depositing them on top of the grass. The small 2"-3" deep holes enable air, nutrients and water to penetrate to the root system of the grass. Thus core aeration helps reduce your watering needs by allowing irrigation and/or natural rainfall to effectively reach the roots.

In addition, as the removed cores of soil break down, they help increase microbial activity that aids in decomposition of thatch, and stimulates root activity.

The best time to aerate most lawns is in late summer, or early fall depending on where you live. At this time of year, lawns are coming out of summer dormancy and beginning a period of vigorous growth. Competition from weeds is also minimal during this time.

If over-seeding is done with aeration, it's important to use high quality certified seed. Seed technology has come a long way, and newer seed varieties are available that are drought tolerant, insect resistant and disease resistant. The core aeration and over-seeding process is a perfect opportunity to introduce some of these new grass seed varieties into a lawn to improve its overall quality.

This article was provided by NaturaLawn of America. NaturaLawn of America offers organic-based lawn care and aeration/seeding service to homeowners nationwide. To schedule service or to receive more information, visit them online at www.nl-amer.com or call 1-800-989-5444.