Overseeding is a great way to fill in any bare or patchy areas on your lawn and increase its overall density. However, if you're planning on scheduling it this fall in Virginia, there are some things that you should do beforehand to ensure the best results possible. First, you want to mow your grass shorter than usual to give the seeds good contact with the soil. Second, you will want to remove any debris from your lawn, like leaves, sticks, and twigs, so it won’t block the seeds from reaching the soil and accessing vital resources. Lastly, you should aerate your turf before overseeding it because the holes created during the process provide the perfect spot for the new seeds to fall into, improving seed-to-soil contact and ensuring they can access the nutrients and resources they need to grow into healthy, green grass!

Mow Your Grass Shorter Than Usual Before Overseeding

If you want to get the most out of your overseeding service, then you should prepare your lawn by mowing it shorter than usual. Doing this will prevent the seeds from getting caught on tall grass blades and not reaching the ground. After all, shorter grass will give them better contact with the soil and allow more sunlight to reach the ground, creating ideal conditions for germination.

Remove Any Debris From Your Lawn Before Overseeding

Another thing you'll want to do before overseeding your lawn is to remove any debris scattered across it, such as leaves, sticks, and twigs. Debris can prevent the seeds from reaching the soil, meaning less will germinate and grow into grass. Additionally, it can block essential resources, such as sunlight, water, and oxygen, which they need to develop. By cleaning up any debris across your lawn, you can ensure they have the best chances of reaching the ground and accessing the resources they need to grow.

Aerate Your Lawn Before Overseeding It

The final thing you should do before overseeding your lawn is to aerate it. Aeration involves passing over your turf with an aerator to pull up plugs of soil. This process loosens soil compaction and creates passageways for nutrients, water, air, and sunlight to reach the roots of your grass. When you overseed directly after core aeration, the newly planted seeds will fall into the holes created during the process, allowing them to go deeper into the ground and get excellent contact with the soil! As a result, it'll increase their chances of successful germination, plus improve their ability to access nutrients and other resources! Not only that, but they even have extra protection from critters that eat them and the elements, like wind and rain, that can wash them away. By aerating before overseeding, you can set the seeds up for success and yield an equally healthier and lusher lawn!

Call us today to schedule our overseeding service!

If you want to enhance the beauty and health of your lawn, we are here to help! Our team at Patriot Lawn and Landscape offers our overseeding service to residential and commercial properties, as well as HOAs, in Bristow, VA, and other nearby cities, such as Haymarket and Manassas. We use high-quality tall fescue seeds to grow beautiful, strong grass, and we perform this service in the fall to ensure they have good conditions for germination. We also highly recommend pairing it with our aeration service for even better results! Give us a call today at (703) 244-7798 to schedule our overseeding service!