Core Aeration
Iowa clay compacts every year, and compacted soil chokes out grass roots. Core aeration pulls thousands of plugs that let air, water, and nutrients reach where they need to go. Pair it with overseeding and you've got a thicker lawn next spring.
Fully insured · Family-run · Adel + west Des Moines metro
What you get
Process
Before we run, we walk the lawn and flag every irrigation head, shallow line, or invisible-fence wire so the aerator doesn't catch them.
We pull cores in two directions on a cross-pattern so the result is roughly 6–8 cores per square foot, the threshold for actually relieving compaction.
If you've added overseeding, we drop seed immediately after aeration so it falls into the open holes. That's by far the highest germination rate you can get without slicing.
We send a quick watering schedule for the next 2 weeks. Aeration alone needs nothing; if you've overseeded, daily light watering is what makes it take.
Seasonal timing
Best window: mid-September through mid-October. Cool nights and warm days are ideal for both root recovery and seed germination. Spring aeration is sometimes done but is a distant second choice.
Where we serve
Every fall for newer lawns (under 10 years) and lawns with heavy clay. Every other fall for established, healthy lawns. If you walk on your lawn and the soil feels like concrete, it needs aeration.
No. Aeration alone is worth the trip. But fall is the best seeding window of the year and the open holes give seed a much higher germination rate than seeding without aeration. Most customers do both.
Yes, in 2–3 weeks. Mowing breaks them up and rain washes the soil back into the lawn. They actually feed the turf as they break down.
Not if we mark heads first, which we always do. Aeration over an unflagged head can clip it. That's why the pre-walk matters.
