Setting the Gold Standard in Landscaping

Lawn Aeration, Aerating & Dethatching – Portland Oregon, West Side

After a while, certain varieties of grass tend to build up thatch faster than they can decompose it. This layer of thatch, or dead grass, creates a layer under the turf that makes it hard for water, fertilizer, or beneficial microorganisms to get to the root systems of the grass. To penetrate this layer of thatch and restore health to your lawn landscapers either Aerate or Dethatch the lawn.

aeration

Even if your variety of grass isn’t prone to thatch buildup, there is always a concern with soil compaction. Our clay soils become highly compacted over time. Compacted soil makes it hard for nutrients and water to penetrate down to the roots of the turfgrass. This is the other main benefit of Core Aeration.

Aeration

Core Aeration is when we use a big rolling power tool to create perforations, or holes, in the lawn (as pictured). The cores, or plugs, are redeposited onto the top of the lawn and work as a beneficial top dressing. This is the preferred method for many landscapers because there is less risk for damage to the lawn and the lawn can recover faster than it does with dethatching.

Dethatching

Dethatching a lawn is where a big tool called a Power Rake goes over your lawn and uses a rake like blade to pull up all of the old thatch. Then the landscaper rakes the thatch up and hauls it away. This is a much longer process and has more potential to do damage. Typically, we do not recommend dethatching unless you have a variety of grass that is prone to creating large amounts of thatch. Instead, we recommend aerating.

Timing / Frequency

Local experts on turf maintenance, recommend aerating twice per year for optimal results. This is because of our heavy clay soils that are native to the Northwest. If this isn’t practical or affordable, we recommend aerating it at least once per year.

The best time to aerate lawns is in the spring time. It can be done in the summer but the lawn must have ample irrigation in order to recover properly. Fall is the second best choice to aerate.

Cost

The cost for lawn aeration and for dethatching, if necessary, can vary. However, we do have a company minimum of $1000 for any one-time job. So since prices for aerating/dethatching is often well below that minimum we’re usually performing these services in addition to other services like a one-time clean-up, barkdusting application or other landscape work where the total of all work is at or greater than $1000.

If you’re needing only lawn aeration and/or de-thatching we might recommend looking up one of the lawn aeration companies in the Beaverton area. There are several in this area who only do these services and do them at very good prices.

If you’d like to discuss either of these services for your and see exactly how much your it would be for your lawn, please contact us.

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