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Aeration and Overseeding

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Nov 11, 2024

The fall season is upon us which means it is time for fall turfgrass aeration. All warm season turf, such as Bermuda grass, Kikuyu grass, Buffalo grass, Bahia grass, & St. Augustine grass will begin to go into its dormancy period November through March.
In order to have green and lush grass through the fall and winter: scalping, de-thatching and over seeding with Perennial ryegrass must be done.

The best window for this work is between September and October for Southern California landscapes.

Below is the step-by-step procedure for aeration and overseeding in a combined, simultaneous process.


The process is as follows:


Aeration ¾“ hollow tines should be done prior to scalping to shred plugs in place.

Scalp down & overseed turf with perennial ryegrass at 10-lbs per 1000 sq. ft. 


  • Flag irrigation heads prior to aeration.

  • Aerate turf leaving plugs in place to be pulverized by mowers, providing beneficial topdressing.

  • Remove flags and repair any damaged irrigation.

  • Scalp turf incrementally, lowering cutting height until reaching lowest height of cut on mower.

  • De-thatch turf by setting depth with slight soil contact running machine in one direction.

  • Continue multiple passes with mower until all clippings are shredded and no longer visible. 

  • Clippings are traditionally raked up or vacuumed in large areas such as golf courses. They are then disposed of by dumping; which increases labor costs, carbon footprint, dump costs, and decreases profitability.Seed should be dragged in 2 directions to increase seed to soil contact.

  • Seed topper is not needed and is a huge waste of labor, time, and resources.

  • Program irrigation to run 3 times per day for 7-10 days until full germination occurs, then resume normal turf watering. Resume mowing within 7-10 days of reducing watering schedule.

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