Should I aerate, or aerate and seed, my lawn? Can I do it myself?

Question

I live in North Carolina, USA and I never did aeration before. The size of the lawn is 0.37 acre. Recently I got a letter from a lawn-care company offering the following services about aeration:

• Aeration only: $262.00, or $243.66 if paid before 9/15/2014
• Aeration & Seeding: $462.00, or $429.66 if paid before 9/15/2014
• Organic Soil Enhancement: $200.00, or $186.00 if paid before 9/15/2014

The significantly higher charge for aeration and seed is due to the cost of the seed plus the time spent preparing the seed bed. Problem areas are gone over to the point of "roto-tilling". Seed is applied in multiple applications to layer or to mix it into the top layer of soil.

I didn't call the company because I am not a rich man and I want to do it by myself. Perhaps it can save me some lovely US dollars.

Questions?

1. What tools will I have to buy? I saw there is one which is very cheap and small. Not sure if it is suitable?
2. After aeration, how do I seed the lawn? What are the steps? Do I need to cover the seeds with something?
3. Is it a good time to begin with? The lawn-care company is still in the cycle of the services. It has done 5 services, there are two remaining for this year.

Answer 1

With only a 1/3 of an acre of land I personally would aerate it myself, many rental shops allow you to rent a machine for a day for less than $100.

Stay away from the "aeration shoes" though as they only poke a hole into the ground and then compact the soil more. The trick is to remove a plug of sod so that air and water can penetrate.

The machine you are showing is really a tiller, it will chew the hell out of your lawn. I use the "Mantis" as a mini rototiller in my smaller beds in the spring.

Try something like this as a rental: Big Box store rental page

As for the seeding... check out my answer to this other question:

Answer 2

First, that looks cheap, to me. I would expect at that price to be getting a half-job, not a high quality one. I think doing it yourself is far better.

As Phlume says (rightly), The machine you linked to is a tiller. it will kill the grass that is already there. I use a Plugr Aerator, which will cost over $4500 new. I'd recommend renting.

As for whether or not to seed, look at your lawn. Does the grass look healthy? Or is it spotty with bare areas in between plants? Because you don't want to waste seed (which is getting expensive) on a lawn that doesn't need it. If you do decide to seed, don't rototill. Rather, mow the law very short, and rake it to loosen up the top layer of soil. This is so the seed can be raked in better later.

I use an overseeder (a Ryan Mataway Overseeder, actually), which plants the seed without the need for the other prep. These are pricey too ($6500 new), so if you wanted to go that route, I'd rent.

Again, don't overseed unless you have to. Aerating sounds like a good idea though, and I think you definitely should do that. Renting one should be a lot cheaper than paying the lawn care folks, and you can also be as thorough as you want, and go over some paces again if you think it necessary.