Lawn Care
Doing your own lawn care: what to do, and when
Four jobs, done in the right order, at the right time of year. Most of the value is in the sequence, and the sequence is free.
Affiliate disclosure: we earn a commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you. It never changes which product we rank first — here is how we're funded.
We have not tested these units. Every spec on this page comes from the manufacturer's own documentation and is linked to it. Every computed figure is arithmetic you can redo. Prices are checked daily — last verified January 1, 1970. Here is exactly how we pick.
The order, and why it is the order
| Step | What it does | Why it comes here |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Dethatch | Removes dead material sitting above the soil | Thatch holds seed and granular feed off the soil surface. Clear it first or the next two steps land on top of it. |
| 2. Aerate | Pulls soil cores 2-3 in deep | Relieves compaction and opens the best seedbed the lawn will have all year. |
| 3. Overseed and feed | Puts seed and nutrients into open holes | Do it immediately, while the holes are open. A day later and they have closed. |
| 4. Mow high, consistently | Maintains what the first three built | Taller grass shades soil, holds moisture and crowds out weeds without chemicals. |
A season-by-season calendar
| Season | Cool-season grass | Warm-season grass |
|---|---|---|
| Early spring | First mow at the top of the height range. Sharpen the blade before the season, not after. | Sharpen the blade. Hold off on feeding until the lawn is actively growing. |
| Late spring | Feed. Mow weekly. Do not aerate now -- summer stress is coming. | Dethatch, aerate, overseed and feed. This is the window. |
| Summer | Raise the cut height. Mow less often in drought. Do nothing invasive. | Mow regularly. Feed lightly if growth is strong. |
| Early fall | Dethatch, aerate, overseed and feed. This is the window. | Last feed of the year. Stop overseeding. |
| Late fall | Final mow slightly lower. Clear leaves so they do not mat. | Final mow. Clear leaves. |
| Winter | Nothing on the lawn. Service the mower and store packs indoors at part charge. | Nothing on the lawn. Same equipment storage. |
The single most important cell in this table is the aeration window: it must land in the growing season, so the grass fills the holes you just made.
What each job actually needs
- Dethatching: a dethatcher or scarifier working at roughly 0.4 inches. The Sun Joe AJ801E publishes 0 to 0.4 inches raking and -0.4 to 0 scarifying across a 12.6-inch width, with an 8-gallon bag so you are not raking behind it.
- Aeration: a core aerator that pulls plugs 2 to 3 inches deep. The Agri-Fab 45-0299 publishes 32 knives and 3-inch plugs across 48 inches, and needs a tow vehicle. Without one, rent a walk-behind for a weekend.
- Overseeding and feeding: a broadcast spreader. The Scotts Elite's 6-foot dual-rotor pattern covers 5,000 square feet in about 14 passes against 17 at the 5-foot standard.
- Mowing: whatever cuts your lawn without running out. Size it by watt-hours in the mower sizing guide.
The free improvement almost nobody makes
Cut higher. Taller grass shades the soil, which holds moisture and suppresses weed germination without anything in a bottle. It also grows deeper roots, which is what carries a lawn through a dry August.
Check what your mower can actually do. EGO publishes a 1 to 4-inch range across eight positions, the widest we found; Greenworks publishes 1.38 to 4.0 inches across seven on the 80V and 1.2 to 3.6 on the 40V. Most cool-season lawns want the top half of whatever range you have, and that is a setting change rather than a purchase.
DIY or a service?
The equipment on this page is a one-time cost against a recurring one, and at typical service pricing the arithmetic favors DIY inside a couple of seasons. That is not the interesting part of the comparison.
What a service actually sells is scheduling. They turn up on a date whether or not you feel like it, which is precisely the variable that decides whether a lawn improves. If you go DIY, the highest-value thing you can do costs nothing: put the aeration and feeding windows in a calendar now, for next year, and treat them like appointments.
What this guide does not cover
Grass species, soil chemistry and local climate all change the specifics, and none of them is something we can determine from a spec sheet. For soil pH and nutrient levels, a soil test through your state university extension service will tell you more about your lawn than any article can — including this one.
The products discussed
Specs are the manufacturer's own and linked to the page they came from. Prices come from a live daily check; where we have no verified price we say so rather than print a stale one.
Scotts Elite Spreader
Scotts · Manual (push) · Our score 8.5/10
#ad No verified live price right now, so we show none rather than a stale one. How we're funded.
A 6 ft dual-rotor pattern over 20,000 sq ft, with EdgeGuard to keep product off the sidewalk.
Published specs
| Type | Broadcast (rotary), dual rotor |
|---|---|
| Spread width | 6 ft |
| Coverage per fill | Up to 20,000 sq ft |
| Hopper capacity | 80 lb |
| Edge control | EdgeGuard (blocks right side) |
| Tires | 10 in, foam filled |
Source: Scotts Elite Spreader (75902), scotts.com
5,000 sq ft at a 6 ft spread width needs about 833 linear feet of walking. On a 60 ft run that is roughly 14 passes -- versus 17 passes at a standard 5 ft width. That is the whole practical difference the dual rotor buys.
What the numbers favor
- 6 ft pattern against the 5 ft standard -- about 20% fewer passes
- 80 lb hopper covers 20,000 sq ft without a refill
- EdgeGuard keeps fertilizer off hard surfaces, which is where runoff starts
- Foam-filled tires cannot go flat in the shed over winter
What they don't
- 80 lb loaded is heavy to push on soft or sloped ground
- Broadcast spreaders are harder to control near beds than a drop spreader
your lawn is under about 2,000 sq ft or heavily bordered by beds. A drop spreader puts product exactly where you steer it and nowhere else.
How it scores
Scores are our editorial weighting of the published specs above, not a test result. They are deliberately kept out of this page's structured data.
Agri-Fab 48" Tow-Behind Plug Aerator (45-0299)
Agri-Fab · Tow-behind (needs a tractor) · Our score 8.0/10
#ad No verified live price right now, so we show none rather than a stale one. How we're funded.
32 galvanized knives pulling 3 in plugs across 48 in -- the only tool here that actually relieves compaction.
Published specs
| Working width | 48 in |
|---|---|
| Knives | 32, galvanized |
| Plug depth | Up to 3 in |
| Weight tray capacity | 175 lb |
| Unit weight | 94 lb |
| Tires | 10 in flat-proof |
Source: 48" Tow Behind Plug Aerator (45-0299), agri-fab.com
10,000 sq ft at a 48 in (4 ft) working width needs 2,500 linear feet. On a 48 ft run that is about 52 passes -- an hour or so behind a tractor, against a full day with a walk-behind core aerator.
What the numbers favor
- Pulls genuine 3 in cores, which is what aeration means
- 48 in width covers ground fast
- 175 lb weight tray lets you force depth in hard soil
- Flat-proof tires
What they don't
- Needs a lawn tractor or riding mower to tow it -- useless on its own
- 94 lb empty is awkward to move and store by hand
you have no tow vehicle. Without a tractor this is a 94 lb ornament; rent a walk-behind core aerator for the weekend instead.
How it scores
Scores are our editorial weighting of the published specs above, not a test result. They are deliberately kept out of this page's structured data.
Sun Joe AJ801E Dethatcher + Scarifier
Sun Joe · Corded 120V · Our score 7.6/10
#ad No verified live price right now, so we show none rather than a stale one. How we're funded.
Two swappable cylinders and five depth settings -- but read the depth numbers before you assume this aerates.
Published specs
| Motor | 12 A |
|---|---|
| Working width | 12.6 in |
| Depth settings | 5 |
| Raking depth | 0 to 0.4 in |
| Scarifying depth | -0.4 to 0 in |
| Speed | 2,990 RPM |
| Collection bag | 8 gal |
| Tines | 27-tine dethatching cylinder |
Source: Sun Joe AJ801E Electric Lawn Dethatcher + Scarifier, shopjoe.com
What the numbers favor
- Two cylinders in one machine -- dethatch and scarify without buying twice
- Five published depth settings with actual inch figures for each mode
- 8 gallon bag means fewer stops to rake up
- Corded, so no pack to size and no runtime limit
What they don't
- This is NOT an aerator. Maximum working depth is 0.4 in; core aeration needs 2-3 in
- 12.6 in working width makes a large lawn a long afternoon
- Corded, with the working-radius limit that implies
your problem is compacted soil rather than thatch. A 0.4 in scarifier cannot relieve compaction; you need a core aerator that pulls plugs.
How it scores
Scores are our editorial weighting of the published specs above, not a test result. They are deliberately kept out of this page's structured data.
Common questions
What order should I do lawn care jobs in?
When should I aerate my lawn?
Can I do my own lawn care instead of hiring a service?
Should I rake up the plugs after aerating?
What height should I cut my grass?
Sources
Read next
- Lawn Care
Cutting the grass is a third of the job. This is the other two thirds.
- Best lawn spreader for fertilizer and seed
Spread width decides how long the job takes. The passes-per-lawn math, worked out.
- Best lawn aerator (and why most of them are not aerators)
Core aeration pulls 2-3 inch plugs; dethatchers work at 0.4 inches. Which one you need.
- Battery lawn mower maintenance: what is actually left to do
Five maintenance jobs removed, one added. The short list that remains, and the storage habits that matter.
- Best battery lawn mowers of 2026
Six flagship battery mowers ranked on watt-hours in the box and energy spent per minute.