Grounds ToolkitMaterials and Applications
How Much Time and Product Does Aeration or Overseeding This Area Need?
Enter treatment area, your aerator's coverage rate, and the seed label rate. This shows aeration time and seed quantity for an overseed pass.
How this is calculated
Aeration time is treatment area divided by your aerator's coverage rate. Seed needed uses the same formula as Seed Rate, area divided by the label rate's basis (1,000 sq ft or one acre), multiplied by the label rate.
Worked example
A 5,000 sq ft lawn aerated at 2,000 sq ft per hour takes 2.5 hours. Overseeding the same area at 4 lbs per 1,000 sq ft needs 20 lbs of seed.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I have to enter my aerator's coverage rate?
Aerator production rate varies by machine (walk-behind vs tow-behind, tine spacing, pass width) with no single reliable industry default. Use your equipment's known rate or a timed test pass.
Do I have to do both aeration and overseeding together?
No, if you only need one, ignore the other section's result. They are combined here because the two services are commonly performed together on the same visit.
Is this the same as the Seed Rate calculator?
The seed math is identical to Seed Rate. This page adds aeration time to the same form since the two decisions are usually made together for an aeration-and-overseed visit.
How do I find my aerator's coverage rate if I don't know it?
Time a single pass over a measured area (like a 1,000 sq ft section) at your normal working speed, then scale that rate up to a full hour.