The trampled soil is able to hold less oxygen and neither the water nor the nutrients are able to seep deep inside the earth to the plants roots that results in slower plant growth marring the look of your lawn. Lawn aeration can be done using mechanical lawn aerators, the device having a drum like structure with spoons or tines attached at its base to remove soil cores. When you use a seed spreader, you should make sure the spreader is set to the proper seed rate. You should put down two or three applications of seed. Each application should be in a different direction than the previous application. You should then apply a dressing to your lawn. This will ensure that your seeds are not disturbed. The dead plants also help in increasing the nutrition and minerals for the soil. After few weeks you will find most of the weeds are dead and can be removed easily. If you are using a black sheet then the greenhouse effect will help you in killing the plants and weeds beneath it. The weeds reproduce at a much faster rate than other plants and you will be able to see that they survive most of the adverse conditions as well. Lawn grass grows best when it is planted in soil that has a pH of 6.2 - 6.5. What this means is that your lawn grass will receive the most nutrients if it is planted in soil within this pH range. Most soil tests will give you recommendations on what amendments or fertilizers you need to add to your soil to get it to the desired pH level. There is a wide range of services, which are offered by the companies so you should be clear about the kind of services you want from the lawn care professional such as seeding, aeration, maintenance, pest control etc. It is also helpful and extremely convenient, if you hire a lawn care professional from your neighborhood. However, one of the advantages of installing sod is that it can be done at any time. The most important thing to remember about sod is that is should be purchased fresh and installed immediately. How to Plant a New Lawn - Plugs and Sprigs Information If you have a small lawn area and live in a warm region, you have the option of planting plugs and sprigs.