Regular maintenance goes a long way in creating a thicker, healthier lawn. Applying fertilizer and weed-and-feed compounds, watering, mowing, and trimming regularly all lead to a healthy-looking yard with beautiful curb appeal.
It's important for lawns to reap the benefits of this care so the nutrients and water can effectively reach the soil beneath the grass. This can best be done with annual aeration, a key element to maintaining a healthy lawn. What is aeration? Simply put, aeration is the process of perforating the soil with small holes which allows water, air, and nutrients to permeate into the root zone, thereby helping the roots grow deeper to produce a stronger, more vigorous lawn.
Why Aerate?
The main reason for aerating is to alleviate soil compaction. Compacted soils have too many solid particles preventing proper circulation of air, water, and nutrients in the soil. Along with soil compaction hindering a healthy-looking lawn, thatch buildup is also a problem. Thatch is a layer of decomposing organic matter that forms at the lawn surface, between the grass and soil. If it gets more than a ½" thick, thatch works like compaction and prevents the flow of water, air, and nutrients the grass needs.
How does a lawn get compacted? It's not too difficult. Kids playing in the yard, pets running around in the grass, having a party with guests mingling on the lawn can all lead to compaction. If the soil in your lawn is hard to the touch, if rainwater puddles in the yard rather than being absorbed, or if your grass often looks stressed, your lawn is likely compacted. A simple way to check is with a screwdriver. Using a regular screwdriver, stick it into the soil by hand. It should penetrate the dirt rather easily. If you encounter resistance, your lawn is a prime candidate for aeration.
Ways to Aerate a Lawn
There are a couple of ways to aerate a lawn. Solid tine aeration drives solid metal spikes into the lawn's surface, punching holes into it. The holes can be quite deep—up to 6" or more—and they create "pathways" by which air, water, and nutrients can get beyond the lawn's surface. This is the simplest way to help relieve minor compaction while helping to refresh a slightly stressed lawn. However, solid tine aeration is not considered as effective as core aeration.
Core aeration is done with a lawn aerator machine which has rows of 2" - 3" long hollow tines that mechanically remove plugs or "cores" of soil and thatch from a lawn. This is considered much more effective as removing the ½" to ¾" diameter plugs will "open" up the lawn by reducing soil compaction and creating channels through which the much-needed water, oxygen, and nutrients can permeate the soil. Core lawn aerators are used similarly to a walk-behind lawnmower, but with the user making multiple passes over the yard in a criss-cross pattern to ensure the entire lawn is properly aerated. It's a good idea to water the lawn the day before so the soil is moist, allowing the plugs to easily be pulled from the ground. The pulled plugs left behind on the yard can be left on the lawn wherever they fall. They'll eventually break down in rain or crumble at the next mowing, adding beneficial soil and organic matter to the lawn surface.
When to Aerate
The best time to aerate your lawn is right before or during the time your lawn is at its peak for natural growth. While beneficial for yards, aeration can stress lawns and grass if not timed correctly, and never aerate dormant lawns. For cool-season grasses common in the northern part of the country, early spring or fall are the best times to aerate. For warm-season grasses found on southern lawns, the best time for aerating is late spring or very early summer. Wherever in the country, when aeration is timed with active growth, grasses recover quickly and fill in areas where aerator equipment exposes soil.
Right after you've finished aerating, now is a good time to overseed the lawn with grass seed and to apply fertilizer. The grass seed, fertilizer, air, water, and much-needed nutrients now have direct contact with the soil due to aerating, and the grass roots now have greater exposure to what they need to stay strong and healthy. It's a great combination that leads to faster seed establishment and enhanced grass growth for a thicker and lusher lawn.
Product Compliance and Suitability
The product statements contained in this guide are intended for general informational purposes only. Such product statements do not constitute a product recommendation or representation as to the appropriateness, accuracy, completeness, correctness or currentness of the information provided. Information provided in this guide does not replace the use by you of any manufacturer instructions, technical product manual, or other professional resource or adviser available to you. Always read, understand and follow all manufacturer instructions.