A nice lawn and the upkeep of it can be achieved by simply mowing, fertilizing, and watering the right way. It also means that the nutrients should reach the soil under your grass. Aeration is also essential for having a healthy lawn, in which air and water can penetrate it, considering thick grass or lawn thatch.
What is aeration?
Aeration is digging holes in the soil, which will allow air, water, and nutrients to get to the grass, in turn providing small holes through which roots grow deep and the fuller they will be.
The main objective of aeration is to prevent soil compaction. Compacted soils have too many solid particles in one area, which impedes the free flow of air, water, and nutrients within the soil. Dense layers of lawn thatch or heavy organic matter under grass also impede the roots from accessing these very essential elements.
Should I Aerate My Lawn?
- One of the most commonly asked questions to homeowners is whether they should aerate or not. In most cases, any lawn that is suitable for aeration will exhibit the following characteristics:
- It's so used, like a local park or race course, that children and pets running around in the lawn tread down the dirt.
- It is built as a new house. In general, the upper part of soil for new grasses created is dug out or covered; construction trucks step on the grass that grows upon the lower soil.
- Dries very fast, and feels soft. It might be the case of too much thatch in your lawn. Dig out a piece of your lawn four inches deep using a shovel. If your layer of thatch exceeds half an inch, it is time to aerate.
- This area had sod and was layered with soils. Layering finer soils over the existing soil, which comes in with sod, stops the water from draining because it is retained in the finer soil. It then becomes hard and prevents the roots from growing. Aerating breaks the layers so that water can move through the soil and get to the roots.
When to Aerate Your Lawn
The best time to fertilize is when the grass is growing. This helps the grass recover and fill in the holes after the soil plugs are taken out. For cool season grass, do it in early spring or fall. For warm season grass, do it in late spring.
Spike Aerator and Plug Aerator: Tools for Aerating
There are two major aerating devices: the spike aerator, which punctures holes in the ground with a solid tine or fork; and the plug aerators, which remove a small piece of grass and soil from the lawn. The best tool to use is an aerating tool or machine that removes plugs of soil. Making holes is not very effective and can actually make the areas around the holes tighter.
Seek out an aerator that will pull up small pieces of soil 2 to 3 inches deep and about 0.5 to 0.75 inches wide, with holes spaced 2 to 3 inches apart. Check lawn and garden stores or home improvement centers for a rental opportunity. Be sure to take their suggestions. You might be able to split the cost of renting with a neighbour that wants to aerate theirs as well.
Aerate Your Yard How to End
If you feel your lawn requires some form of aeration, then here's how you can do it simply, with the following simple lawn care tips.
- Use sufficient moisture in the soil before you aerate. As you aerate dry soil, it might be very frustrating. The best time would be a day after it rains or a day before when you water your lawn.
- Most aeration machines only cover a very small part of the soil as they pass through. Run multiple passes over the most compacted areas, but leave the untouched areas for natural resource savings and to save your energy.
- Let the dirt plugs dry out, then break them up for an even look and clean cut appearance to your lawn. Break them up by mowing over them with your lawn mower, or pound them in with the back of a rake. (Your mower blade likely will need sharpening after breaking the plugs up.)
- One of the biggest myths associated with lawn care is that when the spring rolls around, using a pre-emergent herbicide will kill the "barrier" made by aerating your lawn. It's not. Researchers found that aeration does no damage to crabgrass control and weed prevention. After aeration, proper fertilizer application, proper mowing, and proper watering is key.
Aeration is an excellent way of ensuring your lawn looks nice, yet many people do not know anything about it and how it works. If your lawn needs aeration, be sure to include this in your lawn-care schedule. Your lawn will thank you for being able to breathe again.
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Benefits of lawn aeration
Aerating your lawn holds much benefit for your grass and more.
Aeration
- This keeps the grass healthy and helps roots grow better. Roots spread out, get stronger, grow in thickness, and become healthier.
- It beautifies your home: Your grass will also be greener, thicker.
- Helps prevent runoff: Earth may absorb stormwater instead of allowing it to flow into rivers, which can otherwise pollute the water.
- It helps in preventing erosion: Deep and strong roots of grass may reduce the likelihood of erosion.
- Oxygen and nutrients available to your grass will help it fight diseases much more efficiently.
- Reduces thatch: It adds oxygen that encourages the growth of bacteria to decompose the grass, enhancing drainage; therefore, there is less thatch, and you won't have to dethatch or power rake as often.
- Make drought resistance stronger: the longer roots are thicker, so your grass can deal with drought times better.
- Saves water: In case the soil has many holes, water will always seep into the ground to soften any dry residue.
- A healthier thickness of grass will actually outgrow the weeds and displace them.
- It reduces the need for fertilizer: Grass plants in compacted soil often do not have enough nitrogen and potassium. Due to this, they need extra fertilizer. Aeration helps grass plants get the nutrients that they need on their own.
- More helpful organisms are present in the soil, such as earthworms, soil insects, aerobic bacteria, and fungi. They like to have soil with holes and full of oxygen. When your soil aeration occurs, they come back quickly and assist in maintaining healthy soil.
- Helps to prepare your lawn for winter, in addition to helping it thrive during spring: Fertilization is more efficient when combined with aeration. Aeration allows the lawn to absorb nutrients which will enhance the lawn's green color during spring.
FAQs
What is the best way to breathe for your lawn?
Forks or tines press into your yard to make holes, but they can also press the soil around these holes. Therefore, removing plugs is a better way of doing this. Use an aerator with holes from two to three inches deep and half an inch to three-quarters of an inch wide for best results.
How can one make the soil airier?
Soil additives: There are things like peat moss, sand, perlite, and vermiculite you can use to help your soil breathe. The mentioned will only make the potting mix light. Draining occurs at the bottom part of your container with stones included. Thus, making the soil breathe well, yet it's still moist.
How best should one aerate?
There are two main ways to aerate soil: core aerating and spike aerating. Core aerating uses a machine to remove small pieces of soil. Spike aerating uses spikes to make holes in the ground. Core aerating usually works better because it reduces soil compaction without adding more compaction from the spikes.
Why is aerating your lawn important?
Aeration Promotes New Growth.
It is therefore advisable for homeowners to aerate their lawn before fertilizing and seeding. This way, it gives them the best opportunity to take hold of the granules and the seeds in penetrating the soil. Moreover, aeration ensures that your lawn's roots have more room to grow and move around.
How deep to aerate?
Optimal outcome: For optimal results, use a plug aerator. It takes out a small piece or plug of grass and soil from your lawn. Choose an aerating tool or machine that takes out soil plugs about two to three inches deep and about half an inch to three quarters of an inch in width, with about two to three inches between the plugs.
