Would you consider aerating your lawn

By Peter Nash


One of the ways to improve the condition of the soil is to aerate the lawn. Areas on the loan that gets compacted due to foot traffic need aeration. Vehicle traffic or poorly drained soil can be the reason why the soil is compacted . Despite the heavy traffic on golf courses and on sports fields, the healthy growth of the grass is maintained because the soil is regularly aerated. Lawn aeration is a process where small soil plugs are removed from the lawn using an aerator.

Aerating a lawn can be done by hand if the yard is rather small. However, aeration is commonly done with a mechanical aerator or with the use of lawn aerating organic product. The basic types of aerators are core aerators and spike aerators. A spike aerator has large spikes that are used to make holes on the ground. A core aerator creates 3 to 4 inch holes by punching the soil with a cylinder to draw out a soil plug. The soil plug is then pushed out of the cylinder and deposited in the lawn. If the soil is densely compacted, spike aerators would not efficiently aerate the lawn. Spike aerators would be more effective on sandy soil.

Is there a need to aerate lawns? The holes that are usually made 3 to 6 inches apart and 5 to 6 inches deep will improve grass growth. Aerating your lawn improves oxygen circulation. The holes made will loosen the compact soil allowing it to "breathe". Aerated lawn will have healthy grass as the roots' growth is not controlled. Fertilizer and water will be readily absorbed. Because the soil is loose, grass roots can penetrate more deeply to get more nutrients from the soil.

Worms are good organisms that help in making the lawn beautiful. Worms are performing aeration jobs too. This task though would be difficult in a highly compacted soil. Soil loosened through aeration promotes worm activity. Thatch can be a big problem of lawn owners. These organic and inorganic materials underneath the lawn become an ideal haven for pests and diseases to grow. Thatch prevents nutrients from getting into the soil. Aeration breaks up the thatch.

Aerating your lawn is best done in the fall. Aerating will be easier if the soil is moist thus it would be a good idea to give the lawn a good watering a day before the scheduled aeration. Aeration must be avoided in summer as the grass would already be stressed from the heat. If the lawn is aerated during the summer months, the grass cannot recover easily.




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1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the wonderful information dear, now i thinks it will be much easier for me to improve the dead areas of my lawn.

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