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Lawn aeration is an important part of a regular lawn maintenance program. It allows people looking for the best possible yard the ability to achieve and maintain a healthy lawn.
Aeration for lawns is done to make it easy for grass to breathe by improving air and water circulation.
If the lawn is aerated, it takes water and nutrients less time to reach the roots of grass. This is how it affects the grass growth and helps keep lawn healthy.
Today, you’ll get our take on lawn aeration and get an understanding of how, why and when it’s necessary to aerate your lawn.
What is Lawn Aeration?
It’s worth noting that aeration is all about creating small holes in the lawn. The main objective of this work is to improve the soil and provide lawn grass roots with air, water and nutrients they need for normal growth.
The holes are approximately 1 – 6 inches deep. The distance between holes has to be about 2 – 6 inches.
When lawn is aerated, the compacted soil is broken up. As a result, water as well as fertilizer can penetrate the root zone quickly and successfully.
The process of lawn aeration also involves removing lawn thatch. If lawn is aerated in the fall, leaves may need to be skimmed off the lawn.
It goes without saying that aeration contributes greatly to the health and beauty of lawn.
Due to aeration, air as well as water and nutrients can easily reach grass roots. As a result, the grass roots can grow deeply and a stronger lawn is produced.
How is Lawn Aeration Done?
It’s incredibly important to do the aeration of lawn in the right way. Keep in mind that lawn needs some care before, during and after aeration. Now, let’s take a closer look at lawn aeration process.
– It all begins with the preparation for lawn aeration. First of all, you have to get the lawn ready for the aeration. Start aerating lawn only if soil is moist enough. That means that you should aerate your lawn the day after rain. If the soil is dry and no rain is expected in the nearest future, then it makes a lot of sense to water the lawn and do aeration the next day. Plus, you need to mow the lawn before aeration.
– Now, it’s time to create holes in the soil. These holes will help the grass grow better.
Make sure that you have all the necessary tools for lawn aerating. Different types of equipment can be used for lawn aeration such as lawn aerator shoes, hand aerators and machine aerators.
It’s incredibly important for you to pick the right type of tool for lawn aeration. When picking a tool for lawn aeration, you should take into account such two factors as the size of lawn and the type of soil.
It’s important to know that the process of lawn aeration is very similar to lawn mowing. When creating holes in the lawn, you’ll need to move your lawn aerator back and forth. Go through the areas that need to be aerated several times.
– It’s necessary to continue law care after aeration. After your lawn has been aerated, you need to wait some time until the soil dries out. Water, fertilize or mow your lawn when such a need arises. If you apply fertilizer, you will provide your grass with ingredients that it needs for healthy growth. Sometimes, lawn has to be repaired after aeration.
Why Does Your Lawn Need to be Aerated?
Compacted ground is a big problem for your lawn. If soil is heavily compacted, the particles of soil are pressed together. So, pore space between soil particles is reduced.
When lawn grass grows in compact soil, its roots may find it difficult to access air, water as well as nutrients. Soil particles are separated during the lawn aeration process. As a result, the growth of lawn roots slows down.
Aeration delivers multiple significant benefits to lawn grass. These include:
- Aeration improves air circulation in the soli
- Aeration improves water flow in the soil
- Aeration makes it possible for nutrients to reach root zone quickly
And of course, gardeners have to deal with compacted soils. Aeration is one of the best ways to solve the problem and improve soil compaction. The main goal of air aeration is to add air as well as moisture to the soil.
When Is Lawn Aeration Needed?
The aeration of lawn is usually done either in the early spring or in the fall. In reality, soil is moist in the spring and in the fall. So, you’ll find it easy to create holes in the ground during the lawn aeration.
However, it would be better to aerate soil in the spring rather than in the fall. Spring is the beginning of the growing season for lawn grass.
It’s important to know that grass can be damaged during the aeration process. However, it usually takes grass less time to heal from damage if aeration is done during the growing season.
It’s also recommended to aerate your lawn if dry weather conditions and drought last for a long period of time. However, it would be better to water the soil properly prior to aeration.
There are different opinions on the frequency of lawn aeration. Some experts recommend homeowners to aerate the soil at least once every five years. There are also specialists, who believe that aeration has to be done only when such a need arises.
The reality is, each situation is different. The frequency of lawn depends a lot on many factors.
In most cases, lawns need to be aerated every 3 years.
However, aeration of lawn needs to be done more frequently in high traffic areas.
New lawns have to be aerated 2 times per year.
If grass grows in hard and clay soils, lawns have to be moderated 1 time per year.
Do you need help with lawn aeration? Or, maybe, you would like to learn more about lawn aeration services? Contact us today to get an initial consultation for FREE!
