Yard Aeration: How & When To Aerate Your Lawn
If your lawn has brittle little blades of grass rather than a thick plush surface, it may be suffering from compacted soil.
This prevents the root system of your grass from penetrating and growing to its fullest potential. It also prevents water from penetrating through to the roots when the rains fall.
The end result? Moisture runs off into the drainage ditch and your lawn misses out on the nourishment it needs to thrive and grow into a lush green lawn.
Compressed soil makes it difficult for earthworms to perform their jobs and therefore causes thatch to accumulate. Such a problem will continue to worsen unless something is done to loosen up the surface layer of soil so that the soil can access fresh air. Source
Aerating your lawn means to provide air -- and, in turn, water and nutrients -- for your grass to grow.
How To Aerate
Aerating is done using a piece of equipment called a lawn aerator.
A lawn aerator punches holes through the grass and into the soil.
"Plugs" of dirt are removed from the lawn, allowing moisture to enter and giving the grass the ability to penetrate deeper to strengthen the root base.
When To Aerate
Deciding when to aerate your lawn is determined by a number of factors, like:
- How far the lawn root system is penetrating the soil
- What the make up of your soil is (clay vs. sandy loam)
- How much thatch has accumulated
Those are some areas to look at when making the decision whether your lawn needs to be aerated or not.
A common test of whether your lawn needs to be aerated is to stick a screwdriver into a test area of the lawn. If the screwdriver slides into the lawn with ease then you do not need to use a lawn aerator. However, if the screwdriver seems to resist your efforts, lawn aeration is most likely necessary. Source
Types Of Lawn Aerators
Aerators come in a variety of styles ranging from rather heavy gas-powered models (which can be rented from your local hardware store or home center) to pieces of equipment that are designed to be pulled behind a lawn tractor.
Truthfully, a walk-behind self-propelled lawn aerator is not really any more difficult to use than a self-propelled lawn mower -- as seen in this video.
There are a variety of other lawn tools and gadgets that can be used to aerate your lawn. The one you choose depends on the size of the job at hand. For example, you could purchase a hand-push aerator and strap-on aerating shoes with spikes protruding down to aerate by simply walking around your yard.
One of the simplest ways to aerate your lawn is to strap a set of aerator tire chains onto the rear tires of your lawn tractor or riding lawn mower. That way, you can mow and aerate all in one operation!
In the end, aerating your lawn is a rather simple task that will help make your lawn the envy of the neighborhood. Fortunately, it's a rather inexpensive project as well. Your lawn will thank you!
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