What is lawn aeration?
Lawn aeration of the process of poking small holes down into the soil of your lawn to alleviate compaction. This allows grass roots to breathe easier and absorb the most nutrients, water, and air as possible – creating a healthy lawn for the following season.
You may not think that your lawn is compacted but it actually happens easier than you may think. Things like cars and machines obviously compress your dirt and grass but outdoor entertaining, heavy foot traffic, and outdoor furniture or structures can also contribute to this.
When do lawns need to be aerated?
Generally speaking, it is recommended to aerate lawns in the spring and fall. Depending on your soil, environmental conditions, and other factors, you may need to aerate more frequently or less frequently.
While dethatching and aerating are two different processes, they often happen together. Thatch, a layer of decomposing organic matter, forms between soil and grass at the lawn’s surface. When thatch gets more than 1/2 inch thick, it cuts off nutrients to your grass’s roots and prevents air and water from absorbing into the soil. Aeration helps penetrate the thatch and reduce buildup.
How the aeration process works
There are three main types of aerating equipment:
- Spike aerators: These poke holes down into the soil with a solid, spike-like tine. You may also see homeowners wearing spiked aerator “sandals” strapped to their shoes to aerate their lawn while doing other yard work. While these can help small, spike machines can actually make compaction more pronounced by pressing soil together around the holes.
- Slicing aerators: These have rotating blades that cut or slice through grass and thatch down into the soil. Like spike aerators, slicing aerators leave the soil in the ground, creating air, water, and nutrients pathways for grass roots without causing more compaction of dirt.
- Core or plug aerators: Typically, these are preferred by lawn professionals like Paradise. We use rows of hollow tines that remove plugs of soil from your lawn and deposit them back on top, where they can then break down. The size of the plugs and the holes created can vary from machine to machine.
You can hire a lawn service professional you trust to aerate your lawn. For those in the Lakeville, Minnesota, area, Paradise Property Services is happy to help! Contact our team today to learn more about scheduling your service.
