Lawn Aeration

[Mark Bolyard]

Lawn Aeration

If it is important to you to maintain a beautiful lawn, you may have many questions about lawn aeration, and you may even be wondering why you should hire a company to aerate your lawn. If its already in your plans to have your yard aerated, you may have other questions and concerns, like when your should call in a service for aeration, and how often it should be done, etc. The following will provide some useful information on aeration of your lawn, and answer many questions you may have about aeration.

Having your lawn aerated is essential at least once a year (and ideally twice a year) in order to maintain the beauty of your grass. In order to yield a beautiful, healthy lawn, it is necessary for both water and air to reach the root system all times of the year. Two things that often prevent the proper flow of air and water are:

1. Excess grass thatch
2. Compacted soil

Aeration aids in correcting the lack of water and air penetration in compacted soil by strategically placing holes in the soil with a special piece of machinery. Larger holes are put into areas of soil that are more compact. Some common reasons soil may become compact, and prevent the proper penetration of air and water to the root system of your grass, are:

1. Prolonged weight on the area
2. Vehicle traffic

3. Heavy mowers (such as zero turn mowers)
4. Excessive foot traffic

There are several types of aerators lawn service companies will use. The most common type of aerator is one where the lawn service professional will walk behind. The plugs, or holes , the machine makes in your yard will commonly be 2-3 inches apart, and 1-2 inches deep. In more compact areas, sometimes the depth will be up to 3 inches to help ensure better air and water absorption.

For best results, aeration should be done once in the spring, before fertilization, and once in the fall, after de-thatching. Since the aeration helps your lawn soil with the ability to absorb, it is best to have your fertilizers and pesticides applied directly after aerating. Even though it is recommended aeration be performed twice a year, some companies recommend it only being done once a year, right before the ground freezes, and directly after de-thatching.

In order to maintain a beautiful healthy yard, it is essential to have your yard aerated at least once, but ideally twice a year. When done once, the best time would be in the fall, right before the ground freezes. When done twice, it should be done once in the spring, before fertilization, and once in the fall, after de-thatching. In doing so, it will help to ensure that the root system of your lawn will get the necessary amounts of air and water.


Feel free to email me with your questions or comments.

[JRoss]

Good stuff, Mark!