How to Aerate your Lawn 101

Aeration is sometimes considered difficult but it is simply perforating the soil with small holes. Those holes are designed to let air, water and nutrients down deep into the soil. There, they are able to saturate the grass roots. This helps the roots grow deeply and produce a stronger, more vigorous lawn.

Why Aerate?

The main goal of aeration is to lessen dirt compaction which may lead to a high amount of solid particles in the soil. This prevents proper water, air and nutrition from getting to the roots of your lawn. Excess lawn thatch or heavy biological debris hidden under the grass surface can also make it difficult for the roots to get the nutrients that grass will need to grow and thrive.

Who Should Aerate?

You should aerate your soil if it is an area which receives high traffic. Constant weight on the soil causes it to become more compact. Also, soil under newly constructed homes often has its topsoil stripped away leaving compacted soil. There are also barriers which can cause problems such as soil layering and thatch which will benefit from an aeration treatment.

Tools Needed

When it comes to aerating tools, you basically have two ways to go. You can either get a spike aerator or a plug aerator.

With a spike aerator, you just punch holes into the earth with a hard point at the end of the tool.

Woman aerating the garden lawn with a digging fork

Plug aerators remove plugs of lawn and dirt from the turf. These aerators tend to produce the best results. Poking holes with a spike aerator can, in reality, cause further compaction in the areas near the holes that have been punctured.

Note: Look for a tool that pulls up soil plugs around 2 — 3 inches down into the ground, approximately 0.5 — 0.75 inches in diameter, and just about 2 — 3 inches from one another. This type of equipment can be rented at your local garden store or your big box home improvement warehouse. The most important thing is that you follow the directions provided, particularly if you go the rental route.

Steps to Aerate Your Lawn

There is far more involved in aerating a lawn than just perforating the soil. You have to be aware of soil and grass conditions which will guide your decisions about where to puncture the earth, and when to aerate. Different types of grass flourish and thrive at different times of the year. If you are going to ventilate a lawn, you want the treatment to correspond with the lawn’s prime best time of year for growth. Typically cool season grass should be aerated in early spring and warm season grass at the end of spring. Here are a few steps to aerating your lawn.

Try to eradicate or treat all of the weeds that may be in the grass before you aerate.

Before getting underway, make sure the earth is saturated enough with water. There's nothing more annoying than trying to aerate soil that is parched. Try aerating a day after a rain shower, or water your lawn the day before.

Most aeration equipment is designed to cover only a small fraction of the soil surface with each pass. 

Make certain to make several passes over the most compressed parts.

The unearthed masses of dirt should be permitted to dry and then you should break them up and spread them across the lawn so that it has an even surface. You can easily break them up by running them over with a lawnmower.

Of course, after you are done aerating, it's vital to carry on with all of your basic lawn care practices such as proper composting, cutting and watering.

Fischer Can Help

If you'd like to talk to experts with a great deal of experience in lawn care, Fischer is here to help. Aeration is but one of the numerous lawn care services that we provide. We will strategize to restore and improve your lawn and are committed to helping you get it in tip top shape from aerating and seeding to fertilizing and watering- click here to get started!