You Dont Choose The Right Equipment
Weve all seen the do-it-yourselfers walking across their lawn in cleats, poking holes in the soil. Instead of investing in an aeration machine, they think aerating is just about creating holes but actually, the concentrated force of stepping with a spiked shoe further compacts your soil. Even spike aerators, which use a solid tine or fork to poke holes, can cause additional compaction in the areas around the holes.
For best results, use a plug aerator, which removes a core, or plug, of grass and soil from your lawn. Look for an aerating tool or machine that removes soil plugs approximately two to three inches deep and roughly half to three quarters of an inch in diameter, about two to three inches apart.
Why Should You Aerate Your Lawn
Aeration is one of the most important lawn maintenance treatments of the year. Experienced lawn maintenance professionals and gardeners will study the soil to gauge the compaction and determine if it needs aeration. Here are some reasons why you might need lawn aeration in Toronto:
When is the Best Time to Aerate Your Lawn?
If you hire lawn maintenance services, you do not need to concern yourself with the lawn care schedule. Experts usually customize their aeration schedule according to the soil conditions, weather, and the type of grass. The best time to aerate the lawn is just before the growing season. This allows the grass to heal and develop stronger roots. The grass roots will spread to areas where you have removed the soil plugs and gain a fresh supply of air.
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Why And When You Should Aerate Your Lawn
Kelly Burke is a professional turf manager for a manicured corporate campus in New England. He is accredited in organic land care and is a licensed pesticide applicator. He formerly managed the turfgrass as a golf course superintendent and has held several senior management positions at private country clubs overseeing high maintenance lawns.
Aeration is a lawn care practice designed to create openings in lawn turf and the underlying soil structure in order to penetrate the root and thatch layer and allow essential water and air down into the soil where it can better reach the grassroots. The process is usually called “core aeration” after the practice of punching small plugs, or cores, into the lawn. Usually, the practice is done with a motorized machine that can be rented, though there are also hand tools that can be used and which may be practical on very small lawns. Lawn care companies also offer aeration among their repertoire of services.
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Spring Aeration And Overseeding
If youre looking to aerate your landscape in the spring, the best time would be between March and May. While we recommend aerating your lawn in the fall, spring core aeration may be beneficial if your turf is so compacted it refuses to grow. If this is the case, our professionals will use our advanced technology to remove the thatch buildup, and then overseed your lawn to promote growth. If you aerate your yard in the spring, be warned that this may also promote weed growth and other moisture-related problems as the seed and spring showers create an environment for all types of growth.
Check That Your Lawn Is Ready For Aeration
There are several signs to look for that can clue you in that its time to aerate your lawn. If youre noticing that your turf is taking a while to absorb water, thats a common sign of soil compaction. Another easy way to gauge the state of your soil is to dig up a small cube of about six inches. How far do the roots extend down? If theyre two inches or shorter, its time to aerate. Also, take a look at the amount of thatch buildup. More than 1.5 inches of thatch is a sign that your lawn needs aeration.
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Consider Reaching Out To Professionals
This guide can help you get started aerating your lawn in the fall, but while these DIY treatments can be a great start, they rarely deliver the same results that a professional aeration service would. Not to mention, trained lawn technicians with years of experience know how to aerate your lawn without damaging your turfsomething that is all too easy to do by accident.
If you need any help, have questions, want more lawn care tips, or want to learn more about our 5-Star Lawn Care Programwhich includes aeration, seeding, and proper fertilizationjust give us a call at ! Learn what other lawn care services we offer in Greeley.
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Can You Aerate In The Rain The Short Answer
Can you aerate your lawn in the rain? Yes. However, doing so may lead to unintended consequences depending on the climate where you live as well as how heavy the rain is. This could mean flooding or unintentionally creating anaerobic conditions for your lawn. It is especially risky to aerate your lawn during heavy rain or if you have clay soil during any type of rain.
Faqs About Lawn Aeration
What is Aeration?
Aeration is the practice of removing soil plugs or slices of turf to create openings in the surface of the lawn. This helps water, air, and nutrients better penetrate the soil and helps your lawn breathe. It also helps alleviate soil compaction, creates better air flow around the roots of the grass plants, and encourages the roots to grow more deeply.
Why Should I Aerate My Lawn?
Although aerating a healthy lawn can help keep turf lush and green, the lawn will reap the most benefits from aeration if it exhibits any of the following conditions:
- Hard or compacted soil. Compacted soil can prevent air, water, and fertilizer from reaching your lawns root system, causing dead spots, patches and/or thinning. Aeration will decrease soil density and provide grass with better access to water, nutrients, and air.
- Excessive thatch. Too much thatch can increase the turfs susceptibility to lawn diseases and fungus reduce its tolerance to cold, drought, and heat stress and rob the soil of its ability to absorb water, oxygen, and nutrients efficiently. Aeration reduces thatch buildup.
When Should I Aerate My Lawn?
You can aerate your lawn at any time of the year, but the best time to do it is in the fall for cool-season grasses like Jonathan Green Black Beauty®, or in the spring/early summer for warm-season grasses, such as Bermudagrass.
How Should I Aerate My Lawn?
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What Happens If You Put Too Much Water In Your Lawn
Additionally, when the water becomes readily available in the soil, the roots of your turf grass are not encouraged to grow and find water. As a result, the root system of your grass will not develop, leaving a shallow root system that is susceptible to drought and disease. Your lawn is always trying to tell you something.
Aerating Your Lawn Allows It To Breathe
The aeration process essentially is designed to bring moisture and air deep into your lawns roots. This is an important step to take after the long, dry summer months.
The summer heat tends to dry out homeowners lawns. If you let this go too far, your soil and grass can be in immense danger. Therefore, its important to begin aerating your lawn as soon as you can. This will allow your soil to open up and absorb all the needed nutrients it deserves.
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How To Dethatch Your Lawn
Do I Really Need To Aerate My Lawn
While you do not have to aerate your lawn, your garden may face adverse conditions and poor growth if you do not. Compacted soil or heavy, non-draining soils such as clay-based can prevent lawn growth and the grass may become more prone to diseases, pests, and the negative consequences of drought or waterlogging.
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When Should You Aerate Your Lawn
Maintaining a healthy lawn takes work and proper timing. Doing the right thing but at the wrong time can delay growth or even cause damage. The adage too much of a good thing definitely holds true. There are a few tried and true maintenance tasks that can give your lawn a needed spring boost for fantastic summer growth. You can trust the experts at Nutri-Lawn Ottawa for professional advice.
Aeration is an important spring maintenance task. Aeration is the removal of plugs of soil in your lawn. This is done for a few reasons to reduce soil compaction, improve water absorption, deal with thatch, and encourage deeper root growth. Homeowners typically want to combine aeration with fertilizer and overseeding.
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The Benefits Of Aeration
Both core and liquid aeration create pores in the soil that allow more air, water, and nutrients to reach deeper, which promotes healthy root growth. Additionally, aeration can help your grass thrive by:
- Helping to prevent the buildup of harmful elements and toxins in the soil and root system.
- Protecting plants from diseases and pathogens that are caused by poor aeration.
- Increasing the activity of beneficial microorganisms in the soil that promote plant health.
- Preventing fertilizer and pesticides from running off due to soil compaction.
- Making seeding more effective, allowing for better seed-to-soil contact and better germination & growth.
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Reasons To Aerate Your Lawn
Core aeration is when you use a machine which looks similar to a walk behind mower called an aerator. It is used to go over the lawn and pull small soil cores or plugs. Those cores are then deposited on top of the lawn. These cores begin to decompose over the next week or so depending on rainfall. This breakdown of soil redeposits rich organic matter back into your lawns soil.
While this process seems simple, it adds tons of benefits to your turf.
First of all, its important to understand what lawns need to thrive. Lawn roots require oxygen, water, and nutrients for good growth. As a result of foot traffic and normal, everyday activity, your lawn soil can become compacted, which restricts oxygen, water, and nutrients from getting to roots.
Core aeration breaks up this compacted soil, allowing those three elements to continue nourishing your lawn roots again. Healthy soil is a big part of growing a great lawn. Aeration also assists in deeper turfgrass root establishment.
Overseeding at this time is usually a great idea as well. For ideal seed germination, you need maximum seed to soil contact. When you aerate, you naturally create these pockets which allows for optimum seed to soil contact, boosting your seed germination results. This can help thicken up a thin or bare lawn, crowd out weeds, and create a healthier overall stand of turfgrass.
When To Core Aerate Warm Season Grasses
For warm-season grasses, the best time to core aerate is in the early summer because the roots for these plants are most active during this time of year. Aerating warm season grasses in the fall will not provide the benefits of improving root growth since the turf is beginning to enter a dormant period and growth will stop.
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Should I Aerate My Lawn In Summer Warm Season Grass Aeration
Want to know one of the secrets to a lush and healthy lawn? Lawn aeration!
The truth is, fantastic-looking lawns dont just happen. Thriving and healthy lawns are the result of a lot of attention and care, including proper aeration.Aeration is one of the most neglected but critical tasks that can be performed on your lawn. If youve ever wondered why a golf course looks so amazing, its because they are investing in lawn aeration.Of course, proper aeration is key. One important factor is the timing. So many lawns here in Memphis, TN are made up of warm-season grasses. If you are wondering when to aerate warm-season grass, the answer is summer.In this article, well dive deeper into the timing of lawn aeration in summer as well as why its so important that you dont overlook this important service.
How To Know If Your Soil Is Compacted
As long as you know what to look for, its relatively easy to detect when your soil is compacted. Here are the tell-tale signs:
- Bare spots and areas with patchy, unhealthy looking grass. When water and oxygen cant reach the roots, grass cant grow.
- Rock hard soil that you can barely penetrate with a pitchfork.
- Water running down from high areas is a sign that your lawn is not absorbing water.
- The Soil has a reddish tint. This is a sign of soil with high clay content, which tends to become compacted.
- Plants with stunted growth and trees with shallow roots.
- If your lawn doubles as a playground for kids or pets, theres a good chance the soil is compacted.
If your grass is thick, green, and healthy, and none of these signs are present, the soil is likely in good shape. If this is the case, stick to an annual aeration schedule until conditions change.
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Pick The Type Of Aeration
There are several different methods for DIY fall lawn aeration. If you are opting for mechanical aeration, handheld spike aerators can be used for a straightforward, if slightly slow, approach. Slicing aerators use blades to slice down into the soil and create access for water and nutrients to reach the roots. The most thorough approach can be found by using a plug aerator or liquid aerator, equipment for both of which can be bought or rentedcheck your local garden center or hardware store in advance to figure out whats available and what might be the best choice for your lawn.
Should You Aerate Lawn Before Winter
Ideally, you want to aerate and fertilize before the first frost shocks your grass. This way, the fertilizer has a chance to make it down the deep aerated pathways to help protect the roots during the harsh winter season.
How late can you aerate a lawn?
Is aerating your lawn worth it?
Almost all lawns will benefit from aeration, and a great lawn demands it. That said, most lawns do not need it. Lawns suffering from heavy foot traffic, excessive thatch or grown on heavy soils will benefit most.
How long do aeration holes last?
It can take up to a couple of weeks for the greens to recover, but these procedures are critical for the long-term health of the greens. This is typically done one to three times a year, depending on the course, the type of greens, and in what part of the country they are located.
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Diy Vs Professional Services
There are two ways you can go about the process of aerating your lawn: you can do it yourself, or you can call a professional. The difference between what you and a professional can do to help your lawn restore itself back to its former glory is fairly significant due to both their experience and access to higher-grade equipment than you will be able to get. A professional lawn aeration service will also understand how to care for your lawn after the job is done and can be very helpful in making sure you dont need to use their services again.
However, if you decide to aerate your lawn yourself, you can do that too! Instead of waiting for a professional to schedule you into their calendar, you can take time into your own hands and get started today. In addition, you can water your own lawn beforehand and decide how many times to hit areas of especially compacted soil. More often than not, a professional wont have your best interests in mind if it takes up too much of their time getting the job done yourself is a great way to ensure that enough effort was put into the process. However, the biggest differentiating factor separating professional and DIY labor is the amount of money youll need to get the job done. You can save significant costs by renting an aeration machine yourself, and this next section will explain how to aerate your lawn step-by-step!