Compacted soil in your lawn decreases water infiltration and therefore increases the runoff potential for harmful elements like fertilizers, which get washed into storm drains or road ditches and end up in your local lakes and rivers.
Lawn aeration involves the removal of small soil plugs or cores out of the lawn, so that air can pass freely into the soil and circulate around the roots. You should consider aerating your lawn at least once a year.
Here are some of the benefits of lawn aeration:
- Helps to break down the buildup of thatch in your lawn.
- More water, oxygen and nutrients reach the roots of your aerated lawn.
- Reduces the release of fertilisers into the water system due to run off from compacted areas.
- Enhances water infiltration into the soil and to greater depths.
- Improves the development of grass roots.
When should you aerate your lawn? For warm-season grasses, late spring is usually the best time. For cool-season grasses, the best time to aerate is early in the fall, when the lawn is coming out of summer dormancy and starting a brisk growth stage.
Lawn aeration can be done either by hand or by using a powered mechanical aerator. You can even aerate your lawn by wearing spiked shoes and walking over it.
While hand or foot aeration is good exercise and causes no fuel or noise pollution, proper aeration often requires the use of a powered aerator. You can usually rent one from your local garden center.
Tip: Arrange to share an aerator rental with your neighbors. This not only lowers the cost, it also results in healthier lawns across more of your neighborhood.
Here are some tips for aerating your lawn:
- Before aerating lawn, mark sprinkler heads and any other items breakable items close to the surface.
- Aerate lawn when the soil is moist but not wet.
- Guide the lawn aerator in different directions to insure good coverage.
- Leave the soil cores on the lawn surface; they will work back into the grass in 2-4 weeks.
- You can fertilize or overseed immediately after you aerate your lawn.
