What is Aerating and Should I be doing it?
Most people assume the answer is no, they do not need to aerate their lawn.
Now you’re beginning to wonder, “Wait, what is aerating?”
Aeration in simple terms is punching holes in your lawn that loosens up the so that it is easier for air, water, fertilizer and roots to penetrate it.
But, is it ACTUALLY important?
Aeration helps your grass become really resilient to outside factors. How well your lawn will last during dry spells and with damage depends on how deep your grass is rooted into the soil. This rooting process can be stunted with compacted soil that is caused by:
- Kids running and playing sports
- Pets
- Thatch (un-decomposed stems and roots near the soil surface)
- Newly built homes surround by subsoil compacted during construction
Aerating during the growing season is the best chance your grass has to recover. In order to do it yourself, you’ll need to buy a good aeration machine and then:
- Water heavily
- Make multiple passes in the most compacted areas
- When the soil plugs dry, use your lawn mower to break them back up and restore your lawn’s smooth appearance.
For best results, we suggest:
- Large tines on the aeration machine
- Penetrate 2 to 3 inches’ deep
- Punch 20 to 40 holes per square foot
- Aerfiers with arms that have a back and forth motion are more efficient than ones that roll behind a garden tractor. Reciprocation (moving back and forth) punches more holes per square foot.
If you’re interested in hiring someone to aerate your lawn, we’d love to tell you about our practices so you are confident in our process and understand we’re not just there tearing up your lawn.
Contact us for more information!