Useful ideas and practices for lawn aeration

Lawn aeration is defined as the process of making oxygen available to the roots of the lawn grass by making tiny holes onto the surface of the lawn. Lawn aeration is extremely beneficial for the health of the plants as it facilitates removal of carbon dioxide from the soil while entering of fresh oxygen. Given below are some really useful lawn aeration tips that would help you have a beautiful lush, lawn that is extremely enticing.

Where?

Fork n Red Wellies again

Lawn aeration becomes extremely necessary for maintaining the beauty and health of a lawn –

–        that is being frequently used by children and pets for playing and outdoor activities. Such kind of soil gets heavily compact and hence it becomes a must that you aerate the soil.

–        that is recently constructed with a newly made home since the topsoil of such lawns gets depressed and hence the grass gets compact.

–        that is made up of sod and consists of multiple soil layers. Such kind of soil affects water drainage and results in poor growth of the roots.

When?

lawn aeration 1

Lawn aeration yields best results when done at proper time.

  • It is considered best to aerate grasses of the cool seasons during early spring or fall whereas warm season grasses should be aerated late in spring or in summer.
  • With a new lawn, it is extremely beneficial to plan a yearly schedule for proper aeration to avoid the formation of thatch on the lawn.
  • Thatch formation takes place continuously making the lawn feel spongy due to growth of stems, clippings, roots and other waste plant forms. This has several disadvantages as thatch inhibits the availability of water and nutrients to the grass roots thus increasing the chances of grass diseases.

How?

lawn aeration 2

Lawn aeration can be accomplished either manually or with the help of equipments such as power aerator.

  • Manual aerator:

Manual aerator

The manual aerator needs simple operation while standing and consists of 2-4 void cylinders that are jabbed into the soil with the help of your feet to remove cores or cylinders of soil. Other types of manual aerators have 2-4 spikes and only create holes rather than completely removing the soil. However, these tools require heavy physical exertion.

  • Power aerator:

Power aerator

This is a power operated commercial tool that is easily available at stores and comes in spike and core models that are used for different types of lawn aeration. However, it is suggested that you prefer working with the core power aerator since it removes soil and allows roots to grow to their maximum. However you need to be a bit careful while using the tool since it is heavy and need muscle power to operate.

  • Mulching mower:

Mulching mower

This is the more organic way to aerate your lawn. The mulching mower is a special machine that does dual work of cutting the grass as well as chopping it into extremely tiny pieces. These tiny grass pieces are then buried into the soil and help in holding soil moisture and proving essential nutrients to the roots of the plants.

Tips for proper lawn aeration

lawn aeration

Given below are tips to be followed for the best lawn aeration:

  • Prior to aeration, it is essential that you thoroughly moisturize your soil with water one day before you are about to aerate it. Remember that the soil should be moist however, not dry.
  • While using aerating machines, be careful to make several rounds of the machine over one place.
  • Keep your lawn neat and cleaned by properly dumping the soil plugs.
  • Post aeration lawn requires proper care such as proper fertilization, mowing and watering.
  • Prefer using core aerator over the one with spikes.
  • Aerate twice a year when the climate is dry and hot.

Summary

With these super easy tips lawn care and lawn aeration is going to be real fun and extremely exciting.

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