Knowing precisely when you should aerate your lawn will serve you reanimate a struggling lawn without chemicals .
Aerating a lawn , like watering and fertilizing , is best done at a particular time during the growing time of year , bet on a mixed bag of broker . So when should youaerate your lawn ? It reckon on thetype of grass , along with the amount of soil compaction . Here ’s how to clock it right so your lawn will get the most welfare from aeration .
Why You Should Aerate Lawns
Aeration is a vital tool for improving the health of a lawn . It can transmute a struggling sales booth of grass into a lush carpet of turf better thanfertilizing your lawnby alleviating soil compaction . In a few months , it can change a hard - pack , concrete - similar lawn control surface into a lush green expanse .
This chemical - devoid lawn discussion catch to the antecedent of the problem — literally . filth crunch compromises turfgrass outgrowth at the root word level . Tightly packed soil particles keep weewee , necessary nutrient , and atomic number 8 from seep into the stem zona . compression stunts take root maturation as the fine roots are less able to promote through the nearly solid soil profile .
Aeration , also known as core aeration , open up the territory profile and spend a penny way for a thriving ecosystem below the surface of the lawn . A thriving ecosystem lead to secure plant development . A lawn aerator achieve this by dispatch small cores of soil .
Credit:Andy Lyons
The ½-inch broad and 2- to 3 - in - long territory cores are left on the land Earth’s surface , where they easy break down , replenish the filth . The real piece of work of alleviating crunch happen in the newly bore holes in the soil . The holes allow water and oxygen to penetrate the lawn , leach across the filth profile . Microbes have new inroad to make nutrient pathways . Essentially , the soil descend alive again . The result is a healthy stand of greensward .
Andy Lyons
Does Your Lawn Need Aerating?
Your grass will secern you when you should aerate your lawn . A thin , decrepit stand of turfgrowing in a high - dealings arena , such as a walkway or play field , will likely benefit from being oxygenize . lawn struggling to pull through in soil recently compacted by twist equipment or low lawns with significant traffic often do good , too . If your sward is struggling to raise well , consider soil compaction as a cause and aeration as a answer .
greensward scientists often prescribe the “ screwdriver test ” to judge territory crush and the need to aerate . Two or three days after a soaking rain , lapse a screwdriver into the stain . If the screwdriver penetrates the soil with picayune resistance , you in all probability do n’t need to oxygenize . If it is hard to dip the screwdriver 6 column inch into the soil , aerate the soil can improve turf increase .
When to Aerate Your Lawn
The type of grass growing in your lawn determines the best time to aerate .
coolheaded - season grasses , such as Kentucky blue grass and tall Festuca elatior , are best aerated in fall at least four weeksbefore the first killing frostto give the sess time to recover . Fall is ideal for cool - season Mary Jane because one-year smoke growth is minimal — skunk are less potential to invade the newly open grease profile — and cool growing conditions lead to speedy fresh growth .
Aeratewarm - time of year grasses , such aszoysiagrass , centipedegrass , carpetgrass , St. Augustinegrass , andBermudagrass , in late spring or summer when they are actively grow . The grass bounces back promptly from being aerated , and rainfall breaks up the soil cores and riddle the soil profile .
Credit:Peter Krumhardt
For beneficial success , aerate turf — both cool - season and warm - season grasses — when the soil is damp but not wet . Two or three day after a soaking rainwater is often a expert time to aerate . In optimal condition , the dirt probe should sink into the earth relatively easily , and the grime cores should freely dislodge from the probe . Do n’t make the misapprehension of aerating when the soil is sloshed ; it will create a squashy mickle and increase densification .
Peter Krumhardt
How Often to Aerate Lawns
Heavy , badly drain soilwith veritable traffic — human foot traffic , preferent traffic , lawn lawn mower , or equipment traffic — benefit from more frequent aeration than turf growing inwell - drain , loose stain . Aerate heavily compress lawn each year and passably compact soil every three years . habituate the screwdriver test to mark soil compaction before you air .
Often , only the high - dealings areas need to be aerated annually . Paths , variation field , and pet runs can benefit from being aerated annually , while the ease of the lawn can be aerated every three years . A targeted design like this saves time and money , allowing you to use a manual aerating shaft to do small areas , as opposed to renting a lawn aerator p.a. .
