Simple Tips For How Often You Should Aerate Your Lawn
Lawn aeration is an important aspect of lawn care that some people don’t even carry out, this simple but effective task can massively improve the health of your lawn.
There are different ways you can aerate your lawn from shoes that have spikes on them to a professional lawn aerating machine but however you do it you’re guaranteed to see improvement in your lawn it is a win-win procedure.
How often you aerate your lawn depends on the condition your lawn is in, I aerate my lawn every year and my lawn is in great condition if your lawn is compacted or a bad condition you might want to aerate it twice per year until it gets healthy and when it is healthy you might decide to only aerate it every second year.
Read on and I will tell you all about lawn aeration and you’ll find out why I carry out this procedure often compared to some people who don’t bother at all.
I aerate my lawn every year to keep it in good condition, how often you aerate your lawn depends on the health of your lawn and the soil type. Making aerating your lawn part of your annual routine is a simple but effective process that encourages natural growth and improves the long term health of your lawn.
Why You Should Aerate Your Lawn
I do aerate my lawn as part of my annual routine and I find it helps to keep my lawn in tip-top condition.
If you are looking to achieve lawn perfection then the simple process of aerating your lawn is a task that you simply just have to carry out, it’s really is not that difficult and you will see massive benefits.
Some reasons why you should aerate your lawn include:
- By making small holes all over your lawn it will allow water and nutrients to get deep down to the root system where they cannot normally reach.
- It will alleviate soil compaction, soil compaction happens over time especially if your lawn suffers from heavy use like from children playing on it.
- Regular lawn aeration will result in a healthier lawn as it promotes healthy root growth and this is the key to a healthy lawn.
- Aeration will dramatically improve the drainage on your lawn, this is a benefit both in the summer when it is dry and also the winter when it is rainy.
That is four good reasons why you should aerate your lawn and that is why i aerate my lawn every year, some people do it more, some do it less but if you want a healthy lawn then you do need to start doing this simple process on your lawn.
Best Time Of Year To Aerate Your Lawn
Whatever time you decide to aerate your lawn the one thing you have to be sure of is that it is within the growing season, this is because when you aerate your lawn it will damage the grass so it has to be growing so that it can repair itself.
I aerate my lawn as part of my spring lawn care routine as I feel it is better to carry out most maintenance during this time so that it has the whole season to repair itself and you get to see the benefits throughout the summer.
You do have to be aware of the type of grass you have on your lawn before you decide what time of year you want to aerate it.
If you have cool-season grass on your lawn then you can choose to aerate it either early spring or fall.
If you have warm-season grass on your lawn then the best time to aerate it would be during spring.
However, if you notice your lawn is in a condition that requires an aerating such as it has become compacted or it is not draining properly then you should definitely go ahead and aerate it.
Do I Need To Prepare My Lawn Before I Aerate It
To make the process of aerating your one as effective as possible there are a number of measures you should carry out before you start the process:
- The day before you aerate your lawn you should definitely mow the grass to a short height then rake all the debris off your lawn, this just makes it easier.
- You definitely want to water your lawn before you carry out the process of aeration as you will be hoping to stick metal spikes several inches into the ground so if the soil is bone dry this will be difficult to achieve, making sure your lawn is moist is vital to the process.
- If your lawn is in really bad condition you may want to use a scarifier on your lawn the day before you use an aerator, if you do it the other way round and aerate your lawn before you scarify it the scarifier may rip sections of your lawn.
- If you have a sprinkler system embedded on your lawn you should mark out where it is as you don’t want to run an aerator over it as there is a chance it might destroy your sprinkler system.
Mostly these steps for preparing your lawn before you aerate it are just common sense give it water to make sure the ground is soft and make sure that there is no debris on your lawn and you are good to go.
Check out my full article on vital steps to take after you aerate your lawn.
What Equipment Do You Need To Aerate Your Lawn
Lawn aeration is a simple yet highly effective way to improve the health of your lawn. You do not need expensive equipment to carry out this procedure so anyone can carry it out without having to invest in expensive equipment. Below is a summary of the different types of aeration equipment you can use to aerate your lawn.
- Garden Fork – This is the most simple way to aerate your lawn and everyone has a garden fork so it is accessible to most people. Simply push your garden fork as deep as it can go into your lawn and do this all over your lawn at 1-foot intervals.
- Plug Aerator – A plug aerator is the best option if you are aerating your lawn because of soil compaction. When it aerates it removes a small core of soil (plug) which allows the remaining soil to spread out and this achieves a less compacted lawn, which means a healthier lawn.
- Aerator Shoes – These shoes do an excellent job for such a simple device. They are simply spikes that attach to the bottom of your shoes so all you have to do is walk over your lawn and it will aerate as you do so. This makes lawn aeration a simple task anyone can easily do and it might keep you fit as you do it.
- Push Aerator – A push aerator is a simple device that looks similar to a simple push lawnmower. You simply push it over your lawn and the attached spikes will rotate and aerate your lawn as you go.
Check out my full article on aerating a lawn with a pitchfork.
What Happens If You Don’t Aerate Your Lawn
What will happen to your lawn if you don’t aerate it depends very much on the type of soil you have under your lawn.
Some lawns can go years and years and years without being aerated and stay perfectly healthy, some lawns need to be aerated every year.
What’s your one does get a lot of traffic by being well used during the summer months or you have children playing on it then chances are it will become compacted which will lead to an unhealthy lawn.
If you have soil that is clay based it will become easily compacted and you should aerate it at least on an annual basis.
If you don’t aerate your lawn and the soil becomes compacted it means water will not drain off the surface properly which leads to weak shallow growth, a healthy lawn has deep roots growing.
When you have a lawn that is only growing shallow roots and not deep roots it is more prone to disease and will be more affected by periods of drought and heat.
If your lawn is unhealthy and has shallow roots other plants can start to grow amongst the grass, weeds do find it easier to grow in soil that is not in prime condition for grass to grow whereas if your lawn is growing thriving grass it will be more difficult for weeds to spread.
How Long Does It Take To Aerate Your Lawn
When you decide to aerate your lawn the process should only take a couple of hours maximum, this is another reason why people should carry out this process in a quest for lawn perfection.
It depends on which method you use to aerate your lawn on how long it will take.
If you use a motorized lawn aerator then it should take no longer than the time it takes to run your mower over your lawn. If you use the fork method it will take longer as you have to stick the fork deep into the ground for every hole you make and this can take some effort for every hole, depending on the condition of your soil.
