As a homeowner, there is a lot to know about lawn care if you want a beautiful-looking yard. One of those things is aeration. Knowing what it is, when to do it, and if you need it are good to know so that you can have, not only a beautiful yard, but also a healthy lawn. Central Services, the expert in lawn care and lawn maintenance, offers aeration services and can help you determine if your lawn would benefit from an aeration treatment. Here are four facts you should know about aeration.
1. What is aeration?
Aeration is a process of perforating soil with small holes which allows air, water, and nutrients to penetrate the grass roots. The main reason for aerating is to decrease soil compaction and help roots grow deeply, producing a stronger and more vigorous lawn. Compacted soils have too many solid particles within a certain space, which prevents proper circulation of air, water and nutrients within it. Excess lawn thatch or heavy organic debris buried under the grass surface can also starve the roots from these essential elements.
2. How to determine if lawn aeration is needed?
There are a few determining factors that would indicate if an aeration treatment would be good for your lawn. If you’ve noticed that your turfgrass isn’t looking it’s best or water is having difficulty penetrating through the soil surface, it may be time to aerate. Also, if your lawn gets a lot of foot traffic or use, such as children and pets running around the yard, that contributes to soil compaction. Finally, if your lawn dries out easily or has a spongy feel it might mean there is an excessive thatch problem. To check, take a shovel and remove a slice of lawn about four inches deep. If the thatch layer is greater than one-half inch, aeration is recommended.
3. When should you aerate?
Some may think that summer is always the perfect time to work on your lawn when the days are longest, and the benefits of the sunlight is at its most. However, the ideal time to aerate is during cool seasons in the spring or early fall. Planning for aeration and fertilization in the fall gives cool-season grasses a buffer to protect the grass from summer drought stress and ideally enough time before the first winter frost arrives. Spring is also a good time for aeration because it’s the growing season.
4. What are the specific benefits achieved by aerating?
One of the best benefits of lawn aeration is that it can improve the overall health of your grass and reduce it’s maintenance requirements.
Regular aeration breaks up compacted soil and lawn thatch that make it hard for your lawn to breathe. This improves your lawns ability to get nutrients and oxygen, encouraging more vigorous root growth. Reducing soil compaction also helps reduce water runoff and/or puddling and enhanced heat and drought stress tolerance.
Contact Us
If you think your lawn could benefit from an aeration treatment, contact us today to schedule this service or just to discussion any questions you may have. We look forward to hearing from you!
