Aeration, or removing plugs of soil from your lawn, makes for a healthier, happier lawn by allowing more water, moisture and nutrients to reach the roots. Here are 10 tips for aerating your lawn.
1. Every time the air hangs in your sky and grass. For example, forests in dry climates or those that receive a great deal of foot traffic may be plowed more frequently than in wet or less frequent climates.
2. There are several ways to determine whether your lawn needs to be aerated. Lawn aeration helps to break up and penetrate compacted soil and mulch (grass clippings and other dead material that accumulates around the base of the lawn), which prevent water, oxygen and nutrients from reaching the grass roots. Therefore, it is time to aerate if you see a layer of mulch on the lawn or if there is excess water runoff (which can be a sign of compacted soil). You can cut off a piece of grass and check the roots. If they are light and unsightly, your lawn would probably benefit from aeration. Also, if the surface of your lawn is dry and hard and difficult for the auger to penetrate, you should compact the soil.
3. Choose an aerator that pulls plugs of soil out of the lawn, not punching holes. Removing more allows more water, oxygen and nutrients to reach the grass roots than drill holes.
4. Walking your street in spiked shoes is not the same thing as brass.
5. Or grass the day after heavyrain or water aerate your lawn well the day before, because wet, so soft clod easier it is airy.
6. One of the causes of aeration is to break up tight and compact soil. Lawn areas that receive the most traffic will have the densest soil and, as a result, will need to be plowed more often.
7. If you have a built in sprinkler system, avoid sprinkler lines with your lawn, especially if they are near the surface of the ground. You’ll want to mark the sprinkler lines before you start airing them so you don’t accidentally puncture one.
8. Some experts say that the experts lawn care remove the aeration plugs, but it is better to leave them on the lawn and then grind them again when he mows the grass. They can help to encourage the growth of microorganisms that can reduce mold build-up.
9. Aerate the grass in spring or fall, when the grass is growing rapidly, and therefore when it can benefit most from greater access to water, energy and nutrients that come from aeration.
10. In the hottest part of the summer, when the grass grows more slowly or even makes it dormant.
Sources:
Dawn West, www.allaboutlawns.com, Mowing Aeration Tips to give you a greener lawn
Bob Formisano, homerepair.about.com, Lawn Aeration Tips
