Lawn aeration helps promote a healthier looking lawn and it helps keep your lawn nourished during the year. Aerating your lawn will help promote water flow through your lawn as well as helps your lawn absorb the water and nutrients needed to keep it looking healthy and well-nourished. If you are looking into aerating your lawn in order to keep it healthy, here are some easy tips to help you along the way.
One of the things you need to figure out when it comes to aerating your lawn is what lawn type you have. Different lawn types require aeration be done at different times of the year so you need to know what your lawn type is. If your lawn is cool-season grass then you need to aerate in the fall when there is heat stress and weeds. There should be about four weeks of recovery time needed for an aerated lawn. If you have a lawn type that is composed of mainly warmed-season grass then you should aerate in the spring or early-summer when your grass is in the growing process.
You should aerate your lawn when the lawn is in a moist condition but not during a completely water-soaked time. The ground needs to be soft so that aerating tools can do their job and make your job easier, but if the ground is too wet then it will only make the job harder and messier. If you had a good rain recently, you should wait until near the time the ground is dry but not too dry that it makes the aerating tools work harder to get into the soil.
If you are planning on aerating a large area then the best thing to do is get an actual aerator. Since aerating equipment is something you will not use that often, the best way to go about getting an aerator is to rent one. You can rent an aerator at your local home improvement store or local equipment renting company. The cost for renting an aerator depends on the type you want and how long you will be using it but it will average 100 dollars.
If you want to aerate a smaller area of your lawn, you can get a sod-coring tool from your local home improvement store. The sod-coring tool will do a better job at poking holes in small lawns than something like a spade and they are relatively inexpensive to purchase. Sod-coring tools will help you achieve the desired look and aeration you are looking for without having to rent out an aerator.
If you have a larger lawn you also might want to think about renting an electric aerator rather than a manual aerator. A manual aerator will take more power and time to get the job done and if you have a large lawn, this might not be the best option for you. The aerator works the same whether it is powered or manual and it requires you move in one direction across your lawn at a medium pace.
Aerating your lawn is not something you need to do every year, but depending on your lawn it might need to be done more often than other lawns. If you are not sure if your lawn needs aerated yet you can take a screwdriver and push it into the soil to test the toughness. If the screwdriver is not easily pushed into your grass then this is an indication you need to aerate. Clay soil and lawns that are exposed to heavy traffic will have to be aerated sooner than lawns that are non made from mostly clay soil or have a lot of traffic.
One of the best ways to aerate your lawn is to make a vertical pass through your whole lawn and then start over in a horizontal direction. By using the aerator in a horizontal manner and a vertical manner, the aerator will be better able to puncture the soil and provide with more aeration. This will help water run down into the soil at an easier rate rather than having some spots not drain water as it should.
After you aerate your lawn it would also be a good idea to use a fertilizer on your lawn. Using a fertilizer after you aerate will help your grass grow and become fuller and healthier looking. Fertilizers will also keep crabgrass and other common weeds out of your newly aerated lawn.
If you have a new lawn that is less than one year old, you should not use an aerator on your lawn. Aerating a lawn is only something that is needed for compacted lawns and lawns that are well-established. Aerating a lawn that is one year old will do nothing for it and it could possibly harm the lawn. Aerating your lawn helps create holes so that water and nutrients can be absorbed into the soil, and a new lawn should not have a problem with water absorption.
It is also a good idea when you aerate your lawn that you wear all needed safety and protective equipment. Although aerating your lawn does not really have any risk associated to it, you should still wear safety glasses, gloves and pants. When you aerate your lawn you could possibly get injured by flying debris and rocks so it is important to take all precautions when you can. Wearing gloves will also protect your hands from blisters and other possible injuries that can occur to your hands while you aerate.
