Aerate Your Lawn This Year

As with any aspect of lawn maintenance, regular aeration for your lawn can provide tons of benefits. Now, before we go to far, I’m sure some of you are wondering just what exactly is lawn aeration? Most homeowners know to water and mow their lawn to keep it healthy and green, but aerating your lawn can make a huge difference in your lawn’s health and tons of people don’t realize it’s a basic part of taking care of your yard. Now, most yard care is relatively frequent, such as mowing, but aeration, while a sometimes tedious task, only needs to occur about once a year for you to reap the benefits.

What is Aeration?

Image via Yard Butler

Aeration basically involves putting small holes in your yard, loosening up compact dirt and giving space for nutrients and air to circulate more freely. There are tons of different methods to aeration, from using manual foot gear to using a larger machine, but there are two key types. The first is spike aeration, which only pokes holes in the ground. The second is plug aeration, which actually removes some soil to create a larger space for nutrients and water to flow. Both options are beneficial, but, as you may have guessed, plug aeration tends to be more effective than spike aeration.

Why Aerate?

Image via The Lawn Institute

Nowadays, there are tons of media sources and other research tools that are giving us new information on the best ways to care for our lawn. Obviously, not every tip and trick is necessary or really that beneficial to caring for your yard. So what make aeration special? Well, by putting holes into the turf, aeration breaks up compacted dirt than may have been packed down by foot traffic, poor drainage, mowing, and more. If this compact soil goes unnoticed or untreated, it can continually prevent the proper amount of water, air, and nutrients to the roots of your grass, leading to patchy or thin portions of your lawn. When the soil is broken up, however, your grass gets a boost to perform its best throughout the year.

When to Aerate?

Image via Lincoln Living

As mentioned above, aerating your lawn is an annual endeavor. What time during the year, though, largely depends on your location and type of grass. Cool-season grasses are best aerated in early spring or fall, while warm-season grass responds best to aeration in late spring.

Regardless of your type of grass or goals for your yard, aeration is a great way to vamp up your lawn and ensure you have a luscious and green yard. If you’re concerned about the time commitment to aerate your lawn, look into hiring a professional to get the most out of your lawn this year.