What is lawn aeration?

Aeration is the process of mechanically removing cores of turf to improve the flow of air, water and nutrients in dense, compacted soil.

Aerating will allow your grass to grow healthier, greener and thicker. It will also help with drainage and allow air and water to reach the roots of your lawn.

I use a core aerator that extracts plugs of soil from your lawn. The plugs can be up to 2-3/4 inches long, depending on how compact your soil is.

Spring and fall are generally the best times of year to aerate your lawn. These are the seasons when your lawn is actively growing and you can overseed immediately afterwards. Many people also aerate in July to prevent localized dry spots and improve irrigation.

By aerating late spring you can encourage the roots to grow deeper, keeping your lawn green longer.

Houses built in the last 20 years have heavier soil compaction because of bulldozers, backhoes and big lifts used in the construction process. Most newly-constructed properties have little or no soil preparation. In new construction, the lawn is graded (all soil scraped and taken away) then covered again with 1 or 2 inches of soil. If you live on a property like this, add compost annually and aerate your lawn twice a year, then rake fine compost into the aeration holes. Over time this will change your soil profile.

Because clay soil is a very fine particle with very small pore spaces, air and water cannot move well through soil, which encourages poor root growth.

Aerating produces holes that act as a seed bed which helps to shelter the seed and encourages better germination.

On lawns with compacted soils or under renovation, it is beneficial to aerate twice yearly. With sandy soil, once a year aerating is recommended.

No. If you have clay, sand and clay can turn your soil into a concrete substance. I suggest adding an organic material such as a native soil or fine compost.

My aerator is 26″ wide so as long as you have a 27″ of space, we will be able to carefully make it fit.

Worms. Worms come in and provide passage ways for air to enter the soil which helps develope good fungi.

You can but the first rule of successful overseeding is getting the grass seed in contact with your lawns soil. Just because a grass seed germinates on your lawn does not mean the seedling will survive even short term. For long term successful lawn establishment, grass seeds need to be planted in the soil for proper root development. This is why lawn aeration with a starter fertilizer is recommended before overseeding your lawn.

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