When And How Often Should You Aerate Your Lawn
Aeration of lawn doesnt have a specific number of times it can be done in a year. Neither does it have a specific date.
There are only two factors that determine when and how often you can aerate your lawns:
- The nature of the soil
You can aerate lawns once in a year if the nature of the soil is sandy soil. The aeration will only take place during the springtime.
For clay soil, you can aerate your lawn 2 4 times in a year. This number of times will enable the lawns to receive proper water, air, and nutrients to aid their growth.
You can also aerate your lawns during rainfall if there is no tender grass. Because aerating during spring might damage the tender grass roots.
Aerating during the spring will create enough time for the thatch to decompose overtime.
Especially when the spring is almost coming to an end. This process is mainly done to give the lawns more nutrients.
Another method of aeration is before the temperature reaches 55 degree celsius during the spring period. During this period you will be able to pull enough weed in your lawns.
If youre in the north, you can aerate your lawns during the early fall, while in the south you can aerate during the mid-spring to the early summer.
Why Is Applying Winterizing Fertilizer So Important
The shortened days and cooler temperatures in fall tell your cool-season grass it’s time to get ready for winter. It’s time to put less energy into growing grass blades and more into building food reserves at the root level. Those food reserves will be used in spring to help your grass wake up, grow vigorously, and enjoy its most productive time of the year. Your job is to aid that building of food reserves: That’s what the fertilizing part of “winterizing” is mainly about.
ortunately, the fertilizer companies make that job easy, providing a fertilizer product specifically called “winterizer.” It will contain two main ingredients: nitrogen and potassium. The ratio is usually 2 parts nitrogen to one part potassium. Follow the instructions on the package carefully: Using too much fertilizer can burn your grass.
Here are the other steps to take in a thorough program to winterize your lawn:
Thatch Is The Layer Of Organic Material Between Grass And Soil That Consists Of The Build Up Of Living And Dead Grass And Leaves
A thatch layer of about a 1/4 inch can be beneficial to your lawn and can help soil retain moisture and maintain a steady soil temperature.
More than a 1/4 inch of thatch can be harmful to your lawn. When the thatch layer becomes TOO thick it actually prohibits moisture from getting to your soil.
A thatch layer that is too thick will hold moisture above the root system, not allowing any moisture to penetrate your soil.
This discourages your grass from searching for moisture down below it and building a deep root system. Instead, you will see tangled, shallow roots growing in every direction but downwards.
A build up of thatch can kill grass, threaten soil health, and be a breeding ground for pests and lawn diseases.
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When To Thatch Your Lawn
If walking across the lawn puts a little too much spring in your step, it might be due to excess thatch buildup in the grass. Just as mowing, watering and fertilizing are important to a healthy lawn, so is removing thatch. In fact, giving lawns too much water of fertilizer may encourage thatch to collect. Before removing thatch, make sure you’re doing it at the right time of year and the correct point in its development.
Difference Between Aerating And Dethatching
Some people tend to confuse aerating with dethatching. Invariably, theyre not the same at all, nor do they perform the same function on the lawn.
Aeration is a process of ensuring proper circulation of air, water and nutrients in the soil.
It involves using an Aerator to create holes on the earth with spikes, by removing at least 1 by 2 cores of the soil.
Aeration is very important because it helps to improve drainage and reduce soil compactness or density.
Aeration is the first step to take when preparing the ground for grass seeding. You can either aerate with a machine or manually.
While dethatching is a process of removing over dense thatch from the lawn, which includes the living and dead stems, roots, and weed.
Dethatching allows the lawn to absorb enough water, air, and nutrients that will make the lawn grow thicker and healthy.
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The Best Time To Dethatch
The period of active growth and warming temperatures of spring are ideal for dethatching, but exactly when in spring depends on the type of turf you have.
Both warm-season and cold-season turf types should be dethatched after they are actively growing. A general rule of thumb is to wait until they have been mowed a couple of times. For warm-season turf, this typically happens in late spring to early summer. For cold-season turf, the right time is usually early spring. Cold-season grasses can also be de-thatched in early fall while the grass is still growing, as it needs time to re-establish before the frost season.
Common warm-season grasses include Zoysia, St. Augustine, Bermuda, Bahia and Centipede. Common cold-season grasses include Kentucky bluegrass, rough bluegrass, fescue, and ryegrass.
We Recommend Thatching Your Lawn Once Each Year The Best Time Of Year For This Is Spring After Debris Builds Up Over Winter
Pro tip: Try to avoid dethatching in the summer – this can destroy the root zone.
How do I dethatch my lawn?
Since 2007, Green Meadow Lawn Care has provided homeowners throughout the greater Tolland, Connecticut area with premium fertilization programs, tick control, mosquito management, seeding & aeration and tree & shrub care.
Visit our Learning Center to find out more about how our services can help you or visit our Youtube Channel to view more in our Learning Center Series.
To speak to our Customer Service Manager, please call Dave with any questions. Dave has been in the industry for 30 years and is always happy to help with his expert advice.
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Scarify And Rake Your Lawn
Scarifying and raking physically removes thatch, dead foliage and moss from your lawn.
Scarifying is important as it removes thatch from around the base of the grass plants which allows are, water and nutrients back into the soil.
Raking controls the build-up of thatch by removing dead foliage and growth from the surface.
The best scarifiers often have changeable cartridges with vertical blades for dislodging thatch and spring tines for controlling thatch and moss from above the surface.
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Set The Height Of The Dethatcher
Remember a healthy layer of thatch is around 1/2 ¾ inch. Youll want to take out enough thatch so it sits around this thickness.
One way to determine this is to take a small sample out of your lawn using a spade or trowel and measure the thatch layer.
Most dethatchers will give you a setting based on how thick your thatch is and normally have three simple settings, low, middle, and high.
The high setting puts the dethatcher at a level higher above the ground and as a result, wont take as much of the dead grass out.
The lower you go, the more dead grass you will remove and the more you will damage your grass.
If you have a 2-inch thick thatch layer, feel free to set your machine at the lowest setting as you will want to remove a lot of dead grass. However, if you find a 1-inch thick layer, perhaps try the medium setting.
If you regularly treat your lawn and find you have a thatch layer of below 1 inch and are simply looking to provide good maintenance, definitely set your machine to the highest level.
Dont worry too much about damaging your lawn as you will overseed any bare patches and provide feed to the grass in order to help it bounce back.
You are now ready to dethatch your lawn! Turn on the machine and follow a similar pattern to how you would mow in a simple horizontal mowing session.
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How To Dethatch Your Lawn
How To Know If Your Lawn Needs Dethatching
This article was co-authored by Jeremy Yamaguchi. Jeremy Yamaguchi is a Lawn Care Specialist and the Founder/CEO of Lawn Love, a digital marketplace for lawn care and gardening services. Jeremy provides instant satellite quotes and can coordinate service from a smartphone or web browser. The company has raised funding from notable investors like Y Combinator, Joe Montana, Alexis Ohanian, Barbara Corcoran and others. This article has been viewed 38,925 times.
Thatch is the layer of dead grass, roots, and leaves between the grass and the soil. Thatch is important for drainage and moisture retention, but thatch that gets too thick is bad for the grass. Perform a few simple tests to see whether or not your thatch has gotten too thick. A general rule is that thatch should be less than ¾ inch thick.
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Can You Aerate And Dethatch At The Same Time
An aerator is best used when the core has a thick layer of thatch, usually more than 0.5 inches. You can decide to dethatch and aerate at the same time especially if it is in the spring and you have lawn debris and compaction problems. It will help with establishing a better lawn for the season ahead.
Best Types Of Grass Seed
Begin by choosing the right grass seed for your location. Grass seed is divided into two board categories based on hardiness. Warm-season grass species thrive in Zone 7 and above and include Bahia, Bermuda, centipede, St. Augustine, and zoysia species. Cool-season grasses tolerate freezing temperatures and grow well in Zone 6 and below. Kentucky bluegrass, fine fescue, tall fescue, and perennial ryegrass are common cool-season grasses.
In addition to winter hardiness, grass species differ in their ability to grow in sun or shade, handle foot traffic, and tolerate dry conditions. Visit a local garden center or box store to learn more about the types of grass species available in your area. Grass seed is often sold as a mix of species for a specific growing condition or combination of conditions. For example, you may find a grass seed mix for shade and dry conditions or a mix for full sun and high foot traffic. Read the packaging carefully to choose the right seed for your particular site.
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Why Thatch And When
Although a modest amount of thatch can be a good thing, too much can starve lawns of nutrients. If thatch builds up and becomes more than 1 inch thick, it stops grass from absorbing oxygen, fertilizer and water, starving its roots. If a lawn has a “bouncy” feel when you walk on it, notes University of California Davis, it probably needs dethatching. Generally, when thatch becomes 1/2 inch thick, it should be removed.
When And How To Aerate Your Lawn
In the north, aerate in early fall doing it in spring can damage tender grass shoots. Avoid aerating in fall when the grass is dormant. In the south, aerate in mid-spring to early summer.
Rent an aerator from a big-box store or equipment rental company. No need to invest in equipment that takes up space and youll only use once every couple of years. Bring your truck and the same friends who helped you haul the dethatcher. Consider sharing the rental cost with those same friends so they can aerate their lawns, too. Follow the manufacturers directions when operating the aerator.
Recommendations lean toward removing as many cores as possible20 to 40 per square foot at a depth of 23 inches. Run the aerator several times in different directions if youre not getting the recommended number of holes in one pass and to loosen up highly compacted soil. Before you begin, mark sprinkler heads and anything else that may be damaged while aerating.
Core aeration will leave cores of soil on the surface of your lawn. Just leave them. Theyll breakdown and the soil will work its way back down. Like dethatching, you may be a little embarrassed by how your lawn looks. It can take up to six weeks for grass to fill the resulting holes. Be strong. Its going to look so much better.
After your lawn is breathing easier, its the perfect time to overseed and fertilize using a slow-release fertilizer like Milorganite.
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Does Dethatching Stress Your Lawn
Dethatching is a stressful process for the turf, so it should be conducted when the grass is actively growing and the soil is moderately moist. Early spring or early fall is the best time for cool-season grasses, while late spring through early summer after a couple of mowings for warm-season grasses.
What Month Should You Dethatch Your Lawn
The best time to dethatch is when the lawn is growing most actively.
This is going to depend on the type of grass that you have!
For cool-season grasses that’s usually going to be either early spring or early fall.
For warm-season grasses , that’s typically end-of-spring through the beginning of summer.
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How To Know If You Have A Thatch Problem
A little bit of thatch is normal, even healthy up to about a 1/2 thick. But anything over a 1/2 is bad for your lawn.
You can tell your thatch layer is too thick if your lawn feels spongy or bouncy, or like youre walking on a thin cushion. Also, for visual queues look to see if your lawn is looking thin, or not responding to fertilizer treatments.
If you suspect you have a thatch problem, cut out a section of your lawn about 6 wide x 6 long, and 6 deep. Take a look at the thatch layer too see if its more then half an inch.
Apply Fertilizer To Your Dethatched Lawn
Experts disagree slightly over the timing of when you fertilize your dethatched lawn with some advocating immediately afterward and some suggestions to wait two weeks after dethatching.
The reason some enthusiasts choose to wait is to give the grass an opportunity to recover from the thrashing of the tines on the dethatcher.
We recommend applying a gentle starter fertilizer in the afternoon in between a sprinkle of water.
In an ideal world, the heavens would open the night before you dethatch to loosen up the dead grass. It would then be a dry day with dethatching in the morning, a quick shower before blue skies and sunshine while you fertilize your lawn. That night it would then rain heavily to drench the roots for ultimate growth.
Whatever the weather and whichever order you decide to do things, you will want to apply your fertilizer with a worthy spreader.
At this point, youve put a lot of hard work into your lawn and it would be a shame to use a standard spreader to unevenly distribute fertilizer across your lawn.
Fertilizer is the food that helps grow your lawn and in many cases, gives it the deep, healthy green color youre looking for.
Manufacturers spend huge amounts in the development of their products to provide the optimum combination of elements for premium growth and color.
Homeowners and professionals alike spend vast quantities on fertilizer but distribute it with a product that spreads 80% to the right side and 20% to the left side.
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Keep Your Lawn Weeded And Water
Speaking of weeds, fall is no time to let up on weed control. Pay particular attention to perennial weeds for example, dandelion . Also focus on weeds that go to seed in fall for example, common ragweed .
And it may sound odd, but winter presents a lawn with desert-like conditions in the northern part of the United States. Sure, there may be plenty of snow. But even on days that the snow melts, the ground is frozen so deep that no moisture can get down to the roots of the grass. Making sure that your grass is adequately watered in fall, before the ground freezes, will help get it through winter’s drought.
