Mechanical Solid Spike And Hallow Corers Aerator
When we at TrädgårdSmart aerate our customers lawns, when they have hired us to renovate their lawn, we use a machine, Tracmaster LA25, which knocks down spears or hole pipes depending on the type of soil in the ground. It is a very powerful machine that works fantastically well whether it is dry or compact.
Signs That Indicate You Need To Aerate Your Lawn
Thatch is comprised of shoots, stems, and roots. This built-up plant material, also referred to as organic debris, is beneficial to the overall health of the lawn, but too much of it can deter healthy lawn growth. A half inch or more of lawn thatch is considered too thick and should be removed since it can also promote insect manifestation and diseases. Furthermore, excess thatch can prevent you from mowing your grass properly because its spongy consistency causes the lawn mower wheels to sink down and scalp your lawn.
Overall, if your lawn does not appear to be growing as well as it should despite seemingly proper care, such as adequate watering, lawn aeration might be the missing key element.
Here are some other indicators that you should aerate.
What Is Lawn Aeration
People need air to live. In the same manner, plants, including grass, need air. The soil is the same.
Thats why you need to do lawn aeration. Its the process of poking holes into the lawn and down to the soil to pave the way for the air to circulate within.
Also
This process would break up thatch, which is an extra layer of organic debris, dead and alive, that bunched up. It is composed of shoots, stems, and roots that are developing between the grass and the soil.
Thatch is not automatically bad. It becomes a lawn menace when there is major build-up.
You see
A thin layer of thatch protects the lawn and the grass roots from extreme temperatures.
A thick layer, on the other hand, will cover the roots and parts of the lawn from enjoying the vitamins from the sun. It can also hold extra water that would possibly block oxygen from penetrating the roots.
Or worse
The thatch could take in some organisms and pests that carry diseases.
When you do aeration, you are basically breaking up the thatch since you will be poking holes into it.
Even better
You could do lawn aeration as a means of prevention. By doing so, you are not giving thatch a chance to develop.
The process will also break up compacted soil, which is when soil has become too dense that water and nutrients couldnt penetrate anymore.
This is not ideal
When soil is compacted, the roots will not be nourished with oxygen, water, and other nutrients.
There are two basic types of lawn aeration:
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Diy Repurposed Rake Lawn Aerator
You dont need any fancy equipment to aerate your lawn. You can make a simple DIY lawn aerator out of an old garden rake and a 2X4. I do love good 2X4 DIY projects and this one is fabulous. You just use the rake to steady your aerator and give yourself a brace for pushing it into the ground. This one honestly will only take you an hour or so to make and it is really easy to use, too. What a great way to make use of old gardening tools!
Tutorial: practicalgardening
Tools To Aerate Lawns And How To Do It
How you aerate your lawn depends on whether you want to do it manually or with power tools.
You can aerate by hand with an aerator tool , which looks like a pitchfork with two hollow tines. Step on the tools bridge and drive the hollow tines into the earth. Its slow-going, but good for spot aerating small patches of lawn.
Or you can aerate by foot with shoe attachments that have tines on the bottom. The downside of those is that the holes often aren’t large or deep enough if the lawn really is impacted.
You also can buy an aeration attachment for your garden tiller, but the tool slices the lawn and doesnt actually remove plugs.
Most lawn aeration is done with a self-propelled machine known as a core aerator. About the size of a large lawn mower, a core aerator has hollow tines or spoons that rotate on a drum, removing soil plugs as you guide it from behind. This tool is available at most garden or rental centers for $15 to $25 per hour. Plan two to four hours to aerate an average quarter-acre suburban lot.
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The 8 Best Lawn Aerators Of 2023
The Brinly-Hardy PA-40BH Tow Behind Plug Aerator is our top pick
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The Spruce / Laurey W. Glenn
A top-quality lawn aerator creates soil-deep holes that allow air, water, and fertilizer to reach the roots of your grass, keeping your lawn healthy, nourished, and looking its best. We researched dozens of lawn aerators, evaluating ease of use, functionality and features, and overall value.
The winner, the Brinly-Hardy PA-40BH Tow Behind Plug Aerator, has a durable steel design and a universal hitch, handles well on turns and uneven terrain, and can penetrate even compacted soil.
Here are the best aeration tools.
How To Aerate Your Yard
If you’re convinced that your lawn is in need of aeration, here are some lawn care tips on how to do it:
- Before you get started, make sure the soil is moist enough. There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to aerate soil that is bone dry. Aerating the day after a rain shower or watering your lawn the day before is advised.
- Most aeration machines cover only a small percentage of soil surface per pass, so make multiple passes over the most compacted areas. Save resources by leaving unaffected areas alone
- The excavated soil plugs should be allowed to dry and then broken up to give your lawn a uniform, clean appearance. Break them up by running them over with a lawn mower or pounding them with the back of a rake.
- An aeration myth is that if you apply a pre-emergent herbicide on your lawn in the spring, aerating your lawn will destroy the herbicide “barrier.” This is not true research shows that aeration will not affect crabgrass control or weed prevention.
- After aerating, it’s important to continue basic lawn care practices such as proper fertilizing, mowing and watering.
Aeration is a beneficial practice toward achieving a beautiful lawn, but most people don’t realize it or understand the process. If your lawn is a candidate, make it an integral part of your lawn care regime. Your lawn will thank you for letting it breathe again.
Read Also: Should You Aerate Your Lawn In The Spring
Who Should Aerate Their Lawn
Before you run out and poke holes in your lawn, understand that not all lawns require aeration. But if one of the following scenarios applies to your lawn, you should consider it. Otherwise, let the green be.
- For newly constructed homes, aeration is almost always a good idea. Between the work crews trucks and heavy equipment passing over the soil, theres a good chance you need to aerate your lawn.
- Is your lawn the neighborhood ball field? When a yard sees a lot of use, such as children, parties, pets, and other foot traffic, you should think about lawn aeration.
- For lawns built up from sod, a yard aerator can be a necessity. Until the sod can take root and make a connection to the rough soil underneath, its just a grass carpet sitting on top of the soil. Lawn aeration promotes that connection.
Your soil may not be breathing because theres a thick layer of thatch on top. Thatch is made up of living and dead grass stems and roots that form at the soil surface, usually in response to poor drainage. In that case, a lawn dethatcher will help to remove the thatch layer. These tools simply scrape and remove the thatch without digging into the surface. After removing the thatch, aerate the lawn to repair the soil structure.
When To Aerate Your Lawn: A Beginners Guide
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A luscious, beautiful lawn is an asset to the whole family, providing the perfect setting for backyard sports, picnics and relaxation. Aesthetically, an attractive lawn also enhances the garden, particularly if youve put a lot of effort into landscaping.
In order to maintain your grass it is important to apply plenty of lawn care, including aerating it at the right time. If youre unsure on how to do this, heres the why, when and how to get help you maintain a fabulous outdoor space all year round:
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Using A Lawn Aerator: Why How And When
Aerating your lawn can give it the extra help it needs to grow thicker and healthier. It improves drainage and helps relieve compaction in heavily trodden areas, allowing air and nutrients to penetrate the soil and encourage healthy growth.
Aside from basic care for your lawn, using a lawn aerator is a simple way of getting the best out of your garden lawn.
What Does Aerate Mean And Why Is It Necessary
Just for a moment, compare what we do to our flower and vegetable beds and what we do to our lawn. Theres one huge difference in that the beds routinely benefit from a light dig, we add organic matter and they generally enjoy our attention to stay in great shape. When did you last remove the grass and give the soil a good workout? To get the most out of your lawn feed? Aeration is key to growing a luscious garden of green grass.
Its simply not possible to look after the sub-lawn soil in the way it needs. And the most damaging result of this is compaction where the soil is literally squashed, contracting in warmer weather, squeezing out vital oxygen and water.Aerating your lawn to create narrow vertical channels for the air and rain to reach into the soil improves the growing environment for the grassroots and, crucially, increases beneficial microbial activity. Aerating a lawn ensures a longer lawn life with more even growth and healthier blades of grass.
However, this alone isnt going to reduce the squashed effect in the soil. In fact, use the wrong tool and you make the problem worse.
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Make An Aerating & De
The first step to improving the flow of oxygen, water, and nutrients to your grass is to make a plan. Over years of lawn consulting, I have spoken to many customers who tell me they are doing everything for their lawns but just arent seeing the results.
What we find is that these customers often have no structure to their lawn care actions. They may be dethatching, watering, and fertilizing, but ultimately, they are doing so at the wrong times.
Unfortunately, life tends to get in the way. The aerating task you set yourself for early spring often ends up being done after the first 2 weeks of hot weather. Your grass is already on the backfoot if this happens!
When creating your lawn care calendar, be sure to first understand what type of grass you have. This is extremely important, as depending on where you live, your grass will need different lawn care at different times.
Once you understand what grass you have and what it needs, search for a basic lawn care calendar such as this one from Garden Seeker Lawn Care Calendar.
We would also recommend adding a brief section to your journal, or a garden-specific journal for you to document what works and what doesnt. By doing so, you can amend your calendar to optimize your lawn care program year after year for a perfect yard.
Top Tip: Search for a lawn care calendar presented by an expert on Youtube who lives in your region and who has the same grass type! Here is one on Fescue.
The Basics Of Aerating A Lawn
Whatever type of yard aerator you choose, the basics of how to aerate a lawn are the same.
- A few days before you aerate the lawn, mow it to about half its usual height, and then water it well.
- Rake up any fallen leaves or debris.
- Aerate the lawn using your chosen tool. If it’s a spike aerator, make at least two passes over the lawn, each in a different direction. If using a plug aerator, just one pass is needed.
- Leave any soil plugs on the lawn they will return nutrients to the soil as they decompose.
- Fertilize your lawn or apply a top dressing of compost. This is also a good time to reseed any bare patches.
- Return to watering and mowing your grass on its regular schedule.
To keep your grass looking its best, make sure you aerate annually in addition to watering, fertilizing, and weeding on a regular schedule.
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How Often Should You Aerate Your Lawn
How often you aerate your lawn depends mainly on which type of grass you have, your soil type and condition, and a visual assessment of how well your lawn is growing.
You should aerate whenever it seems necessary. This can mean when you have thatch, which is a layer of old clippings or other material that has developed on your lawn, or when you notice heavily-trafficked areas of your lawn struggling.
My rule of thumb is that aeration should be done every year or two , but if your lawn is in exceptionally good shape, you can probably do it less frequently.
Pick The Best Tool For Aerating Your Lawn
Youd think this one would be the easiest step of them all but be careful. There are products out there that promise a lot and deliver very little!
Aerating your lawn is a very lengthy process as it involves manually puncturing holes at regular intervals into your lawn.
A good manual aerator will have an inlet in the spikes which will create pulling plugs. As you pull the aerator out of the ground, a plug will be pulled out of the ground. It should drop nicely onto the top of the turf and look a lot like a dear dropping.
You are then left with the task of raking them up or spreading them back into the turf.
We advise mowing your lawn after aerating to break up the plugs and disperse the nutrients in the soil back into the turf.
Many enthusiasts dislike this method because you risk dispersing dormant weed seeds back into your lawn. We much prefer a more organic approach to our lawn care.
The two types of aerators you can purchase are manual aerators and mechanical aerators. We have picked out a few from Amazon and elsewhere to help inform your purchasing decision and show you how to aerate your lawn.
Manual Aerators
As mentioned above, manual aerators take a long time. There are many ways of manually aerating your lawn including using a drill! To keep things simple, here are a few of the main types and our view on which is worth your hard-earned cash.
Aerator Shoes
4 Pronged vs 2 Pronged Aerators
Garden fork
Motor Operated Aerators
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Quick And Simple Diy Lawn Aerator Shoes
Why spend hours pushing a lawn aerator when you can simply walk around your lawn and get the same result? These DIY lawn aerator shoes are honestly the easiest things you will ever see. You just need a couple of pretty thick boards and some nails as well as something to secure your aerators to your shoes. You could do a few of these in different sizes and have the entire family walking through the yard to aerate it.
Tutorial: kristendukephotography
Lawn Aeration: The Tools And Tips You Need
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Ever wonder why after putting in the hard work of watering, fertilizing, and mowing your lawn it still is not green? The answer may be because you have not aerated your lawn. If your lawn is hard and tough to puncture, then it is time to aerate your lawn. Lawn aeration is key to making your yard healthy and green. Lawn aeration is the process of making holes in the lawn so that oxygen gets to the roots of the soil allowing it to breathe. This allows organic fertilizers and nutrients access to the root system of the lawn. It also loosens up compact soil allowing roots to grow more easily and increase water absorption.
Before you go out and aerate your own lawn, there are a few tips to remember. Be mindful when aerating your lawn that you do not hit any irrigation pipes or sprinkler lines. This can damage your lawn and cost you lots of money. Furthermore, never aerate your lawn during a drought. This leaves the roots of your lawn open to excessive sun exposure, which will have an undesirable effect very quickly. Always aerate your lawn in Spring or late Summer or Fall. Before aerating your lawn, water it heavily the day before so that the soil is soft and moist, but not muddy.
These are the basic tips and tools you need for lawn aeration. Once you have aerated your lawn and see the results, you will be pleased you did!
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