Aerating your soil
Aerating your soil is a huge part of having a health lawn. However, most people do not realize this, and are not really sure how to go about it. For a beautiful and health law, aeration is a must, so the following are some questions and answers about aeration:
Why do you even need to aerate your soil?
Your lawn is a fun place to sit, to play games, to run through sprinklers, to have impromptu flag football, etc. However, after a year of a being trampled upon by various activities that tend to pack the soil, the grass roots need a breath of fresh air (oxygen). Aerating your soil provides for respiration for your lawn. Only proper aeration can provide this for your lawn. It gives your lawn what it needs because it helps the root systems better establish themselves for the coming winter.
|
|
When should you aerate?
Aeration should take place approximately two weeks before applying the year's final fertilizer, or five to six weeks before the first frost. This is the time that will give you the most benefit. Of course, if the choice is to aerate, or not aerate and the timing is not right, aerating will still be a benefit.
What kind of aerator should you use?
You know that when the time of year comes around for aeration, you will probably get plenty of fliers and offers. So, is the cheapest offer the best? Not necessarily, but that doesn't mean it can't be. The most effective aerator has hollow tines that penetrate the ground and remove core plugs of soil that are expelled as each successive plug is removed, leaving a vent for true aeration. So, find out what kind of aerator the companies have, and choose the person who gives you the best deal. Once again, aeration of any kind is better than no aerating.
What about how it looks?
Ok, we all remember elementary school after the fields got aerated and we thought there were little pieces of dog poop laying all over. You can laugh now, but the truth is that while it is not dog poop, a freshly aerated lawn appears a bit unsightly with numerous plugs laying all over it, they will eventually dissolve, returning nutrients to the soil for use by the grass, and it will look better later. Of course if you are really concerned about the appearance, the unsightliness can be reduced and the plug dissolving process speeded up by mowing with a low-cutting blade. Be sure to remove the grass clipping bag and then mow the entire lawn in a left-to-right pattern, followed by an up-and-down pattern to assure even break-up and spreading of the aeration plugs. After mowing, watering the lawn further helps dissolve the aeration plugs. You still get the benefits of the nutrients, but the lawn looks better.
So, just remember, at the end of summer and spring, before the frost comes, take the time to aerate your soil. Of course your grass will likely look bad when it dies for the winter, but when it comes back, it will be healthier and happier and you will be proud of the beautiful lawn you have. Aeration also helps to reduce erosion, and other problems, so don't forget to aerate, and talk to your local greenhouse if you have any questions about how, when, or why to aerate. Aeration is a little different for each region, but is necessary none the less. Get your healthy beautiful lawn by aerating.
