WHAT IS AERATION?
Lawn coring and aeration services are important to assist in supporting deep root growth, which produces a strong and more luscious lawn for you to enjoy. What is ‘aerating’ exactly? It’s the task of perforating the turf and soil with small holes, which allows air, water and nutrients to soak in. When your soil becomes too compact from heavy use or density, it can prevent water and nutrients from being properly absorbed and essentially starve your lawn.
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Help water to penetrate to the roots
Aerating is an important step in improving the ability for water to penetrate to the roots, allowing your lawn to be able to best take advantage of water when it does become available. Aerating before the extended drought period hits will also improve moisture in the soil where it is needed, during the next dry spell.
LAWN AERATION: WHY, WHEN & HOW
Before we come into the busy summer period, it’s important to make sure your lawn is in the best possible condition. While most lawn maintenance regimes consist of fertilising, watering and mowing, aeration might be the missing ingredient. Aerating your lawn can help to reduce thatch, increase moisture retention and improve the overall quality of your lawn. As the lawn experts, we thought we would share why, when and how to aerate your lawn so that you can have the best lawn possible this season.
BEST SEASON FOR LAWN AERATION
When aerating your lawn, you want to make sure it will have adequate time to heal and fill any holes left in the soil. For this, you will want some moisture, so the peak of summer isn’t ideal. Autumn and spring are the perfect time to aerate and prepare your lawn for a summer of use.
AERATING TOOLs
There are plenty of tools you can use to aerate your lawn. Most popular options include a spike aerator or a plug aerator, however you can also buy motorised aerators, manual push aerators and even shoes with aerating spikes underneath. Aerators that remove a plug or ‘core’ of lawn are recommended as they create less pressure on the surrounding soil, however in our opinion, any aeration is better than none at all. If you don’t want to commit to the cost of aeration equipment, you can usually hire the tools from your local gardening or landscaping store.
TIPS ON HOW TO AERATE YOUR YARD
- Make sure your soil is moist enough, you don’t want to aerate bone-dry soil, trust us. One day after rain or watering is best as your lawn will be moist and effectively heal itself post coring.
- If you have some areas that need extra attention, go over them several times to ensure it is thoroughly aerated.
- Remember: you don’t need to aerate the entire lawn, you can just focus on the areas that need it to save your time and energy.
- If you pull plugs or cores out of the soil, wait for them to dry and make sure they are properly broken up before being distributed across the lawn (this can be done with the back of a rake or by the lawnmower).
Reprint of article on ‘Turfman.com.au’
WHEN SHOULD I AERATE?
The best time to aerate warm season grasses, such as soft-leaf buffalo, couch, kikuyu and zoysia is during spring and summer while they are actively growing. You can aerate at any time of the year, but if you do so in the cooler months just keep in mind the grass won’t cover over the aerated holes as it is dormant. Always try to aerate at the same time you are fertilising or performing any other major lawn care operation such as dethatching and top dressing. It is also a fantastic time for aeration after rainfall, as it will make this process much easier.
For cool season lawns, such as fescue and rye grass, the same principle applies. With proper care and a lot of water, cool season lawns can grow all year (with the exception of very cold climates) so you can aerate all year round. Again, keep in mind the absolute best times are when you fertilise or perform any other lawn care and following rainfall, so soil moisture levels are high.
Aerating is often overlooked, but its importance in allowing air, water and nutrients to get into the soil cannot be overstated.
Reprint of article in: ‘lawnsolutionsaustralia.com.au’
HOW OFTEN SHOULD I AERATE MY LAWN?
Different soil types require more frequent aeration. Clay soil compacts easily and should be aerated at least once a year. You can aerate a sandy lawn once a year, or once every two years. In harsher climates, aerating twice a year will encourage turf growth and health.
In areas where there is a high amount of foot traffic, pets or even cars on the lawn, compaction is a common problem. Regular aerating will be important to ensure the ground doesn’t become too hard and help the soil to breathe and the grass to spread.