Signs You Need to Air Your Lawn It's autumn. Fall is the best time to air and plant your garden. Straw is a layer of dead organic matter that accumulates on top of the lawn. A quick test to check if your lawn needs aeration? Cut a square foot section of grass at least 6 inches deep.
If the grass roots grow only 1 to 2 inches deep, the soil may be compacted and aeration could boost the roots. Do puddles form in lawns after a storm? Does your lawn pass the screwdriver test? Small vehicles or equipment driving on grass are more obvious offenders, but even outdoor entertainment or playground games for children and pets can leave all or part of the grass compacted. Just as when you plant new seeds or water your lawn is important, the time of year you aerate your lawn is also important. You can separate them by running on the grass and plugging them with a lawn mower, but I use the back of a leaf rake once they are dry.
Right after aeration, it's the perfect time to overseed with premium Pennington Smart Seed and fertilize your lawn or make simple lawn repairs. If you don't know when or how to aerate your lawn and prefer not to have to figure it out, hire a lawn aeration service. Lawn aeration is an important part of proper lawn maintenance, but it's not something you should do every weekend, such as mowing your lawn. Constant aeration keeps your lawn healthy and green, saving you dry grass, unsightly brown spots, and turf problems on the road.
As with any lawn maintenance routine, pay attention to what your lawn needs and be proactive rather than reactive. Whether you use a spike lawn aerator equipped with solid wedge-shaped tines that drill holes in the soil or a core aerator equipped with hollow teeth that remove soil, your lawn aerator will penetrate more easily and can create deeper holes when the soil is wet. Although there are other aeration methods (such as tip, blade, and liquid aeration), core aeration is considered to be the most legitimate and popular aeration method among homeowners and lawn care professionals. How often you aerate your lawn depends mainly on the type of grass you have, the type and condition of the soil, and a visual assessment of how well the grass is growing.
Aerators that remove dirt plugs are the most effective, according to most lawn and lawn care experts. Lawn aeration, often called central aeration, removes small plugs of grass, straw, and turf dirt. Lawn aeration also encourages cohesive growth throughout the lawn by replenishing nutrients, oxygen and water to roots and problem areas.
