Should You Aerate Your Lawn?

Regular, simple maintenance goes a long way in making a healthier, thicker lawn. But jobs done once a year play a huge role in sustaining tinier steps across the months. For many people, aerating lawns to alleviate soil compaction and enrich grass growth is a common yearly task.

If you are wondering should you aerate your lawn, you should realize any lawn can profit from aeration when it's done right.

Grass roots need water and air to grow healthy, deep, and thick.

When soil becomes compacted, even a little, it stops the flow of the requirements that support healthier, thicker turf growth. Just a thin layer of compacted soil can make a huge difference in the beauty and health of your lawn. Aeration forms hole down into the soil to relieve compaction so water, nutrients, and air can reach grass roots.

Robbed of their essential needs by compacted soil, grass struggles in demanding situations, like low rainfall and heat, losing its rich, healthy color. Grasses become thin and ultimately die out entirely due to no water, oxygen, and nutrients available. When grass become weak, it allows room for weeds to take root. Even a single aeration job can unlock these essentials to get to their mark and put your grass back on an upward move.

When to Aerate Your Lawn
As with plenty of bigger lawn jobs, like planting grass seeds, it's best to aerate right before or during the time your grasses get to its peak time. Aeration is great for lawns, but it can stress grass if done incorrectly.

For cool-season grasses, early spring or fall are the best times to aerate your lawn. For warm-season grasses, the best time for aerating is very early summer or late spring. When aeration corresponds with active growth, grasses recover fast and fill in areas where aerator equipment reveals soil.

Aerating is most natural on you and your lawn when your soil is wet from rainfall the day before or irrigation. Parched earth can be hard to aerate, so wetness helps the process. Never aerate very wet lawns. Instead, wait a couple of days. If you have any questions or help with your aeration job, call a York tree contractor.

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