Should I Aerate My Lawn?
Everybody knows that taking care of your lawn is a regular job. “One and done” doesn’t apply to lawn care. Maintaining a regular schedule is essential to keep your lawn healthy and inviting. In the same spirit, if you seek to aerate your lawn, it can be an essential part of that maintenance. It helps your lawn stay healthy and green, and can even repair parts of your lawn that have become damaged. Because aeration helps your lawn stay healthy all year long, you’ll want to learn more about it. That’s why we’re writing this article – To help you understand what aeration is. Aerating your lawn can benefit you when installing or maintaining a lawn irrigation system.
But what is aeration? Lawn aeration is the creation of holes in your lawn. That might sound counterintuitive, but there’s more happening here than damage. Mechanical aeration removes old thatch, soil plugs, and other blockages from a wide area. It does this regularly, allowing air and nutrients to penetrate deep into your lawn. Aeration can deliver fertilizer, water, and more deep to the roots of your grass. Over time, your lawn can thatch, preventing the roots from having access to these things. Aeration allows your lawn to recover its ability to breathe and nourish itself.
Other Reasons to Aerate Your Lawn
Now that you understand the main idea, there are some more reasons to aerate that you should know about.
Aeration Reduces Water Needs
Because the process allows water to get deeper into your lawn, the ground is able to retain more water. The holes also hold water, allowing for prolonged water exposure. As your lawn’s roots are allowed to grow deeper, they can access groundwater. This allows your lawn to rely less on artificial watering and helps during hot months. It also prevents standing water by allowing it to drain down into your lawn easier.
Aeration Softens Your Soil
There are parts of your lawn that get more use than others. That’s just a fact of life. Over time, grass can be worn down in these areas, and the soil underneath can compact and harden. Hard spots on the lawn are unpleasant to walk across, and worse – Hard to grow on. Aerating your lawn once a year reduces this compaction and helps loosen this soil so roots can penetrate deep.
Aeration Makes Your Lawn Tougher
It might seem odd that punching holes in your lawn can make it stronger, but it’s true. Many lawns that become overburdened with thatch can become malnourished in places. This creates weak roots that allow the soil to erode. Aerating your soil frees up the roots to receive deep nourishment and helps your lawn develop resistance to heavy traffic.
When Should I Aerate My Lawn?
Deciding when to aerate your lawn depends on many factors. One of the most important is the kind of grass you have. Each variety of grass has its own peak root development period, and aeration should be done during the peak root development period. Weather conditions such as heat and moisture also affect when aeration should be done.
Aeration should be done professionally. If you have questions about whether or not aeration can improve your lawn, ask us the next time we’re servicing your irrigation system, and we’ll set you off in the right direction.