But jobs typically reserved for once a year can play a significant role in supporting smaller steps taken across the months. For many homeowners, aerating lawns to relieve soil compaction and enhance grass growth is a regular annual task.
Almost any lawn can benefit from aeration when it's timed well and done properly. Why Aerating Helps Lawns Grass roots need air, water and nutrients to grow thick, deep and strong. Core aerators pull small plugs of soil to the surface. When Lawns Need Aeration It may not seem your lawn could get compacted, but it happens easier than you may think. When to Aerate Your Lawn As with most larger lawn projects, such as planting grass seed , it's best to aerate during or right before the time your grasses reach their peak time for natural growth.
How to Aerate Your Lawn Aerating equipment comes in three main types, from small manual versions to larger tractor-like or pull-behind machinery: Spike aerators simply poke a hole down into the soil with a solid, spike-like tine.
While these can help on a small scale, spike machines can make compaction worse by pressing soil together around the holes. Like spike aerators, slicing aerators leave soil in the ground, but they create pathways for air, water and nutrients without causing more compaction. Core or plug aerators , typically preferred by lawn professionals, use rows of hollow tines that remove plugs of soil from your lawn and deposit them on top, where they break down.
The size of the plugs and the holes they create vary in width and depth, depending on the machine used. What to Do After Aeration After you finish aerating your lawn, let soil plugs or extra soil dry where they fall.
I started looking for DIY lawn aerators. I found seven great DIY aerators that all work perfectly to make your lawn lush and beautiful. Whether you want something that is going to cover a lot of space at once or you just need something simple that will allow that air and water to get to the roots of your grass, there is a DIY lawn aerator that is perfect for your lawn.
Now, back to aerating those lawns. This is a really simple process and it can be so healthy for your lawn. And, when I say simple, I mean it. There are even a couple of DIY versions of lawn aerating shoes! You just slip them on your feet and walk around the yard to aerate it. How simple is that? If you really want a beautifully lush lawn this year, I highly recommend that you check out these DIY lawn aerators. And, be sure that you check out these gardening hacks and pro tips that will definitely make you an expert.
Once the spikes are in place, you add a handle and wheels and then just push the aerator through your yard to keep your soil and grass healthy. This one is so simple and can be really cheap if you have an old oil drum that you can use as the base. Tutorial: gardeninginfozone. This DIY lawn aerator is very cheap and easy to make. The spikes are made from nails, which are perfect for creating the aeration that your lawn needs to make it grow lush and healthy.
Make multiple passes over highly compacted areas these are the areas where there is the most foot traffic. Aerating your lawn depends on what aerating tool you have decided to use. For example, with a spike aerator, you use the tool to poke holes into the ground. A plug aerator will remove cores or plugs of grass with soil from the lawn. To achieve better results, use an aerating tool that removes plugs of soil. Poking holes is less productive and can cause additional compaction in the areas around the holes.
Renting some of these machines can become expensive. After aerating, continue essential lawn care practice such as proper fertilizing, mowing, and watering. Hand aerators: Mentioned previously, hand aerators can be quite strenuous and requires much effort from your hands to work the aerator into the soil. Using a hand aerator on your whole lawn can take a lot of time out of your day to complete correctly.
Aerator Shoes: The amount of time it will take to aerate your lawn depends on how long it will take you to walk your entire property. Highly traffic areas will need to be walked over multiple times. Aerator shoes only penetrate the soil so much. If you are using this aeration method, it is recommended to aerate more often than the other methods.
Like using a hand aerator on your whole lawn, aerator shoes can also take a lot of time out of your day to complete correctly. Rolling Aerator: Rolling aerators should take about 30 minutes to 1 hour to aerate a lawn. Tow-Behind Aerator: Tow-behind aerators should take about 20 to 30 minutes to aerate a lawn. Stand-On Aerator: Electric aerators should take about 15 to 30 minutes to aerate a lawn.
We put together a typical scenario for the DIY homeowner who rents an aerator: If you have a trailer, hook it up to your car. If you do not have a trailer, you might need to borrow or rent one, resulting in renting fees.
Drive to a home improvement retailer from your home, resulting in losing gas and mileage. Depending on where you rented the aerator, you might have to clean out each tine the part of the aerator that pulls out the soil plugs when you are done so you can avoid the cleaning fee. Load the aerator back onto the trailer. Drive to the store again to return the aerator, resulting in more gas and mileage loss. Compacted soils are loosened, restrictive layers of surface-level thatch are broken, and your turf uses these improvements to its natural advantage, growing stronger and healthier as the surface repairs itself.
Virtually all U. What differs somewhat is the timing. According to information provided by Bayer Advanced, the best time to aerate a lawn is prior to a period of vigorous growth, during which the lawn can best recover from the disruption intentionally created by the aeration process. For cool season grasses, that time is late summer into early fall, making sure to allow at least a month of growing time before the threat of frost sets in.
For warm season grassses, late spring to early summer is your best bet. Is core aeration worth it for your lawn? Yes, absolutely!
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