The Homeowners Complete Guide to Aerating

Aeration
29June
adminmowingperth

Is your turf looking thin? Does it seem pale or beginning to show ugly patches even though you water, mow and fertilise it regularly?

 

Then you must be missing one important part of basic yard care: aerating.

 

To maintain a lively and vibrant lawn, grass roots need good access to oxygen, water and nutrients. However, foot traffic, mowing, clay soil and sometimes, poor drainage causes the soil to be compacted and keeps these necessities from reaching the roots. 

 

It also prevents the grass from establishing a well-spread root system. Don’t worry. All you need to do to treat this common problem is through a simple method called lawn aeration. We can provide you with professional lawn aeration service in Perth, if you're looking for someone to take it off your hands.

 

Aeration is basically a process of creating holes in the turf to loosen the hardened soil so that irrigation, air and much-needed nutrients can reach the roots much easier. 

 

It is a not really a secret, but many homeowners are not so familiar with aeration. If you do not know much about it either, that’s fine. 

 

Aeration is actually a relatively new idea developed by early landscapers of golf courses.Luckily, this article will tell us all that we need to know about it.

SPIKES, PLUGS OR GOPHERS?

 

Aerating is quite a simple concept but it does call for some tedious work. Releasing a family of gophers in your garden is probably not the best way to do it. 

 

Instead, there are two basic methods how aerating is done:First is by using spikes. Spikes poke holes into the soil and offer an easier means to penetrate the hard earth. 

 

However, they do not carve out a lot of space for the soil to breathe and may require you to repeat the process several times over the same area.

 

The second and more effective method is by using plugs. Plugs pull out chunks of earth and grass to create pockets in the turf. It does leave behind a clutter of plugged out soil and vegetation but they will eventually decompose and return the nutrients back to the soil.

 

PICK A LAWN POKER

 

There are different tools used for aerating may it be spike or plug-type. There is an assortment of gas-powered aeration tools that allows fast, light and efficient means of carrying out the task. 

 

Of course, heavy-duty equipment is a costly investment considering you only need to aerate your lawn once a year on average. But you can find them available for renting at garden centers and home improvement stores.

 

If you have a relatively small patch of turf, you may want to consider using manual tools. Hand-held or foot-worn aerators would require a bit more brawns but they could work just as well as powered type tools.

 

Aerator shoes are the most popular type of tool used for aerating. They are basically spikes that you can strap on over your own shoes. They are cheap and simple to use. 

 

Just walk across your lawn wearing the shoes, going over the same areas repeatedly from different directions and making sure that the spikes are buried well into the earth.

 

Hand-held aerators are commonly designed similar to pitchforks. But they usually have a cross bar that you can step on to sink the spikes into the soil the way you would do with a shovel. 

 

There are some hand-held aerators that are plug type but these tools are actually tiring to use and are only recommended for smaller areas.

 

Manual drum aerators or Lawn spikers are an improvement from hand-held aerators especially if you have a wider turf surface to treat. 

 

These are horizontal drums covered by spikes or blades attached to a handle that you can roll across the lawn.Pull-behind aerators are almost no different from the manual drum aerator. 

 

But instead of rolling it manually, it is towed by a motorized lawn mower. 

 

The advantage of this is that the drum can be made much heavier and able to go deeper into the soil and aerate it more effectively.Gas-powered aerators are practically lawnmowers with spinning spikes that aerate the soil instead of blades that cut the grass. These are ideal for large lawns with high foot traffic. 

TIME IT RIGHT WHEN YOU AERATE, ALL RIGHT?

 

Timing is very important in aerating. Aerating too seldom, too often or during the wrong season can ruin your turf.All lawns need a good dose of aerating but the best timing varies depending on the type of grass that you have and frequency depending on the type of soil and climate.

 

There are cool-season grasses and warm season grasses. Cool season grasses including fescue, bluegrass or rye grass needs to be aerated in early spring or early fall to give the new grass enough time to grow before the cold sets in. Warm-season grass such as Bermuda, zoysia or St. Augustine grass would be best aerated from late spring to early summer. 

 

That way, the pocketed soil will be refilled quickly by the abundance of growth brought by the warm season.You should also take note of how often you aerate. 

 

If you aerate it too frequently you might damage your turf because you do not give it enough time to recover. But if you forget to aerate regularly, your lawn will gradually choke. 

 

Typically, you should aerate your lawn annually. But you must take into considerations factors such as the type of soil. Sandy soil does not compact as easily as clay soil so it will be all right to aerate this every two years. 

 

Climate is also a factor. If you live in a very cold area then it is recommended that you aerate twice a year.

 

FOLLOW THESE STEPS

 

• Make sure to mow the lawn to about half its usual height. This will help your aerator penetrate the soil.

 

• Water the lawn. Moist soil is easier to aerate.

 

• Clean the lawn of fallen leaves, branches and other nuisances.

 

• Make sure you know where your sprinklers and other utility units are located. Better yet, mark their locations with flags or chalk.

 

• Remember that when using spike-type aerators, pass through the entire lawn twice from different directions. And if you use a plug-type aerator, you also need to pass once.

 

• If you use plug-type tools, leave behind all the soil plugs on top of the turf.

 

• It is important that you fertilize or apply a good amount of compost right after you aerate.

 

• Reseed any bare areas. This is the excellent time to do it.

 

• Lastly, remind yourself not to mow the lawn at least a week.