How to aerate lawns?

If you want a beautiful lawn in 2021, then aerate your lawn.

It’s that simple.

Many homeowners never aerate their lawns and live happily ever after.

Many do not even know what lawn aeration is.

Yet, it is the best way to ensure the long-term health of your lawn and prolific growth.

But, let’s face it.

It’s not a fun process if you are not used to it. So, why the heck should you spend time to aerate your lawn?

If you are not clear why you should aerate your lawn and are still debating because the process is a pain, consider the following points.

Lawn Aerations Have Multiple Benefits

If you aerate lawns periodically, you will notice tremendous improvements over time.

So, yes indeed, there are different factors that lawn aerations combine that help get a greener and thicker, healthy-looking turf.

What do lawn aerations do to your lawn?

There is no better way to reduce soil compaction.

When you reduce compaction, it improves the penetration of water and air through the soil close to the root system to increase the grass plant’s vitality and strength.

It also makes watering and seeding more effective, which is an excellent way to reduce your bills.

Ultimately, your lawn is more resilient to heat, drought, and cold.

So, let’s check how to aerate lawns.

First Things first, Protect Your Watering System

If you proceed to core aeration, you need to pay attention to where you are going to punch holes.

Otherwise, you will destroy your sprinklers or water line if they are not deep enough.

If you have sprinkler heads scattered around that you cannot remove, try to place a little flag or cone next to each sprinkler head. You will avoid costly mistakes.

Of course, you will not have this problem if you opt for liquid aeration.

We covered the difference between core and liquid aerations in a previous article. If you need to learn more about that subject, read our article Lawn Aeration: Wake Up Your Lawn, Chester County!

Don’t Aerate Your Lawn During the Heat of The Summer

When should you aerate your lawn?

The short answer is spring and fall.

If you decide not to go through this process twice a year and miss spring, shoot for the end of August up to late fall.

The biggest mistake is to aerate your lawn during the summer’s hottest days.

Although it is excellent for your lawn wellness, the aeration process is stressful – not in a detrimental way, but mechanical or chemical processes are involved.

Therefore, avoid catching up with aerations during the peak of summer. That said, they are beneficial before major growth seasons or to prepare for the colder winter season.

Besides, if you thought it is too late to aerate your lawn, a core or liquid aeration performed between the end of August and late fall is essential to prevent damage from freezes or snow.

Always Use The Best of The Best

We are not referring to us here. Although…

We refer to tools, machines, and products.

Like anything else in this world, quality is critical, and spending some time to do your due diligence about which tools, machines, or products – in the case of liquid aeration – is the secret of qualitative lawn aeration.

Visit your favorite retail shop, spend some time talking to professionals, ask questions, and gain helpful insights.

If your budget allows you to buy a machine, go for a professional aerator.

Manual aeration of a broad surface is overwhelming labor. If you value your sanity and want to preserve your lower back, reduce the manual labor, and stay away from any cheap tools.

Now, a professional core aerator can be expensive. Therefore, try to rent the equipment if you are only going to aerate once or twice per year.

Alternatively, investigate liquid aeration.

Depending on your budget, liquid aeration might be a wise choice.

Although liquid aerators are not all made equal, you will need to learn a bit about science. Not to worry, we will cover this topic in another article soon. So, if you are interested to learn more about it, stay tuned.

Check Out the Weather Forecast

Weather should be considered before deciding on the day you need to aerate your lawn.

Remember that the soil should not be too hard or too soft, especially if you plan to do core aeration.

You should not aerate your lawn if your soil is ultra-dry, or if the area where you live was flooded the day before.

Again, adjusting your aeration schedule with feel and finesse is the difference between a process that runs smoothly and a nightmare.

Therefore, check the weather forecast regularly once you approach the aeration’s date, knowing that you might need to change that schedule at the last minute.

And Finally!

Even if no one ever had fun during lawn aerations, they are the central piece of your lawn wellness strategy.

Aerations strengthen your lawn by bringing the nutrients and air to the roots. Therefore, they should be performed before the growing season starts.

If you plan to do aeration yourself, either buy or rent professional equipment. Usually, tools used for manual aerations should be reserved for very small surfaces only.

If the big bulk of the market considers core aeration, liquid aerations have come a long way and have proven to be more efficient than core ones.

In the professional world, liquid aerations start to intrigue and convert more and more lawn care businesses trying to deliver a differentiated approach to lawn care.

Liquid aeration is best used when a lawn is already healthy and there is no need for seeding. The product works very well and improves the soil, essentially aerating on a microscopic level. After treatment, we have noted a visible color increase in the lawn, due to the chelating effect of the liquid aeration.

So, it’s time to aerate lawns, Chester County!