When it comes to lawn care it involves a few tasks: feeding, mowing, weeding and aerating. If you’re on top of these four tasks, you’ll have a great looking lawn and a healthy one too! It’s not hard to tell when it’s time to do the first three but the third task, aerating, might be. Mickey’s LawnScapes offers some helpful insight below.
Does Aerating a Lawn Make a Difference?
Lawn aeration is done to create openings in lawn turf and the soil underneath to get past the root and the thatch layer. Doing so will allow water and air to get down into the soil so it can better reach the grass roots. This is called “core aeration”. Small plugs or cores are punched into the lawn with a motorized machine or there are hand tools you can use that are more practical for smaller lawns. Aeration is the answer to compacted soil. Soil that is compacted puts the squeeze on grass roots and makes it hard for them to function. Soil that is too compacted will also prevent water from getting absorbed and it can’t drain properly. Soil gets compacted on a lawn where there is heavy foot traffic or a lawn that was planted on soil that contains a lot or clay. Weight from cars and even regular mowing can compact soil. Sometimes aeration is sold as a solution to thatch problems but core aeration will not do much for problems with thatch if it’s already present. Thatch is the layer between the living grass blades and soil. While thatch is a problem it really needs to be dealt with in its own but regular aeration can help prevent thatch problems.
When Does My Lawn Need to Be Aerated?
You can test your soil to see if it needs to be aerated. Take a screwdriver and push it into the soil. If it’s very hard or you can’t even push it in, then you need to have the lawn aerated. You can also sink a shovel into the soil. If it’s easy and you can get to a depth of half the blade then your soil isn’t compacted. If you’re having a hard time pushing it into the soil then you need to aerate. It’s good to have your lawn aerated once a year. It does not hurt your lawn, and in fact, it will make it healthier and more attractive. If your soil is compacted on a regular basis then it needs to be aerated on a regular basis too. The best time to aerate your lawn is in the fall. This is when the temperatures have cooled off, the weed pressure is minimal and the grass is actively growing. Some people will complain about the small plugs all over the lawn after the process is done but the simple solution is to just rake them up but you can just leave them on the lawn. They will break up quickly and decompose.
Lawn Care Services & More in Amagansett, Aquebogue, Baiting Hollow, Calverton, Cutchogue, East Hampton, East Hampton North, Greenport, Jamesport, Laurel, Mattituck, Montauk, Nassau Point, Northville, Northwest Harbor, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Southold, Springs, Wading River, Westhampton Beach in East End New York
If you think your lawn needs to be aerated or if you have never aerated your lawn, chances are you need to do it and fall is the best time. Contact Mickey’s LawnScapes for aeration services to get you lawn healthy and looking great. Call us today.
