Lawn Aeration

Lawn Aeration is a key aspect for good lawn care and maintenance. To start with, it is important to understand what lawn aeration is and why it is so important for the good health of any lawn.

Lawn aeration involves the removal of tiny soil plugs out of the lawn, or the creation of spiked, tiny holes, with the intention of allowing freer movement of air into the soil. Lawn aeration is most commonly done mechanically with a machine that has hollow tines or spoons mounted on a disk or drum. The way the machine works is that it extracts up to 3/4 inch diameter cores of soil and deposits them on the lawn. There are other types of lawn aerators that just push solid spikes into the soil without removing any plugs. The danger in these types of aerators is that they sometime contribute, rather than help prevent, soil compaction.

Lawn aeration has many benefits that greatly contribute to creating a healthy lawn. The most important one is the fact that it helps fight compaction of the soil. Compaction reduces the pore space within the soil that usually holds air. Air is vital to good lawn care and maintenance. The grass roots require oxygen to grow and absorb nutrients and water. It can also be a physical barrier to root growth.

Proper core aeration will result in numerous benefits for your lawn. It will result in excellent top growth and good lawn health. Aeration also increases the activity of soil micro-organisms that decompose thatch and greatly increases water, oxygen and nutrient movement into the soil. Aeration will also tend to dramatically improve rooting and helps prevent fertilizer and pesticide run-off from overly compacted areas on a lawn.