Fall Lawn Aeration – Do It
Core aeration is the single most important thing you can do to your lawn, and the best time to aerate your lawn is the fall. Now seriously listen to me guys: if you want to have a thick, green, healthy lawn, core aeration is the foundation. If your lawn looks bad right now, then get a core aeration done this weekend.
Lawn Aeration Benefits
Aerating the lawn is a process whereby cores of soil are pulled up from the turf using a machine that is a little bit bigger than a lawn mower. The machine has tines on it that pierce down into the lawn and actually pull out cores that are each about the size of a roll of dimes. This accomplishes a couple things:
1) Hard compacted soil (especially clay soil) is effectively loosened when cores are removed. When you remove the cores, the rest of the soil “gives way” and becomes literally “aerated.” In addition, the extra space created allow the turf roots to expand. An expanded root system is a thicker root system – and thicker roots make a thicker top!
2) Aerating the lawn helps control your lawn’s thatch layer. Thatch is a layer of organic material in every lawn that resides just at the soil line. It is made up of dead grass material, leaves and other stuff and serves many good purposes. However, when the thatch layer gets too thick, it can cause problems. It will stop water and nutrients from getting deep into the soil, as well as harbor disease. It also creates shallow rooting. When you aerate, you are punching holes in the thatch, enough to keep it managed properly.
3) Aeration allows nutrients and water to hit the root system direct. Since you are going to open up the lawn when you aerate, you might as well throw some good nutrients down on the lawn at the same time. You will never get as good of penetration then at the time of aerating. Follow my instructions in my book to know what to put down.
Those are the main reasons to have your lawn aerated this year. Even if your lawn is super thick and healthy already, you should aerate it every fall.
