Aerating a lawn is necessary to improve the condition of the soil. Lawn aeration is most necessary if the soil is already compacted because of heavy foot traffic. Soil compaction occurs if the soil is poorly drained or if the soil gets heavy vehicle traffic . The regular lawn aeration is the reason why healthy grass growth is maintained in sports fields. Lawn aeration requires the removal of small soil plugs from the lawn.

Aerating a lawn can be done by hand if the yard is rather small. However, aeration is commonly done with a mechanical aerator or with the use of lawn aerating organic product. If you will aerate your lawn you can use either the spike or the core aerators. Spike aerator is a device that sinks large spikes into the ground to create holes. A core aerator draws out soil plugs by using a cylinder to create 3 to 4 inch holes in the ground. The soil plug that was removed will be pushed out of the cylinder and then deposited on the lawn. If the soil is densely compacted, spike aerators would not efficiently aerate the lawn. Spike aerators would be more effective on sandy soil.

Is aerating the lawn really necessary? The holes that are usually made 3 to 6 inches apart and 5 to 6 inches deep will improve grass growth. Oxygen circulation on the soil is improved by aerating the lawn. This procedure allows the soil to “breathe”. Resolving soil compaction makes for strong grass root system. Absorption of water and fertilizer would be easy. Roots can grow deeply and therefore can easily absorb nutrients from the soil.

Worms are friendly organisms that help make the lawn healthy. These friendly organisms are actually performing aeration jobs. Their aeration task though would be difficult in compacted soil. Aeration increases worm activity. Thatch can be a big problem of lawn owners. Pests and disease grow on this layer of organic and inorganic material under the soil. Thatch prevents nutrients from getting into the soil. Aeration breaks up the thatch.

Fall is the best time to aerate the lawn. Give the lawn a good drenching to make aeration easier. Aeration in summer is not advisable as it would damage a lawn that is already stressed from the heat of the summer months. Lawns that are aerated during the summer months would take quite a while before it can recover.

What are the benefits, when and how? Those are the questions you ought to ask your self about lawn aereation and they are answered at aeratingyourlawn.net.