You can save some money and do your lawn a favor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do not need to get a lawn care operator to aerate your lawn as it is possible to do it yourself. You can rent an aerator for a small amount or you can use hand tools to do the job.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Before you rush out and buy (or rent) the tools you need, there are some things you need to consider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s start at the beginning and talk about what aeration is and why your lawn would need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Aeration is making holes in a lawn to help the grass roots absorb air, water, and nutrients. This is normally done when the soil has been compacted and has a thick layer around 1\/4 to 1\/2 thick that will not let anything through to the roots. This will cause shallow-rooted and unhealthy grass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every hole you put in compacted soil allows more access to air, water, and nutrients that were previously unavailable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How aeration works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You usually get compacted soil in high-traffic areas in your yard. This can happen as a result of children playing, dogs or even you mowing the lawn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is one of the reasons why it is good to not always mow a lawn the same way every time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you regularly park on your lawn or drive cars over the lawn you are probably causing soil compaction. In fact, I have often had customers mention to me the lawn does not grow very fast where they park the car. This will be because the grass is struggling to feed and oxygenate the root system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another thing that can cause compaction of soil that people generally don\u2019t think about is erecting and leaving a freestanding swimming pool. The weight of the water can push all of the air out of the top of the soil and turn it into a solid barrier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here is an article<\/a> about how a family set up a freestanding pool that destroyed a lawn and ended up paying a lot of money to fix the lawn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have a newly constructed house or have done some work around the house you may have issues in areas where the clay has been bought to the surface or heavy equipment has been used. Clay will compact a lot easier than dirt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lawnmowing101 Membership<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Lawn Care Software<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Easier for you and your customers. Jobber helps you quote, schedule, invoice, and get paid\u2014all in one place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Compaction of soil is the main reason you could need to aerate your lawn but it is not the only one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You may need to aerate because of thatching in your lawn. Thatch is a thick layer of dead grass that lies below the grass tips and above the soil. If it gets thick enough it can stop nutrients from getting to the roots of the plant. This can cause weak plants and an unhealthy lawn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although aerating will help this situation I would recommend that you also dethatch as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Find out more about that in this post<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n A good sign of compression is when the rain puddles and does not soak into the soil easily. This is a sure sign that you need to work on this area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the symptoms are not that obvious such as unhealthy or sparse areas you could test with a large screwdriver. Slide it into the soil and if it goes in easily you are ok. If it is hard work to get in then the soil could be compacted. When you do this test do it away from tree roots or areas you know contain rocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If this test is inconclusive then you are going to have to work a bit harder. I would suggest that you dig out an area approximately a foot by a foot and half a foot deep. Look at the roots of the grass. If the roots are growing less than 2 inches deep then you need to aerate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are many different types of aerators out there and they range from shoes with spikes to heavy machinery and everything in between so the questions you need to ask are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here is a list of the different kinds of aerators available with Amazon links to my favourite one in each category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Core Aerator<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 If you have ever seen an apple corer then a core aerator is a similar kind of tool. Where an apple corer will take the core from an apple an aeration corer will do the same thing to your lawn but on a much larger scale. This is the best way to aerate a lawn as it causes no compression at all. This is the tool of choice used by most lawn care professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A lawn after aeration<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
What is aeration?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Other reasons your lawn may need aerating.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What lawns can benefit from aerating?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Different types of aerators.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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