Lawn aeration is an important maintenance process for your grass that enables its roots to better absorb air, nutrients, and water.
Aerating your lawn will also benefit your health and safety. Having healthy grass can lower the temperature of your home’s surroundings, which can help save energy costs.
Furthermore, aerating your lawn assists in protecting your lawn against a variety of common compaction concerns, such as drainage issues, bare patches, weeds, dryness, fungal disease, and fairy rings, to name a few.
What is Lawn Aeration?
Lawn aeration refers to soil perforation to allow air, water, and nutrients to reach the grass roots.
Why Do I Need To Aerate My Lawn?
Aerating soil encourages deep root growth, resulting in a stronger, more vibrant grass. The primary reason for aeration is to reduce soil compaction. Soil compaction reduces the amount of nutrients and water that can reach your lawn’s roots.
What Is The Best Way To Aerate A Lawn?
Aerating sandals (sandals with spikes that aerate the lawn as you walk) or a robust garden fork can be used to manually aerate a smaller area of lawn. To fracture the soil profile, simply insert the fork into the lawn and wiggle it back and forth.
We suggest aiming for an 8–10cm gap between the holes, as recommended by Lawn Solutions Australia. To ensure proper aeration, you may need to go over the area twice, each time in a different direction. This even works as a good form of light exercise for you.
If you have a large lawn, you can employ specialised aerators. A spiked roller is also useful for grass aeration, since it can be used to incorporate lime, gypsum, or coarse sand into the profile to increase drainage or pH.
Unlike traditional lawn aeration, which merely punches holes in the ground with solid tines, core aeration removes a lump of soil from your lawn at the same time.
How Frequently Should I Aerate My Lawn?
Different soils may require more frequent aeration than others. For example, clay soil easily compacts and should be aerated at least once a year.
Meanwhile, a sandy-base lawn can be aerated once a year or every two years. Aerating twice a year in harsher climates will better promote lawn growth and health.
Soil compaction is a common problem in regions where there is a lot of foot traffic, pets, or even cars on the lawn.
Regular aeration will be necessary to keep the ground from becoming too hard and to allow the soil to breathe and the grass to spread.
When Should I Aerate My Lawn?
Warm-season grass varieties including Sir Walter DNA Certified Buffalo, TifTuf Bermuda, Sir Grange Zoysia, Zoysia Australis, Nullarbor Couch, and Eureka Kikuyu are best aerated in the spring and summer while they are actively growing. It’s a great time to fertilise your lawn after aerating in the spring.
You can aerate your warm-season grass any time of year, but if you do so during the winter, keep in mind that your grass will not cover the aerated holes since it will be dormant.
Cool-season grass varieties like Rye and Fescue can grow all year, except for exceptionally cold climates, so you can aerate your lawn any season.
Always try to aerate your lawn at the same time you’re fertilising it or doing any other big lawn care tasks like dethatching and top dressing. It’s also a great time for aeration following rain because the process will be considerably easier.
Checking The pH Level Of Your Aerated Lawn
It’s a good idea to evaluate the pH level of your lawn after aerating and taking action if necessary. The ability of your grass to absorb the minerals and nutrients it requires to thrive is influenced by pH.
Your lawn’s optimal pH range is generally between 6 and 7.
If your pH isn’t where it should be, now is the time to use soil additives and conditioners to help your soil type.
Tips To Improve Your Soil pH Level
Here are three main additives you can use to help adjust your soil pH:
- Lime (Calcium Carbonate) to help raise pH and neutralise acidic soil.
- Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) to help in the decomposition of clay soils.
- Fertiliser – best applied after aeration to allow nutrients to better penetrate
Get in Touch With Musturf For More Information
If you have additional queries about lawn aeration, or want to find out more information about our recommendations for taking care of your lawn, feel free to give us a call or submit a form today.