Lawn aeration is important in almost every area of the country. According to Pennington.com, when the soil is compacted, grassroots struggle to obtain important nutrients such as air, water, and vital elements that make for a fresh, lush lawn.
For us, lawn aeration Concord NC, and surrounding areas, are critically important. The most calls for lawn aeration come in March, April, May then skip over to September, and October so that grass can be healthy by time it goes into dormancy between November and March.
The type of grasses that are most popular in general tend to be either Kentucky Bluegrass or Tall Fescue grass. It is recommended that you water your grass regularly twice a week but deep watering and aeration contribute greatly to a healthy lawn especially in the hot months, like July.
(Click here to watch Is Tall Fescue The Best Cool-Season Grass)
What Is Lawn Aeration
Lawn aeration is the process of making tiny holes in the grass in order to allow the necessary nutrients to reach the root.
According to Briggs and Stratton, you definitely should be aerating your lawn if:
- It has lots of heavy use by children in play
- Is part of a new subdivision, in which the soil was compacted by heavy equipment
- Your lawn dries out quickly
- Has a spongy texture
- The soil the lawn was created in or planted was layered
How To Tell If Your Lawn Needs Aeration
One of the obvious tell-tale signs is puddles on your lawn. Puddles indicate compacted soil.
Another is lots of worn areas, possibly due to overseeding.
Also common is watering your lawn and then it quickly becomes dry. If the soil is too compact, water has trouble getting to the roots.
Thinning grass is also another indication you need aeration. Bald patches can occur for different reasons, but one of them is due to the roots not getting enough nutrients and water.
Discolored areas, patches of brown and yellow, are a sure sign you need aeration.
Another indication of a compaction problem is when your yard just stops growing.
Lots of thatch on your lawn is another sure sign you need aeration.
Finally, there is the screwdriver test. The purpose of this test is to give you a good indication of whether your lawn needs aeration or not. Though it is not a complete guarantee one way or the other it can give you a strong indication of the health of your ground.
Put a screwdriver into the ground, and if it takes quite a bit of pressure to insert the screwdriver, you more than likely have an aeration problem.
The Step By Step Aeration Process
Once you have determined that your lawn needs aeration, we recommend that you don’t proceed to aerate your lawn without being adequately informed as there is a specific step-by-step procedure that must take place.
Step one is to water your lawn with at least 1 inch of water one or two days before you plan to aerate.
A simple way to test whether you have enough water on your lawn or not is to place an empty tuna can on the lawn as you water. When the tuna can is full, you have enough water.
At the same time, flag any warning areas you don’t want to run over on your lawn with the aerator such as sprinkler heads. Mark these areas with small flags to avoid them when you begin to aerate.
Step two is to rent a core aerator. Typically these will rent out for about $30 to $75 for a few hours. There are also spike aerators, but they do not work as well especially if you don’t know what you’re doing.
Aerate over your entire lawn, but only drag the aerator over your lawn once. You want to aerate, not create an area that will turn into a flood plain.
Finally, sprinkle sand or compost over the area, or let the soil cores break down naturally.
Get Help With Lawn Aeration Concord NC or Surrounding Area
Although you can do it yourself, aeration takes a lot of work. And with rentals for an aerator itself hovering at around $75, you are not too far out of the ballpark to call in a professional aerator.
Professionals have the equipment and knowledge to get the job done right, and they do all the hard work for you.
Aeration machines are heavy, and many people have thrown their back out trying to wield a heavy aeration machine.
Also, it’s a much better investment of your time. If you do it yourself, you have to make your way down to the rental location, sign the paperwork, and haul it into your truck (if you have one.) Then, when you finish the job, you have to pack everything up and haul it back. Also, if anything happens to it along the way, and you aren’t able to return it in time, then you have to pay for a second day or every day until you can return it.
It’s also important to know the professional lawn care professionals know the best time to aerate and if they advise you to wait, it’s probably better to wait.
Also, they know all the tricks. You don’t have to show a pro where all the sprinkler heads are, they will (or should know to) mark them and any other obstacle for themselves.
At the end of the day, you probably have much better things to do with your time than aerate your lawn.
Instead have a beer, relax, or possibly knock out an important business proposal. Your time is precious, and you want to make use of every hour of free time you can get.
Ultimately, there are dozens of reasons why hiring a pro to create your lawn makes perfect sense.
Please feel free to leave any questions, comments, or other feedback in the comments box below. We love to hear from you and it is more than our pleasure to help when we can!
Hope you enjoy the rest of your week and if you’re over here on the east coast be careful in all these storms rolling through lately!
From our family to yours have a safe a happy week and weekend ahead of you 🙂
If you live in our area of North Carolina click the link below to schedule a free aeration estimate. Our main areas of operations are listed below.
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Just to let you know, we also service the following areas for mowing, gutter cleaning, bush hogging, aeration & more!