What is Aeration?

There is more to a healthy lawn than just watering and cutting it. A beautiful lawn needs a good foundation and that foundation is the soil in which it grows. Aeration of your lawn is needed on a regular basis.

This is where our experienced ProLawn technicians come in. They may suggest core aeration which removes small, finger sized plugs of soil and thatch from the lawn and deposit it on the soil’s surface. Also removed are microbes that live just below the surface. These microbes begin to chew away the layer of thatch and over time, that layer turns into a form of compost that is actually beneficial to the lawn. Eventually, the small holes will fill back in with surrounding top soil and your lawn’s root system has more room to develop and spread out.

Why does your lawn need Aeration?

It’s simple: Most of the soils in our area have high clay content. This clay tends to compact which inhibits the turf’s ability to uptake moisture and nutrients as well as reducing healthy root growth. Aeration provides the means to loosen the soil to correct this compaction problem. Also, over time, your lawn will naturally build up thatch. Thatch is simply an intermingled layer consisting of dead stems, roots, and leaves. The problem is that this layer builds between actively growing grass and the soil underneath it; when the layer becomes too thick, it prevents water, nutrients and flow of air from reaching the soil layer. Aeration assists in reducing this problem of thatch build up.

For healthy grass to keep growing on your lawn aeration needs to be part of your lawn maintenance.

There are several benefits for core aeration. The most obvious one is that it helps rejuvenate your lawn and keeps it looking healthy. Other benefits include:

• Improved air exchange between the soil and atmosphere
• Enhanced soil water uptake
• Improved fertilizer uptake and use
• Reduced water runoff and puddling
• Improved turfgrass rooting
• Reduced soil compaction
• Enhanced heat and drought stress tolerance
• Improved resiliency and cushioning
• Enhanced thatch breakdown

What can I expect?

Immediately after core aeration, your lawn will be dotted with small plugs pulled from the soil. Within a week or two, these plugs of thatch and soil break apart and disappear into the lawn.

About 7 to 10 days after aeration, the aeration holes will be filled with white, actively growing roots. These roots are a sign the turf grass is responding to the additional oxygen, moisture and nutrients in the soil from the aeration process. Don’t expect miracles from a single aeration, particularly on lawns growing on extremely poor soils. Most lawns benefit from annual aeration and they’ll be healthier, more vigorous, and easier to maintain and have fewer pest problems than neglected lawns.

ProLawn can help you decide the best course of action when developing a lawn from scratch or renovating an existing lawn.  We have the expertise in everything from the best methods for seeding your property’s unique lawn to choosing appropriate fertilizers and varieties of seeds. Our organic approach to lawn health care minimizes environmental impact and increases germination success rates. 

Whether you want a brand new lawn or need help tackling lingering lawn problems, ProLawn has a solution.  Contact us today at 540-662-8316 or clientservices@prolawn.com for more information on our organic approach to lawn health care!