Aeration is a form of lawn maintenance that keeps your lawn healthy and cuts down on weeds. Learn what aeration entails, the reasons why aeration is healthy for your lawn, how often aeration should be performed, and the factors involved in determining what time of year is the best time to give your soil a breath of fresh air.

What Aeration Involves

Aeration is the process of jabbing hundreds of small holes into your lawn. It sounds like a strange thing to do to your own property (maybe more like a kid’s Halloween prank), but it will actually end up making your lawn greener and happier than ever before. The instruments used for core aeration pull out 1-6 inch plugs or cores of soil from your lawn, leaving a hollow space below.

Why You Should Aerate

Aeration loosens soil that has become compacted. Compacted soil is soil whose granules are so tightly packed together that water, the roots of plants like grass and even air has a hard time getting in. The lack of air has the effect of making it more difficult for organisms such as earthworms to recycle nutrients and keep the ground healthy.

Lawns with compacted soil can become sparse and dry, making a better environment for various types of weeds. Many people aerate just to make their lawns healthier, while others will choose to aerate specifically in order to make lawn treatments such as fertilization and reseeding more effective.

How Often You Should Aerate

How often you aerate will generally depend on the type of soil you have, and also on the climate where you live. If your soil is heavy in clay, it will need aeration about once a year. If the soil is light and sandy, every other year will do the trick. If you live in a hot, dry place, or have had a particularly dry year, it may be a good idea to aerate twice a year.

Aeration Season

Spring and fall are the two best seasons for aeration. During the summer most lawns get trampled by kids, pets, lawn chairs and wading pools, and in spring your lawn may need help recovering from the winter weather. When aerating in fall, be sure to allow at least 4 weeks between the time you aerate and the time when winter frost begins.

Let the Lawn Breathe

Aeration is guaranteed to help you optimize your lawn’s performance—when it is undertaken with the tips above in mind. If you are looking for reasonably priced aeration services in the state of Pennsylvania, the lawn care professionals at Green Lawn will be happy to make your lawn happy. Give us a call today.

Contact Green Lawn Fertilizing today to take advantage of $100 off Aeration and Seeding!