Lawn Aeration
Lawn aeration is it right for you? Well, let’s find out.
- Do you have lawn problems?
- Do you have patches of dirt next to a walkway or driveway where the grass will no longer grow?
- Is your water running in the gutter 5 minutes after the sprinklers turn on?
- What are you trying to do to your lawn?
- oxygenate the lawn roots
- get water to the root area
- encourage new root growth
- over seed sections of your lawn
If you said yes to anything above, a lawn aerator should be in your garden tool arsenal. Aerating is for you.
Grass Root Irrigators- Amazon.com
Lawn problems
Yard Butler ITJ-2C Grass Root Irrigator-Amazon.com
Any lawn problems associated with compacted soil can be taken care of with aeration. The aerator penetrates the soil. Aeration creates channels down to the root level of your turf grass. The open channels will let in air, water and any soil amendments that you so choose.
Aeration Makes it Easier to Change the Soil
Aeration provides a direct way to add nutrients to the soil. For example, if the soil is in need of gypsum, aeration can help get the gypsum directly into the soil thru the channels.
Time aeration to growing seasons
Warm season grasses like Bermuda grass, St. Augustine, and Zoysia are actively growing in the spring and summer. The best time to aerate these grasses is during their active growing period.
Turf grasses like Perennial Ryegrass, Kentucky Bluegrass, Tall Fescue, and Bent Grass, are actively growing in the fall, so it’s time to aerate.
In Conclusion
Metal Hose Valve-Amazon.com
The lawn will be healthier due to aeration. Just time it according to the type of turfgrass you have for best results.
Yard Butler Manual Lawn Coring Aerator – Amazon.com
What I use
Yard Butler ITJ-2C Grass Root Irrigator-Amazon.com
I use an aerator that I picked up at a garage sale. I can say that was a good day for me when I added the aerator to my garden tool arsenal. My aerator uses a garden hose to create the channels in the turfgrass. It has two prongs with holes that allow the water to dig into the dirt. My yard has large old maple trees. My turf grass has lots of tree roots and needs aeration once per year. I added an inline hose valve so that I can control the water as I aerate the lawn.
How I use it
It doesn’t take much to get the channels dug with the aerator. I turn on the water and stick the aerator in the ground. There is a strap between the two prongs and I place my foot there and rock the aerator back and forth until it is all the way into the ground with the strap firmly on the ground. I rock the aerator out of the ground and move 6-8″ and repeat the cycle. If I should hit a tree root(usually with one prong) I rotate the aerator prong that hit the root slightly and try again.
I like the way this aerator leaves the lawn. There are no plugs cut out of the lawn and left on top. The dirt washed out of the channels is deposited on the surface below the grass level. So there is no gopher mound effect. Also, since water cut the channels, the earth is well saturated after aeration and becomes softer underfoot quickly.
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