The Benefits Of Lawn Aeration Useful Tips For Aerating Your Lawn

Aeration reduces the soil's density and improves the air exchange between the soil and atmosphere. When the soil is too compacted, it deprives your turf's roots of necessary air circulation. Aeration unclogs the compacted soil, which reduces dead spots, patches, and thinning caused by root “suffocation”.

Does aeration really help your lawn?

Why Aerating Helps Lawns

When soil becomes compacted, even slightly, it inhibit the flow of the essentials that support thicker, healthier turf growth. ... 1 Aeration creates holes down into the soil to alleviate compaction so air, water and nutrients can reach grass roots.

How often should you do lawn aeration?

How Frequently Should You Aerate Your Lawn? As for frequency, Friell said aeration should be performed at least once per year on most lawns. Lawns with compacted soil or soil with high clay content may benefit from aeration twice annually.

What should I do before and after aerating my lawn?

Lawn care after aeration is important, and luckily, it's relatively straightforward.

Leave the soil plugs on the lawn to decompose and filter back into the holes left by the aeration machine. ...
Apply fertilizer immediately after aerating your lawn to put nutrients into your grass roots.

What is the importance of aeration?

The process of aeration involves drilling small holes through your lawn into the soil below with the purpose of allowing air, water, and nutrients to pass through to the grassroots. Aeration helps your grass' roots grow deeper and ultimately produces a stronger, more healthy lawn.

Can you just sprinkle grass seed on lawn?

If you simply toss the grass seed onto the soil, you will end up with poor germination. ... Next, you can use a lawn spreader to put down the grass seed. Very little soil is actually needed to cover the seeds, typically about ¼- inch, so simple raking will do the trick.

Can you aerate too much?

How often to aerate? The common advice here is once every one to three years. ... Especially thick types of grass may also call for aerating more frequently. As a general rule, you shouldn't need to aerate more than once a year at any time ("too much of a good thing" applies here, since you don't want to damage your soil).

How do I know if my lawn needs aeration?

10 Signs It's Time To Aerate & Seed Your Lawn

It's Fall or Spring. The fall is the perfect season to aerate and seed your lawn. ...
Puddles. Puddles are an indication of compacted soil. ...
Worn Areas. Patches in the yard? ...
Inability to Moisten. ...
Thinning Grass. ...
Discolored Areas. ...
Uniformly Thin and Dull. ...
Yard Stopped Growing.

Does Spike aeration work?

While you can buy spiked shoes touted for aerating lawns you won't achieve much aeration using them. Spiked shoes don't work because they impact too small an area and further compact already compacted soil. University studies have shown you can use spiked shoes to kill Grubs.

Should you top dress after aeration?

After aerating, it's time for top dressing: spread either pulverized top soil or a good quality humus compost across the lawn. You don't need much—about a quarter inch or so is adequate. Then, go ahead and reseed. Be sure to invest some money in the seed and get good quality, weed-free seed.

Is it OK to mow after aeration?

Mow the lawn before you aerate it. Don't mow the lawn for at least a week after aerating it. Make sure you know where all your sprinklers and pop-ups are otherwise you might damage them. It's a good idea to water the lawn before aerating it because aeration is most effective when the soil is slightly moist.

Should I fertilize lawn after aerating?

Within 48 hours after you aerate you should over seed, fertilize, and water your lawn. The seed, fertilizer, and water will have the best chance to get down into the holes made by the aerator if applied soon after aeration. ... If the fertilizer contains weed control, your grass seed won't germinate properly.

Should I water my lawn after aerating?

Your lawn's watering needs immediately after aeration and overseeding are going to be a bit different than what you might be used to. Your lawn is going to require less water but more frequently. You need to keep the soil moist but you don't want to water for too long.

What is MLSS in aeration tank?

Mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) is the concentration of suspended solids, in an aeration tank during the activated sludge process, which occurs during the treatment of waste water. ... Mixed liquor is a combination of raw or unsettled wastewater or pre-settled wastewater and activated sludge within an aeration tank.

How do I increase bacteria in my aeration tank?

Add fixed-film media to the aeration tank environment to increase the biomass concentration. Place additional aeration tanks into service to adequately process organic loadings. aeration tank has properly performed its function. The focus now moves towards separating the bacteria from the clean water in the clarifier.

Does aeration remove chlorine?

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Chlorine is volatile and will naturally dissipate in open ponds, but aeration will speed up the process considerably. Aeration does not work for chloramine, however, which is a less volatile additive used by some municipal water authorities. You'll need to add a dechlorination agent as well.

What month is best to put grass seed down?

Several distinct advantages make fall the best time to plant cool-season grass seed. In early autumn, the soil is still warm from months of summer sun. This combination of warm soil, moderate day temperatures and cool evenings encourages fast germination and establishment of newly sown cool-season grass seed.

How do I make my lawn thicker?

Improve Your Soil. To get the most out of every step to a thicker lawn, take a tip from lawn pros and test your soil. ...
Overseed. Overseeding is simply sowing grass seed into existing grass to make thin lawns thick—or keep them from getting thin. ...
Fertilize. ...
Boost Your Lawn. ...
Irrigate. ...
Mow Properly. ...
Control Weeds.

What is the best thing to put over grass seed?

Straw is one of the most commonly used materials for covering newly planted grass seed. It's a budget-friendly option, but it's important to choose a variety relatively free of seeds that may produce weeds in your yard. Oat, wheat and barley straw are effective options.

Should I mow before or after aeration?

Before you aerate, mow your lawn low (Timberline lawn experts recommend setting your mower to about 1.5-2 inches above the ground to maximize the effectiveness of aerating, being sure to not scalp the crown of the grass.) You will want to water one to three days before aerating.

Which is better a spike or plug aerator?

Plug aerators are usually more effective at relieving compaction in lawns with a heavy clay soil since the solid tines used on spike aerators compact the clay soil further when they push into the ground. ... Soils that crumble easily are usually high in loam and sand which benefit more from the use of a spike aerator.

Is Dethatching better than aerating?

So should you dethatch or aerate? Core aerating not only breaks up thatch buildup but also relieves compacted soil. Dethatching mostly loosens the top layer of soil and also removes the layer of debris (dead grass) from the soil. Dethatching can really help when overseeding your lawn.