Lawn Aeration - Aerating the lawn
What is lawn aeration?
Lawn aeration is the process of creating air channels in your lawn
so that air can freely pass into the soil and circulate around the
grass roots. This aeration is achieved by either a) removing small
cylinder shaped cores about 0.5cm wide and 5-10cm deep (similar to
the idea of coring an apple) , this is known as core aeration.
b) creating aeration channels by inserting solid spikes (such as the
tines of a garden fork) into the soil. This form of aeration can give
rise to soil compaction and so
Why do we need to aerate the lawn?
Over time the soil that the lawn grows on can become compacted
due to a number of reasons such as use for sports, walking, vehicles,
parking and children playing. This soil compaction can have a negative
effect on your lawn. The damage to your lawn from soil compaction
results from the pore spaces within the soil becoming smaller and
this leads to both a reduced amount of air held in the soil, restricted
air flow and reduced water infiltration into the soil. These results
of soil compaction are damaging to a lawns health.
Reduced air levels and restricted air circulation in the soil means
that the grass roots are less able to take up oxygen. Reduced soil
pore space also leads reduced levels of nutrient uptake from the
soil. Oxygen is a vital input into a plants growth cycle. If the
ability of water to infiltrate the soil is limited by soil compaction
then the water will not infiltrate as deeply into the soil as normal,
this means the lawns roots will not develop as deeply and so the
lawn will be more at risk from drought and other environmental stresses.
Soil compaction also means there is greater resistance against the
roots as they try to develop to greater depths. Poor development
of roots below the soil will result in a poor lawn condition above
the soil.
There are other factors besides soil compaction that may give us
reason to aerate our lawn. If our lawn contains a considerable build
up of thatch then we can use core aeration to help break down the
thatch. This process occurs as the cores of soi that are left on
the lawn surface by core aeration introduce soil micro organisms
into the thatch layer. These micro organisms breakdown the layer
of thatch and return nutrients to the soil.
Lawn aeration may be necessary on heavy clay soils to help soil
air circulation and water filtration.
How does lawn aeration benefit my lawn?
Lawn aeration has a number of benefits including:
- The increased water, oxygen and nutrient uptake by the grass
roots
- Improved development of roots to greater soil depths
- Enhancing water infiltration into the soil and to greater depths
- Encouraging the breakdown and decomposition of thatch by soil
microorganisms
- Helps prevent the loss of valuable fertilisers due to run off
from compacted areas
Does my lawn need aerating?
How can we tell if our lawn needs aerating? The simplest way to
determine this is to remove a section of turf from the edge of the
lawn to the depth of a spade. If the roots of the grass are only
reaching and inch or two from the soil surface then your soil is
potentially compacted and could benefit from aeration. If you know
which grass type your lawn is then you should be able to determine
the normal depth that the roots should develop to.
How do I aerate the lawn?
Lawn aeration can be carried out by hand or with the aid or a lawn
aerator machine. Lawn aeration should be carried out once a year
and should be carried out at the beginning of the lawns growing
season, early spring in the UK. There will be less competition for
light, water and soil resources from weeds at this point in the
growing season.
When should I avoid aerating the lawn?
If you have sown a new lawn from seed then do not aerate it in its
first year of growth. If you have a lawn that receives no significant
compacting influences and you have aerated it recently then there
may be no need to aerate it every year.
You should also avoid aerating the lawn after periods of heavy
rainfall when the soil is wet through. This is because wet soil
will stick in the ‘cores’ of the aerator and so the
coring action of the aerator is greatly impeded.
A moist soil is suitable for using the aerator on so thoroughly
water the lawn a few days before you intend to aerate it.