When your Moreland Hills, OH, lawn is not thriving but you are doing all the right things as far as you know, the problem could be that you are not having your lawn aerated annually. Here are the reasons why landscape companies recommend yearly lawn aeration.
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What is aeration?
A lawn service recommends using a machine called an aerator which pulls small plugs out of the soil at regular intervals. The soil then decomposes and falls back to the ground leaving the tiny hole where air, water, and sunlight can reach the roots of the grass.
Soil can become compacted by heavy foot traffic, parking vehicles on it, and even pets compact the soil when they run the same route over and over. Eventually your soil becomes hard and the rain no longer penetrates well which affects the roots and blades of your grass.
When should aeration happen?
The two best times to have your landscaper aerate the lawn are in the early fall when the grass is at its peak growing time and early spring when the grass has just started to grow again. Ideally, aeration should happen after a soaking rain so that the soil is soft and easy to pierce with the aerator.
Your lawn service should aerate the grass once a year to achieve peak performance and health for your grass. In this way your soil rarely becomes compacted in such a way that it affects the way your lawn grows and thrives.
How should your lawn care service aerate the grass?
A very small lawn can be done with a walking aerator but the vast majority of lawns require the use of aerator machines. The machine can be the type that they pull behind a lawn mower or it can be tractor-style.
There are three types of aerators. The spike aerator pierces the ground and leaves a sharp hole in the soil. The slicer style aerator operates like slicing knives into the soil, leaving long slices where the soil, water, and air can reach the roots. The core aerator is used most often and lifts small plugs of dirt from the ground. The depth of the holes can vary, causing the roots to get more nutrients and exposure to the sun, water, and oxygen.
Once the soil is aerated, your landscaper can then plant grass seed that falls into the small holes and grows roots for fresh grass.
What happens after they aerate?
The soil plugs disintegrate back in the earth while the seed that was spread over the yard has a chance to grow roots before the dormant winter months or before the sun becomes too hot.
Aeration can be an easy task for your landscape service to overlook but this is not wise. Forgetting to aerate the soil can result in grass disease or pest infestations since the grass is not healthy and lush. Plus, the best way to combat weeds is to nurture a healthy stand of grass.
Other factors that can stress your grass can be the extreme cold of winter and the hot, dry summers where the lawn can easily dry out. Aeration helps to protect the health of your soil and grass, keeping it from being compromised by disease and other problems.
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