Michigan summers can be tough on our lawns. Soil compaction, drought, and high heat cause stress and damage to even the healthiest of lawns, over time. However, there is a way to restore your grass to the health and beauty that it had at the beginning of the summer: lawn aeration.
What is lawn aeration?
Lawn aeration, or core aeration, is the lawn care process of pulling up plugs of soil and redistributing them across the lawn. This process is important to maintaining the health and beauty of your lawn for years to come. But, does your lawn need to be aerated right now? We’ve put together a list of telltale signs that your lawn needs a little help.
Signs that you need to aerate your lawn:
- Compacted soil: Check with a screwdriver if the soil in your lawn is hard and compacted.
- Pooling water: Look for pooling water after a rainstorm.
- Too much thatch: You never want a layer of thatch that’s more than one inch thick.
- Spongy grass: Grass that feels spongy underfoot may mean that your layer of thatch is too thick.
What are the benefits of lawn aeration?
After a while, soil in your lawn becomes compacted and thatch builds up to the point where it can harm your grass. Thatch is a layer of grass clippings and organic matter that form a barrier at the base of your grass. When that layer builds up and is more than one inch thick, then you have a thatch problem. Aerating your lawn can alleviate this problem, among many other benefits.
Some of the benefits of aerating your lawn include:
- Reduce thatch build-up: Excess thatch can block your grass from absorbing water and nutrients.
- Reduce soil compaction: pulling cores of soil out will help reduce soil compaction and allow the roots to spread out.
- Stronger root system: Roots will be able to grow deeper, strengthening your lawn.
- Access to water, air, and nutrients: Relieving soil compaction allows more access to the air, water, and fertilizer that your grass needs.
When is the best time to aerate?
Now that you know what it is, what the benefits are, and what signs to look out for, it’s time to think about when is the best time to aerate a lawn. Aerating a lawn should be done once a year or, at least, once every other year. It should only be done during the growing season for your grass as this will allow your lawn to recover quickly after the service.
Here in Michigan, we have cool-season grasses with a growing season in the spring and fall. This means that here in Michigan, late summer or early fall is the best time to aerate your lawn. A fall core aeration service will help strengthen the roots of your lawn before the frigid Michigan winter rears its head and will also help set your lawn up for success, next spring. Planning ahead is always a good idea, and it’s never too early to start planning for your fall lawn care.
Before you aerate…
Fall is a great time to aerate your lawn, but choosing the time isn’t the only thing to consider when planning this fall lawn care service. Make sure you mark off the areas where your sprinkler heads are and any electric dog fences. This will help your lawn care technicians safely navigate your lawn.
It’s also a good idea to ensure there is enough moisture in the soil before aerating. Watering the lawn a couple of days before will ensure the tines of the aerator machine can safely penetrate the soil.
Call in the professionals
If you want to ensure you have a healthy lawn going into the brutal Michigan winter, then look into aeration services from Custom Personalized Lawn Care. Get golf course-quality turf in your very own backyard.
