Aeration is the process of loosening up your soil so oxygen and other essentials can flow more freely into it.
Let’s get to the root of the problem you may be facing… your grass is not as green or thick as you want it to be which is causing weeds to appear? The problem could be lying in the soil that your grass is growing on? Grass has to have a good root system in order to grow. That is why we believe that good lawn care starts with the roots. By adding aeration practices to your lawn program you are opening up the opportunity for your root system to breathe and thrive on its own even better.
Living in the Jackson metro area means that you probably have a compacted clay soil underneath your grass whether you know it or not. Clay soils are a part of our soil structure in this area and can affect the way our grass grows. Aeration is one of the best ways to help alter our soil environment. Not only does soil aeration help reduce soil compaction in clay soils but it also helps open up the root zone system to allow the roots and microorganisms living in the soil to get the air and nutrients it needs to thrive in the soil it is growing in. By adding spring and/or fall aeration to our Weed Control and Fertilization program you allow your lawn to have the best growing environment possible to be thick and healthy.
Do you need help deciding if lawn aeration is the thing your lawn needs? Here are some questions to ask yourself.
Are there parts of my lawn that seem patchy and not as thick as other spots in the lawn? Underneath your sod could be patches of leftover construction materials or concrete that were not removed but simply just graded over by a soil leveler and now your grass roots are trying to grow in this environment.
Do you live in a neighborhood that had extensive dirt work completed or added to the area during the construction process in order to build the foundation for your home and lawn? Most often this is the case we see in this area where the existing organic soil layer has been stripped away leaving the hard clay soil layer that is underneath creating an environment that is not as suitable for growing good grass.
Is your lawn growing on a hardpan? Is the ground so hard that even at times it’s hard to get a shovel to dig? If so then your grass roots feel the same way trying to grow their roots to deeper soil.
When is the best time to aerate?
Aeration can be done any time of year but is most effective in the spring and fall.
In fact, we strongly suggest to our customers that we perform aeration in the spring to ensure proper root growth. This timing also allows the soil to breathe and absorb all the fertilizers that we’ll be applying soon after.
Which aerification approach is best for you?
Core Aeration or Liquid Aerification?
Core aeration is the most well-known type of aeration and is also known as mechanical aeration. The process involves using a machine to pull plugs of soil from your lawn and pulling them to the top of the ground to help break up the compacted soil and allowing more air pockets in the soil layer. Core aeration creates a more immediate result to your lawn than liquid aerification but leaves plug holes in your lawn that can be unsightly. Core aeration lasts for a shorter time period than liquid aerification so therefore it needs to be done more often to get the same results throughout the season. One downside to core aeration is that any pipes or underground wiring could be hit by the aerator and then have to be fixed later.
Liquid aerification is a much cleaner and safer approach and feeds the soil microbes in the soil which enhances the fertility of your lawn. Liquid aerification provides better long term root and grass growth over the course of the growing season. By feeding the microbes in the soil you create a better growing environment for the turf so that it is better able to grow on its own and grow deeper roots. Instead of just poking holes in the ground you are using specific nutrients that the soil needs to help open up the soil so that it can respond better to water and fertilizers.
Want to find out more about aeration then contact us today.