Lawn Aeration

Is your lawn a good candidate for aeration?

Lawn aeration, or adding small holes that perforate the soil, allows air, water and nutrients to penetrate the grass roots. This leads to a healthier, more lush looking lawn. Here at Yard Smart we’re often asked by our clients if they should be aerating their lawn. While every lawn will benefit from aeration, your lawn may be a particularly good candidate for lawn aeration if it:

• Gets a lot of use and foot traffic, for example from kids or pets running around and playing
• Has compacted soil, for example from construction activities or heavy machinery
• Isn’t growing properly, even after the use of fertilizer 
• Is prone to soil layering, meaning that finer-textured soil is layered over more coarse soil which can lead to problems with drainage, compacted growing conditions and poor root development
• Has a sponge-like feel or dries out easily, which could mean you lawn has an excessive thatch issue

As mentioned, even if you aren’t noticing any of the above symptoms, every lawn will benefit from regular lawn aeration. Yard Smart typically recommends aerating your lawn once a year for healthy lawns and at least twice a year for lawns with the above symptoms.

Benefits of lawn aeration

Aerating your lawn has a number of benefits, including:

• Improved grass health as the root zone will have better access to air, water and key nutrients.
• Reduced thatch buildup. While thatch, or organic matter like leaves, grass clippings and flowers, is useful in moderate amounts, if the layer is too thick it can form a barrier between the soil and air, water and nutrients. Aeration can help fix this.
• Released pressure from compacted soil, allowing soil density to decrease and air, water and nutrients to reach the root system.
• Less water runoff and puddling. If you are noticing pools of water or pudding in your lawn after a rainfall, aeration may help.

Aerating and overseeding for success

We often recommend pairing lawn aeration with overseeding to promote thick grass cover of your lawn. Aeration allows for air, water and nutrients to perforate into your soil and promote healthier and deeper root growth. Overseeding a lawn after it has been aerated allows an easy channel for seed to penetrate the soil, ensuring optimal seed-to-soil contact. Pairing these two services gives your grass its best chance of growing thick, healthy and strong.

Work with us for your lawn aeration needs

Whether you’re looking to just have your lawn aerated or combine it with another treatment, like overseeding, our professional lawn care experts can help. We have the right equipment and know the do’s and don’ts of lawn aeration and overseeding, including the correct techniques based on soil condition, time of year and more. You can rest assured that Yard Smart offers treatments and strategies designed specifically for your landscaping goals and current yard conditions, so that you’ll see optimal results that last all season long.