Now that September is over and October is just beginning, it’s time to start scheduling your fall core aeration appointment. Core aeration is a great way to help feed your lawn before it goes into dormancy for the winter in order to promote lush and full grass come spring. If your grass is looking thin or yellowed, your soil is hard to the touch or develops puddles during rainstorms, you may have compaction problems. It’s easy to test for compaction yourself with a simple test. Take a regular screwdriver and stick it into your soil by hand. It should slide in fairly easily, but if it is difficult to get the screwdriver in more than an inch, your soil is compacted. Read on to learn more about how aeration can help reduce compaction and benefit your lawn.
What is Core Aeration?
Healthy lawns all have one major thing in common: air pockets within the soil. While it may seem counterintuitive, these pockets are essential for allowing a healthy root system to develop. As soil is compacted by things like foot traffic or a thick layer of thatch, these air pockets are reduced or eliminated. This can lead to issues like moss or weed growth, as well as stunted grass growth.
Core aeration is a type of lawn aeration that relies on a machine called a lawn aerator. This machine removes small plugs or “cores” of soil from your lawn, as well as thatch, to reduce compassion in order to allow more air to get into your soil. It also creates a channel through with water and nutrients can get under your grass to feed it at the roots. While there are other ways to aerate your lawn, these methods often create cores that are too small for maximum penetration. By using a lawn aerator, we are able to remove plugs that are ½ to ¾ of an inch in diameter, providing maximum access for water, air, and fertilizer.
Performing a core aeration on your lawn can help solve many different types of common lawn problems. It can eliminate moss that is growing in areas with poor drainage due to compaction, as well as help grass regrow stronger in areas where it was previously struggling to survive.
When is the Best Time to do Core Aeration?
For the cool-season grasses most common in our area, core aeration is best done right now in early fall. If you are growing a warm-season grass, core aeration is best done during mid-spring to early summer.
If you’re ready to have your core aeration done, give us a call to set up an appointment. As always, we are here to help you with any lawn or landscaping questions you may have!
LibertyLawn@gmail.com / 402.423.0061
3810 Cornhusker Hwy, Lincoln, NE 68504 / PO Box