Why aerate?
Aeration gets more oxygen, nutrients, and water to the grass roots - all the things needed to get a thick and healthy lawn. Aerate your lawn once a year especially if your lawn gets a lot of use from pets, play or entertaining.
What is Aeration?
Aeration is the removal of small plugs of soil from your lawn. Aeration alleviates soil compaction.
Did you install sod this year?
Wait a full year before aerating after a sod install.
When should I aerate my lawn?
The ideal time to aerate is in the growing season. For a cool-season grass like our Durablend Tall Fescue or Kentucky Blue Grass, you will want to aerate in the early spring or fall. With warm-season grass like Tahoma 31 or Zoysia you should aerate in the late spring.
How do I aerate my lawn?
You can hire a lawn service to do it for you or you can rent the machine and do it yourself.
Aeration is easier when the lawn is moist. Apply 1" of water the day before you plan to aerate.
Make two passes over your lawn and make more passes over areas that are highly compacted. Change the direction of your passes.
Leave the plugs of soil on your lawn, they will break down.
Once you've completed aerating make sure to water the lawn. Now is a great time to apply soil conditioner. We recommend Jonathan Green's Love Your Soil.
Are you getting ready to seed and fertilize? Check out our lawn calendars for cool-season grass and warm-season grass.