There are several ways to aerate your lawn with a variety of soil aeration tools such as aerator shoes and gas-powered machines, but with whichever method you choose, your soil will be perforated with small holes to penetrate the roots.
Why Aerate Your Lawn?
Over time, soil tends to compact and become hard due to foot traffic, mowing, clay soil, or poor drainage. This prevents water, oxygen, and nutrients from reaching the hungry roots. As a result, the turf becomes thin, pale, or patchy. Lawn aeration—a process of making holes in the turf—breaks up hard soil so that water and nutrients penetrate the grass roots more easily. There are two basic types of lawn aerators:
Spike aerators, which simply poke holes into the soilPlug aerators, which actually remove a plug of soil and grass
Both break up hardened soil, but lawn plug aerators are more effective.
When to Aerate the Lawn
The best time to use aerating lawn tools depends on the type of grass you have. Cool-season grasses, such as fescue, bluegrass, or ryegrass, should be aerated in early spring or early fall. Warm-season turf, including Bermuda grass, zoysia, or St. Augustine, does best with aeration in the late spring. Whatever your type of grass, do not aerate the lawn within one year of planting seed or sod.
How to Aerate a Lawn by Hand
Large stretches of turf require gas-powered aerator tools, but if you have a fairly small patch of grass, a handheld (or footheld) aerator will work. There are several types of manual aerators.
Powered Types of Aerators
For larger lawns, or if you prefer to spare your back, gas-powered aerators make the job relatively quick and easy. These heavy-duty aerators usually remove plugs of soil and grass, which is the best method of lawn aeration. Lawn aerator rental is available at many garden centers or home improvement stores.
The Basics of Aerating a Lawn
Whatever type of yard aerator you choose, the basics of how to aerate a lawn are the same.
A few days before you aerate the lawn, mow it to about half its usual height, and then water it well. Rake up any fallen leaves or debris. Mark the locations of sprinklers with marking flags or chalk. Aerate the lawn using your chosen tool. If it’s a spike aerator, make at least two passes over the lawn, each in a different direction. If using a plug aerator, just one pass is needed. Leave any soil plugs on the lawn; they will return nutrients to the soil as they decompose. Fertilize your lawn or apply a top dressing of compost. This is also a good time to reseed any bare patches. Return to watering and mowing your grass on its regular schedule.
To keep your grass looking its best, make sure you aerate annually in addition to watering, fertilizing, and weeding on a regular schedule.
