What is Lawn Aeration

Aerating is the procedure of getting air into the lawn soil. De-compaction relieves the pressure between soil particles so they are less dense. For all intents and purposes they are the same and result in getting more air in to the soil. It is these air spaces that partially fill up and store the rain water for use by the grass.

What does aeration actually do for the lawn?

Aeration relieves compaction by allowing air, rain, and nutrients to penetrate a hard surface, improving bacterial activity and helping reduce thatch. It also improves drainage from the surface, increases the water-holding capacity, and stimulates rooting and root depth, giving a more drought-tolerant lawn. If your lawn suffers from premature drying, poor drainage, or moss invasion, then aeration will help.

Does having an old lawn matter?

However, if the lawn is old (20 years plus) and hasn't been aerated, the compaction will be so severe that aeration will not cure the problem. In this instance, the only remedy is to dig over the lawn and soil to a depth of at least 15cm. This aerates the soil and removes the compaction, enabling you to create a new lawn with all the benefits of ease of care and improved health and looks that that brings.

Tips for aeration depending on your soil type

On light clay soils right through to very sandy soils, you’ll be doing a worthwhile job with aeration. The ‘squeezing’ effect is minimised due to the fact the soil contains some sandy particles, and they get nicely agitated, increasing the amount of air and, therefore, partially relieving compaction. This is not the same for sticky or heavy clay soils.

Here, the ‘squeezing’ effect just moves the compaction problem with no discernable benefit. For these types of soil, ‘coring’ using a hollow tine aerator is more appropriate. This is where hundreds or thousands of cores (or plugs) about 2” long and ½” in diameter are removed from the lawn surface. Unfortunately, the soil that benefits the most, sticky and heavy clays, quite often blocks the aerator, rendering it useless.

The only type of hollow tine aerator that seems to manage to do a reasonable job for jobs like this is the petrol-powered drum aerator, which can be hired. It is also beneficial to hollow tine other soils, though you may be wasting your time with very sandy soils where spiking is going to be the better method.

How aeration affects the grass on your lawn:

Spiking the lawn is a common way to relieve compaction

Spiking is a common method of lawn aeration. However, if you stick a fork or use a lawn spiker or aerator on your lawn, you may make a hole, but where has the soil at the sides gone? The fork has squeezed it out of the way, thereby compacting it more! Is it worth doing? Well, it depends on the type of soil you have on your lawn!