4 Questions Answered About Aeration
Knowing how to keep your lawn in a healthy condition can be the difference between a lush, green lawn and one that is dried out and struggling to survive. Lawn care in Texas can be a challenging task and it’s important to utilize as many procedures as possible to keep your lawn healthy. One very effective procedure you can perform on your lawn is called aeration. To determine if your lawn is a candidate, read on to understand some of the most common questions about aeration and its use.
What is Aeration?
Aeration is the process of using specialized equipment to remove cores of soil or to puncture the soil with large spikes. The intent is to increase the breathability of soil that has compacted over time and results in better drainage, airflow, and nutrient flow. This process will help remove tough areas in the lawn and stimulate root growth.
When Should I Aerate My Lawn?
There are a few tell-tale signs that your lawn can benefit from aeration procedures. If your lawn is often utilized by people, pets, or even vehicles, then there is a good chance that your lawn’s soil is highly compacted. If your lawn was established during the recent construction of a property, then it is likely that the topsoil was buried and the soil beneath was heavily compacted with construction and foot traffic on the property.
To find out for sure, use a shovel to dig out a small sample slice of dirt a few inches deep. Analyze the dirt to determine how much thatch is present in the slice. Thatch is the layer of both dead and living stems, root systems and blades that have built up over time. If this layer exceeds one-half inch, then you may want to consider aeration for your lawn. You can always contact a lawn care specialist to professionally evaluate the state of your lawn.
What Kind of Aeration Tools Are There?
The two most common types of aeration tools are plug aerators and spike aerators, which are differentiated by tine that they use. Plug aerators use hollow tines and spike aerators use solid tines. Hollow tines will pull a cylindrical core of soil out of the ground and leave a hole to aerate the remaining soil and reduce compaction. Solid tines will simply poke a small hole into the ground.
Poking holes, rather than removing entire cores, can be less effective and it runs the risk of compacting the surrounding soil. Plug aerating tools that use hollow tines to extract cores of about 2-3 inches is the most preferred of the two tools. Your local lawn care company, Impact Landscapes, has this tool readily available to aerate your lawn and help it become as healthy as possible.
What’s the Best Way to Make Sure My Lawn is Aerated Correctly?
If you want to make sure that your home or business lawn is aerated professionally, then you should contact a local specialist who can determine if aeration is needed on your property. Lawn care in Texas is not always easy, but there are specialists available who already have the know-how to keep your lawn in good condition. Landscaping and lawn care specialist, Impact Landscapes can help you get on the right path to making sure your lawn is properly taken care of. #aeration #lawncare #landscape #landscapedesign #impactlandscape #impact #erikdavenport #texas