Some lawn care results are obvious: If you don’t mow your lawn, it grows really tall and ticks off your neighbors.
If you don’t use weed control, you’ll see lots of weeds. Lots.
But what happens if you skip lawn aeration?
Jump to Section
- First, Lawn Aerating Basics
- How Do Different Lawn Aeration Methods Help?
- Which Method Is Better for Lawn Care Results?
- You Have a Bunch of Holes in Your Lawn: Bring on Grass Seed
- What Does Aeration Do for Your Yard?
- DIY Lawn Aeration vs Pro
- Aeration Bottom Line: When Will You See Lawn Care Results?
- Get Great Lawn Care Results With Lawn Buddies
Do you really need to aerate your lawn? If you want the greenest, thickest, healthiest lawn, yes, aeration really helps.
What does aeration do for your yard? It loosens the soil so that important water, oxygen, and nutrients can actually reach the roots. It breaks up thatch, that suffocating layer of dead grass that builds up over time. It keeps weeds out by encouraging grass that’s thick and healthy — no room for weeds.
Keep reading to learn more about lawn aeration.
First, Lawn Aerating Basics
The main reason a lawn needs aeration is to help loosen up compacted soil.
Why does soil get compacted?
Over time, your lawn naturally gets compacted. Life happens out there. Kids run around kicking soccer balls. Dogs race from tree to tree chasing dastardly squirrels. Your lawnmower is heavy, and it’s out there every week.
Meanwhile, your soil, which should be loose and fluffy, gets denser and harder.
That’s not good. Imagine your lawn’s roots down below, trying to get the oxygen, water and fertilizer they need to thrive. Compacted soil prevents that.
Healthy soil has about 25 percent air and 25 percent water, but compaction squeezes these out, making it a real challenge for roots to grow.
Do you have a lot of clay in your soil? Double trouble. Clay soil compacts more easily than loose, sandy soil.
Without aeration, your compacted lawn can become weakened and thin over time.
Sometimes your lawn will tell you it’s compacted. (It’s OK if you don’t speak lawn.) If you feel like you’re doing everything right, giving your lawn plenty of water and fertilizer, but it’s still thin or patchy, compacted soil might be to blame.
How Do Different Lawn Aeration Methods Help?
Aeration makes the soil looser and airier, allowing crucial water, fertilizer, and oxygen to reach the roots. You’ll see real lawn care results.
There are two methods of lawn aeration, and here at Lawn Buddies, we use both:
Core Lawn Aeration
Core aeration uses a machine to physically remove cores of soil throughout your lawn, creating channels for air, water, and nutrients to penetrate.
Liquid Lawn Aeration
The liquid method involves applying a liquid solution to your lawn using a sprayer. An organic mix of chemicals is applied to your lawn that breaks down the spongy thatch layer and allows your lawn’s roots to breathe.
(Thatch is that layer of dead grass and other debris that builds up over time between your grass blades and the soil. Too much of it prevents essential air and water from reaching your lawn’s roots.)
Liquid lawn aeration loosens the soil from within without physically removing soil plugs the way traditional core aeration does.
Which Method Is Better for Lawn Care Results?
It depends. Dillon Beardall, fertilizer manager at Lawn Buddies, often prefers the liquid method over traditional core aeration, as long as the soil isn't super compacted and there are no thick layers of thatch.
Those liquid nutrients build up in your soil over time, Beardall says, conditioning it and encouraging deeper roots for a healthier lawn.
But if you’re planning to follow up that lawn aeration with seeding, as pros often recommend, a core aerator offers the best aeration results, he says, as all those holes created by the aerator are perfect spots for the grass seed to drop into and take hold for good seed to soil contact. (More on seeding in a bit.)
Core lawn aeration is also the better option if your lawn’s soil is highly compacted due to years of neglect or you have significant thatch buildup.
Lawn core aeration benefits yards with slopes or hillsides. Mechanical aeration during spring and fall is ideal for these areas because it helps retain water, preventing quick runoff and puddling at the bottom.
We recommend this for sloped properties, as it helps conserve water and reduces the risk of overwatering.
You Have a Bunch of Holes in Your Lawn: Bring On Grass Seed
All those perfectly spaced holes the aerator leaves behind are ideal homes for a fresh batch of grass seed, helping to fill in bare spots and make your lawn thicker and healthier.
Aeration and seeding are popular lawn care services in Boise and Idaho Falls. But if you just want lawn aeration, that’s beneficial, too.
Here at Lawn Buddies, we perform aeration in both spring and fall. However, if you opt for the smart combination of aeration and overseeding, fall is the ideal season for this lawn booster.
Why fall?
- Fewer weed seeds are blowing around in the fall that can settle into the aeration holes and grow. You want pretty green grass, not ugly weeds.
- Lawn aeration and seeding in the fall give the new grass time to grow and store nutrients before it becomes dormant for the winter.
The weather here in Idaho is nice and cool in the fall, which is perfect for germinating and growing new grass seed.
Fall is often rainy, so you get the advantage of free watering to encourage that new grass to grow.
What Does Aeration Do For Your Yard?
Do you really need to aerate your lawn? Aeration has quite a few benefits, and if you skip this handy lawn booster, you won’t see any of them.
When your soil is compacted, your lawn’s roots can't stretch out deeply into the soil. Lawn aeration gives them room to grow. You need deep, strong roots for the best lawn care results.
That hard, dense soil keeps important water from soaking in to reach your lawn’s thirsty roots. Water just sits on the surface, pooling or running off. Aeration lets that valuable water soak in.
You’re spending time and money to fertilize, but compacted soil doesn’t let those important nutrients reach your lawn’s roots. Lawn aeration allows your grass to absorb the crucial nutrients it needs.
Remember thatch? Lawn aeration helps that suffocating thatch decompose, allowing oxygen, nutrients, and moisture to reach your lawn’s roots.
Aeration loosens up your soil, encouraging it to grow thick and healthy. You’ll love that. But weeds hate it. They prefer thin, weak grass, with plenty of room to move in and do their ugly thing.
When your lawn is thick, with no extra space between the blades of grass, there’s no room for weeds to sneak in.
DIY Lawn Aeration vs Professional Services
Maybe you’re the DIY type, and you like the idea of tackling this lawn task yourself.
Is DIY lawn aeration worth it? It depends on which method you choose.
Liquid aeration? No sweat. This is a relatively easy homeowner task, which can be accomplished using a handheld sprayer or a backpack sprayer. You can buy aeration liquid at the home and garden store for about $35 for 32 ounces, which covers 8,000 square feet.
Stroll and spray. Plenty of time for something fun when you’re finished.
Core aeration? Actual sweat. The machine weighs 300 pounds or more. You can rent one, but you’ll need a truck or trailer to transport it. You can’t exactly toss it in the back seat.
It’s cumbersome, and you’ll have to maneuver across your lawn. Warn your muscles - they’ll feel this.
Is this really how you want to spend your Saturday?
Leave the core aeration to the pros. Lawn care services in Boise and Idaho Falls utilize the right equipment, keep it well-maintained, and arrive at exactly the right time of year to ensure your lawn receives what it needs to thrive.
Aeration Bottom Line: When Will You See Lawn Care Results?
Expect to see new grass seed pop up in 2-4 weeks.
Avoid walking on your lawn until the new grass is well established. Go easy on the mowing so those seedlings don’t get squashed. And keep the new seed watered lightly and frequently.
Then, celebrate your healthier and better-looking lawn.
Get Great Lawn Care Results With Lawn Buddies
Do you really need to aerate your lawn? Do you want the best-looking lawn possible? Give aeration a try.
But don’t stop there. A healthy lawn takes a lot of time, knowledge and care.
Why not leave it to the pros? A proactive, comprehensive lawn care program is designed to nourish your lawn throughout the year with everything it needs to grow healthy and strong.
If you want simple, hassle-free lawn care in Boise and Idaho Falls that offers quality core lawn care services for a healthy, impressive lawn, it doesn’t get easier than Lawn Buddies.
No stressing about which complicated combination of lawn care services will get you beautiful, healthy grass.
You don’t have time to fuss with all that.
Give yourself a break with our premium, six-visit lawn care program. It includes everything your lawn needs to thrive and grow healthy and green.
Fertilizer, weed treatments, and grub control, all wrapped up in six visits, each perfectly timed throughout the season, so your grass is green and strong and resists weeds. Add regular lawn aeration to keep your lawn thriving.
Got a few minutes? That’s all you need to get started. Just fill out the form on this page, call us at (208) 656-9131 or read more about our services. Then you can kick back and relax in your healthy, thriving yard.
