• Aeration

    What is Aeration?

    Aeration is perhaps one of the most misunderstood lawn care procedures. Many a customer will say to me that due to the sandy soil we don't need to aerate as the drainage is already good. But is that what aeration is for? No. Whilst admittedly it does help with drainage it's primarily for getting air and water into the soil, the name kind of gives it away. Just think about your flower beds. Why do you regularly hoe and dig them over? To get air and moisture into the soil and relieving compaction thereby promoting good growth. When was the last time we were able to do that for our lawns? Quite simply aeration, particularly hollow-tine aeration is an ideal way to breathe life back into your lawn. By removing a core of earth from the lawn surface, water and air are able to get into the rootzone to provide the needed refreshment to stimulate good growth. It also helps to split the roots providing another fresh growth which will naturally thicken your grass. Whilst not every lawn care company will remove the cores for you, it is good to do so as this will help to reduce the chances of disease. But don't forget that these cores are full of good bacteria and nutrients which you've fed into over the course of the year so you can give them a light scarify to break them up and let them act as a natural top-dressing.

    When should I Aerate?

    March and April and September and October are great months to Hollow-Tine your lawn. Solid Tines can also be beneficial in January, February, March, April, September, October, November and December. Shallow tining can help in the Summer months too.

    A couple of things to bear in mind though are weather conditions and the make-up of your lawn. Heavy clay based soils need regular aeration to help them through the tough winter, damp months whereas lighter sandy soil dry out very quickly so caution needs to be exercised in aerating particularly if its very dry already. Also beware of frosts as these can cause the water in the new holes to swell and cause a lumpy lawn. Shallow solid-tining throughout the summer can just help to break the surface of the lawn thereby allowing water to get in especially if you are irrigating your lawn.

  • Hollow-Tine Aeration