Core aeration helps the lawn's health and vigor, and it reduces maintenance requirements. The following are other benefits of core aeration:

1. Improved air exchange between the soil and atmosphere
2. Enhanced soil water uptake
3. Improved fertilizer uptake and use
4. Reduced water runoff and puddling
5. Improved turfgrass rooting
6. Reduced soil compaction
7. Enhanced heat and drought stress tolerance
8. Improved resiliency and cushioning
9. Enhanced thatch breakdown

In most home lawns, the natural soil has been seriously disturbed by the building process. Fertile topsoil may have been removed or buried during excavation of the basement or footing, leaving subsoil that is more compact, higher in clay content and less desirable for a healthy lawn. The lawns need aeration to improve the depth and extent of turf grass rooting and to improve fertilizer and water use.

Intensively used lawn are exposed to stress from traffic injury. Walking, playing, and mowing are forms of traffic that compact soil and stress lawns. Raindrops and irrigation increase the soil density by compacting soil particles and reducing large air spaces where roots may readily grow. Compaction is greater on heavy clay soils than on sandy soils, and it is greatest in the upper 1 to 1½" of soil. Aeration helps heavily used lawns and lawns growing on compacted soils by improving the depth and extent of turf grass rooting, allowing better water uptake, enhancing fertilizer use and speeding up thatch breakdown. Most lawns are subject to thatch. If thatch is left unmanaged, it can lead to serious maintenance and pest problems. Core aeration reduces thatch accumulation, minimizes its buildup and modifies its makeup by incorporating soil into the thatch. As soils is combined wit the thatch debris, soil organisms are better able to break down the thatch and reduce its accumulation.

When should lawns be aerated?

Annual aeration is beneficial for most lawns. Lawns growing on heavy clay or subsoils and lawns exposed to intense use benefit from more than one aeration each year. In general, benefits from core aeration increase when tine spacing is closer and penetration is deeper. Most turf grasses respond favorably to aeration when it is properly timed. Both spring and fall are ideal times to aerate. In most cases, spring aeration is performed between March and May. Fall aeration is done in late summer and early fall. Aeration before or at the time of late season fertilization enhances root growth responses and improves spring greenup and growth.
It is best to aerate warm season turfgrasses such as zoysiagrass and bermudagrass in mid-spring to summer. Avoid aerating when warm season grasses are dormant. This may encourage cool season weed competition. In addition, avoid aerating warm season grasses during greenump. It is best not to aerate warm season lawns until after they have received their first mowing in spring.
Water the lawn after aeration, particularly in areas where drought and high temperatures are common.

Immediately after aeration, your lawn will be dotted with small plugs pulled from the soil. Within a week or two, these plugs of thatch and soil break apart and disappear into the lawn. About 7-10 days after aeration, the aerification holes will be filled with white, actively growing roots. These roots are a sign that the turfgrass is responding to the additional oxygen, moisture and nutrients in the soil from the aeration process. On compacted soils and on lawns with slopes, you should see an immediate difference in water puddling and runoff after irrigation or rainfall.

After aeration, your lawn should be able to go longer between watering, without showing signs of wilt. With repeat aerations over time, your lawn will show enhanced heat and drought stress tolerance. Don't expect miracles from a single aeration, particularly on lawns growing on extremely poor soils. Most lawns benefit from annual aeration. Lawns that receive this care will be healthier, more vigorous, easier to maintain and have fewer pest problems than lawns that are neglected.

We have illustrated pamphlets on aerating and overseeding. Please feel free to stop by and pick some up.