Aeration Explained

Here at Allett, we love nothing more than maintaining a beautiful lawn throughout the year, and if you're like us but aren't sure about all the tips and tricks to do so, don't worry. We're going to cover one aspect of lawn maintenance that is key when it comes to maintaining a healthy lawn — Aeration. When trying to achieve and maintain a healthy lawn, you need to employ basic lawn care methods such as mowing, watering and fertilising to give your lawn the proper nutrients it needs to grow. However, when it comes to fertilising, you want to make sure that the nutrients can reach the soil beneath the grass for your lawn to receive the benefits which is where aeration comes in and allows the nutrients as well as air and water to reach the roots of the grass.

 

What is Aeration?

Aeration is the act of penetrating the soil in your lawn several times to create small holes allowing air, water and nutrients to reach the roots of the grass, letting the plant grow deeper, stronger and healthier.

 

Does Your Lawn Need Aerating?

So now you know what aerating is and how it can benefit your lawn, but does your lawn require aeration? As the old saying goes "if it isn't broke, don't fix it". So how do you know if your lawn needs the aeration treatment? Well, there are a few points to consider to determine if your garden is due some aeration.

1. If your lawn gets regular/heavy use thanks to children or pets, this can result in soil compaction.
2. If your lawn has generated a thatch problem your lawn will feel spongy to walk on which is an indicator of excessive amounts of thatch.Take a shovel and remove a slice of lawn about four inches deep. If the thatch layer is greater than one-half inch, aeration is recommended.

If either of these signs seems familiar, then your lawn might need aerating, and the best time to do so is during "growing season" (Spring-Summer). How often depends on the type of soil and the amount of traffic your lawn gets; sandy soil wont need aerating as much as clay soil.

 

Allett Aerator (Slitter)

The specially made non-driven Aerator cartridge from Allett Mowers was designed to penetrate the soil in your lawn with small holes. This process makes it easier for air, water and nutrients to pass through the soil to reach the roots of the grass, making grass grow quicker, thicker and healthier. Oxygen also get's an easier route to the grass plant. Make sure the soil is moist before aeration as this will help the spikes penetrate the ground. Undertake several passes of the lawn in different directions to cover a larger surface area. 

Find our aerator cartridge here