Core Aeration
Contact us today to schedule your lawn aeration!
Aeration is a great way to improve the health of your lawn. Here are some of the benefits of lawn aeration:
- Reduce soil compaction
- Control thatch
- Improve the flow of oxygen
- Helps water and nutrients get to the roots
Here we have a detailed diagram of how this process works.
Aeration reduces compacted soil. Compacted soil doesn’t allow the grass roots to develop deep into your soil, and we all know the importance of your roots running deep. Deep roots increase drought and disease resistance. Compacted soil can also help develop a thatch layer too. Aerating your lawn breaks down the thatch layer and allows your grass to breath.
Aeration also increases lawn density by allowing new grass plants to begin growing. Lawn density is a huge factor in your lawn fighting off the hot Boise summers. The denser you lawn is the better it shades the soil so that it does not dry out too quickly.
Probably the most important benefit of aeration is that it allows oxygen, water, and nutrients to get deep down into your soil where it belongs.
We only do core aeration which removes a core of soil and turf from the ground and places it on the surface of the grass. It is best to leave these cores and let them break down to put nutrients back into the soil as they typically break down in two weeks or less. Some companies aerate with tines that poke holes in the ground. This can have a negative effect and actually create more compaction because you are not removing plugs of soil but you are smashing the soil together in order to create a hole in the ground.
The best time to aerate your lawn is in the spring before the summer heat hits or in the fall. The summer heat that we receive in the Treasure Valley is stressful on lawns. Because lawn aeration itself can be a stressful process, it is best not to aerate your lawn during the heat of the summer.
The moisture level in the ground is an important factor in making sure our aerators pull out a good plug. If the ground is bone dry it will be rock hard and it will be very difficult for the aerator to punch a deep enough hole in the ground. But at the same time if the ground is so full of moisture that the ground is extremely soft then sometimes the tine on the aerators cannot pull out a plug. Unless your soil is always rock hard it is a good idea not to water your lawn the morning of the lawn aeration. If you have problem areas that are constantly bone dry like on slopes then it can be beneficial to get some water in the soil right before we aerate.
Contact All Pro Lawn Service today to schedule your lawn aeration. We offer our aeration service to Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Kuna, Nampa, Star, Middleton, and surrounding areas in Idaho.
