When it comes to achieve and maintain a picturesque lawn, the basic practices property owners focus on are mowing, watering, and fertilizing. However, have you ever ensured that the nutrients you are feeding are reaching the soil beneath the grass or not? If not, it is high time to rethink your lawn maintenance process and include the aeration process in it. 

Just like mowing, mulching, fertilizing, and watering, aeration is also a very vital element in lawn care as allows nutrients to penetrate the grassroots. The process involves puncturing the lawn soil with a spike or plug aerator so that the air, water, and fertilizers you are feeding, reach the grassroots. The aeration process helps the grassroots grow deep and produce a lush and green lawn. 

Aeration is one of the lawn care measures that is often overlooked. Regular aeration keeps your lawn soil soft and helps it to breathe. Areas with high foot traffic need more aeration than the rest of the areas of your lawn. Also, how often you should aerate your lawn depends upon the type and quality of your soil. For example, clay soil requires more aeration than sandy soil. In harsher climatic regions, aeration must be done at least twice a year for maximum turf growth. You can also consult your landscaper to learn about the right aeration technique for your lawn and achieve a lawn that everyone dreams of. 

Benefits of Lawn Aeration 

• One of the most important reasons you should consider lawn aeration is that it improves the health and quality of your turf. Aeration before other lawn care practices maximizes their effects and allows air, water, and fertilizer to penetrate the grassroots. With greater access to nutrients, your lawn not only becomes healthy but also green and lush. Thus, to improve the overall health of your turf, aeration plays a crucial role. 

• Thatches or layers of dead grass on the top of your lawn not only steals the beauty of your landscape but also stops nutrients to penetrate deep into the soil. Aeration is a great technique to reduce the thatch build-up on your lawn. Core aeration encourages microorganisms in the soil to decompose thatch and thus, promotes green and lush lawn. 

• Hard and compact soils prevent air and nutrients to reach the core. This makes grassroots weak and causes patches and dead spots on the lawn. The aeration process is highly effective in decreasing the soil density and relieving the compaction. 

• Applying fertilizer containing sulfur or lime shortly after aeration is an effective way to modify the pH of your lawn soil. The appropriate pH level into the soil profile allows the nutrients to penetrate well into the soil and results in healthier turf. 

• Aeration before and after seeding is a great way to benefit the germination process. Soil aeration helps the germinated seed to come in contact with the topsoil and create a healthy environment around the seedling. The process is also very effective in holding moisture around the seedling. 

• Fall aeration and fertilization is a great way to prepare your turf for winter dormancy. Thus, before winter hits and the grass of your lawn goes dormant, make sure to aerate the lawn and apply a fall fertilizer to enjoy a greener spring. Aeration helps the nutrients soak more deeply and allows grass to store energy all through the winter months. 

Aeration is one of the secrets behind a green and elegant looking lawn. However, as most people fail to realize the importance of this important lawn care regime, they fail to achieve the lawn they have always dreamt of. Consider aeration as a part of your lawn care practices and let the grass breathe some air again.