AeratING

Aerating is the single most overlooked and cost effective way to benefit your turf grass. Lawn aeration benefits soil, grass, roots, and keeps promoting healthy behavior for months to come. Compact soil makes it hard for roots to go deep into the soil. Aerating loosens soil and allows water, oxygen, and nutrients to enter the soil more easily. Furthermore, aerating reduces thatch in your turf. While having some thatch shades roots and keeps weeds in the dark, to much thatch can act as a barrier to keep water and nutrients out of the soil.

Gray and Grandpa strongly recommends anyone who is over seeding to have those areas aerated beforehand. Seed germination rate can greatly increase simply from being aerated. 

Aerating is best done in Spring or Fall when grass is growing vigorously and can recover quickly from the process. Summer is not recommended because grass is already stressed from heat, extending the time needed to recover. Avoid aerating during very wet or very dry conditions. Aerating when the soil is too wet may cause unnecessary damage to the turf. Conversely, soil penetration is difficult when turf is excessively dry. 

There are only 2 steps you need to take before we can aerate. The first is keeping your lawn free of anything you want to keep. Pieces of metal can damage our equipment and anyone around. Toys or other lawn accessories can easily be damaged or destroyed by the weight of an aerator. Secondly, if you have sprinklers they will need to be marked. Sprinkler heads can take some time to replace and be very costly. Avoid unnecessary and expensive repairs by putting a flag by each sprinkler head a few days before a scheduled aerating. Flags may be purchased at general stores and home improvement store around Lincoln.