Proper watering and fertilization are vital in keeping your lawn healthy and looking good. But if the water and nutrients cannot be absorbed by the soil then it won’t do much good. Over time, the soil in your lawn may become compressed which will prevent any water or nutrients from reaching the grass roots. So how do you fix this? The answer is to aerate your lawn. If you aren’t familiar with lawn aeration or are wondering whether your lawn is in need of it, read more about process!

What is it?

Aeration is the process of creating small holes in your lawn to allow essential nutrients, water, and air to circulate through your lawn. This will also stimulate root growth since it creates a more direct path for the water and nutrients to reach the roots.

How do I know if I need to aerate my lawn?

Now you are probably wondering how you are supposed to know if your lawn needs aeration. One way to tell is to see if water is having difficulty being absorbed by the soil. If water just being held by the topsoil, then that could mean that the deeper soil is too compacted. Another way to determine if your lawn needs aeration is if it gets heavy use from children or pets constantly walking or running across it.

When should I aerate my lawn?

Typically, it’s best to aerate your lawn during the growing season. This will allow the growing grass to fill in the open spots. For us in Ohio, the best times would be in early spring and early fall. And if you plan to seed your lawn, make sure to aerate your lawn first!

For a greater overview of the basics of lawn aeration check out this great breakdown of the process here.

How do I aerate my lawn?

Like most things when it comes to spring lawn care, you can either hire a professional lawn care service or go the do-it-yourself route. If you do choose the DIY route be sure to know how to properly go through the process and also know what tools you will need to have. If you don’t own a lawn aerator (I would assume that most people don’t), one can be rented. Learn more about doing your own lawn aeration here.

Do I have to use a lawn aerator?

If you don’t have access to a machine aerator or just aren’t comfortable using one yourself, then there are other tools that can be used in place of that. Anything from a yard fork to those goofy shoes with spikes attached at the bottom can be used for the aeration process. HGTV lists 5 tools that can be used to aerate your lawn. See what they are here. 

Now that you know what the process is and what it entails, the next step is to decide whether or not you want to do-it-yourself or hire a professional to do it for you. If you are having trouble deciding whether or not you should hire a professional, you can read our overview of what to look for when hiring a professional lawn care company here. You can also download a free copy of our hiring guide! Click below to get your copy now!