Aerating helps in the decomposition of
dead material. Thatch is all the dead material that piles up in between the
individual blades of your grass. Up to one half inch of thatch in your lawn is
fine, but any more will strangle your grass.
While hand aerators are available, the
best way for you to aerate your lawn is to rent a mechanical aerator that is
made for that purpose.
Aerators work by either spiking into the ground or by removing plugs from your
lawn. Aerators that spike into the ground are not as efficient because they push
solid tines or spikes into the soil without removing a plug, and they compact
your soil. Core aeration that removes a plug of soil from the ground is
recommended.
If you are not sure of whether or not to aerate your lawn here is a way to
check. Dig out a square foot segment of your lawn a minimum six inches in depth.
If the grass roots are only in the first one-two inches of your soil, your soil
is compacted and will benefit from core aeration.
The best time of the season to aerate cool
season lawns like Kentucky bluegrass and fescue is in towards the end of August
to mid September. That is the time when these grasses are coming out of their
summer dormancy and starting a stage of hearty growth. Lawns will improve
rapidly if you aerate at this time .It is best to aerate warm season grasses
like zoysiagrass and bermudagrass in June and July, because this is their time
of rapid growing.
Aerating
Your Lawn - Aerating your lawn will help if your soil is too compact for
water to go through it. You can generally observe this if the water runs off
your lawn or pools.