What is Lawn Aeration? Lawn aeration is the practice of making oxygen available to soil under the surface of the lawn.
This is done with manual tools or with powered machines.
It can also be accomplished organically with the help of microbes and worms.
This article will focus on explaining the need for aeration as well as the benefits associated with the practice of mechanical aeration.
Why Should I Aerate my Lawn? Turf grasses need oxygen, light, and water.
They also need nutrition from the soil.
Decomposition is the natural process that converts dead plant and animal matter into bio-available plant food.
This vital transformation is an aerobic process achieved by hard-working living organisms that need oxygen and moisture to survive and thrive.
If the soil under your lawn becomes hard it might be a sign that your microbes and earthworms have gone on strike for better working conditions.
Or worse yet, they may all be sick or dead.
When this occurs, the natural process of decomposition can slow down or stop.
Over time, a slowdown in decomposition will produce a visible result.
Dead leaves and grass clippings which would normally decompose and become plant food start to pile up.
The layer of dead matter is known as thatch.
A little thatch is normal and natural.
It is like a food pantry for your microbial community.
However, a thatch layer with a thickness greater than one inch is the visible symptom of an invisible soil problem.
Dethatching is the practice of manually removing thatch with a thatch rake or a power rake.
If your thatch layer is too thick, then dethatching is a helpful preventive measure for your grass as it removes the breeding ground for a number of common lawn diseases.
However, dethatching often fails to solve the underlying problem.
The excess thatch would not be there in the first place if the soil was teaming with good microbes and worms thriving in the right mix of oxygen and moisture.
Addressing the source of the problem can help you to avoid more thatch problems in the future.
Common causes for excess thatch include over-watering, over-fertilizing, and the application of life-destroying chemicals.
Aerobic organisms in your soil do their best work in a moist chemical-free environment with lots of oxygen.
Imagine a moist sponge after you squeeze out the excess water.
Composting experts agree that the "damp sponge feeling" is the right moisture level for rapid decomposition in a compost pile.
However, too much water will slow decomposition to a crawl.
Likewise, watering a lawn too much or too often will slow or stop the process of converting thatch into plant food.
A wet thatch layer without active ongoing decomposition is a breeding ground for fungal disease.
The best watering strategy for lawn and soil health is to water deeply once a week.
This allows for rapid aerobic decomposition to continue near the surface most of the week, and it encourages deep root growth.
Benefits of Using a Power Aerator Aeration with a power aerator can quickly restore oxygen to compacted soil.
The machine drives a row of hollow tubes into the ground vertically.
As the tubes are pulled up each tube lifts a core of grass, thatch and dirt up with it.
Then the machine forces the cores out of the elevated tubes and deposits them on top of the lawn.
The resulting holes in the ground allow air to permeate the compacted soil.
This in turn revives the previously suffocated microbial community and they get right up to resume their work of converting dead stuff into plant food.
The good process of decomposition will gradually accelerate back to its normal pace.
When excess thatch is minimal, power aeration can eliminate the need to dethatch.
The aerator cuts through much of the thatch problem during the coring process, and the oxygen invigorated microbes pick up where the aerator left off.
This is done with manual tools or with powered machines.
It can also be accomplished organically with the help of microbes and worms.
This article will focus on explaining the need for aeration as well as the benefits associated with the practice of mechanical aeration.
Why Should I Aerate my Lawn? Turf grasses need oxygen, light, and water.
They also need nutrition from the soil.
Decomposition is the natural process that converts dead plant and animal matter into bio-available plant food.
This vital transformation is an aerobic process achieved by hard-working living organisms that need oxygen and moisture to survive and thrive.
If the soil under your lawn becomes hard it might be a sign that your microbes and earthworms have gone on strike for better working conditions.
Or worse yet, they may all be sick or dead.
When this occurs, the natural process of decomposition can slow down or stop.
Over time, a slowdown in decomposition will produce a visible result.
Dead leaves and grass clippings which would normally decompose and become plant food start to pile up.
The layer of dead matter is known as thatch.
A little thatch is normal and natural.
It is like a food pantry for your microbial community.
However, a thatch layer with a thickness greater than one inch is the visible symptom of an invisible soil problem.
Dethatching is the practice of manually removing thatch with a thatch rake or a power rake.
If your thatch layer is too thick, then dethatching is a helpful preventive measure for your grass as it removes the breeding ground for a number of common lawn diseases.
However, dethatching often fails to solve the underlying problem.
The excess thatch would not be there in the first place if the soil was teaming with good microbes and worms thriving in the right mix of oxygen and moisture.
Addressing the source of the problem can help you to avoid more thatch problems in the future.
Common causes for excess thatch include over-watering, over-fertilizing, and the application of life-destroying chemicals.
Aerobic organisms in your soil do their best work in a moist chemical-free environment with lots of oxygen.
Imagine a moist sponge after you squeeze out the excess water.
Composting experts agree that the "damp sponge feeling" is the right moisture level for rapid decomposition in a compost pile.
However, too much water will slow decomposition to a crawl.
Likewise, watering a lawn too much or too often will slow or stop the process of converting thatch into plant food.
A wet thatch layer without active ongoing decomposition is a breeding ground for fungal disease.
The best watering strategy for lawn and soil health is to water deeply once a week.
This allows for rapid aerobic decomposition to continue near the surface most of the week, and it encourages deep root growth.
Benefits of Using a Power Aerator Aeration with a power aerator can quickly restore oxygen to compacted soil.
The machine drives a row of hollow tubes into the ground vertically.
As the tubes are pulled up each tube lifts a core of grass, thatch and dirt up with it.
Then the machine forces the cores out of the elevated tubes and deposits them on top of the lawn.
The resulting holes in the ground allow air to permeate the compacted soil.
This in turn revives the previously suffocated microbial community and they get right up to resume their work of converting dead stuff into plant food.
The good process of decomposition will gradually accelerate back to its normal pace.
When excess thatch is minimal, power aeration can eliminate the need to dethatch.
The aerator cuts through much of the thatch problem during the coring process, and the oxygen invigorated microbes pick up where the aerator left off.
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