Why aerate the lawn? Many people think the point to aerating is so you can over seed when you have finished. But in reality that is just icing on the cake.
Is Your Berks County Lawn Suffocating? Let it Breathe with Aeration!
Aerating is the process of punching holes in the lawn about ¾ “ around and 3” deep. This allows our clay and loam soils to expand and reduce the compaction from traffic and being baked in the sun all summer. If the compaction is reduced we can get better root development. Aeration also helps control thatch buildup by bringing those cores of soil back up to the surface and having them filter back down into the thatch layer. This adds microbes to the thatch which speeds up its decomposition. It’s like composting your grass clippings.
If you throw a pile of grass clippings into a corner and come back in a couple of weeks you just have a stinky pile of grass clippings. But if you turn those grass clippings and add some soil to it they will start composting and turn into good organic matter for the plants. You won’t notice a big difference right away but over a couple of years the lawn has better root development which leads to more heat and drought hardiness. It’s a tool to help deal poor soil conditions when they arise.
Aerating is for thatch control and relieving compaction. Over seeding after the aeration will allow some of the grass seed to grow in the holes but if seeding is your goal there are better ways to go about it.
