How to properly aerate your lawn

WHAT IS AERIFICATION?

Aeration should not be confused with scarifying.

Aeration is a maintenance measure for aerating the soil. This involves using so-called spoons to make holes in the lawn.

There are two types of aerators: the hollow spoon, which pulls out soil with each puncture, and the solid spoon, which creates holes through displacement. Aerators can be manual or mechanical.

Regular aeration ensures healthy lawn development and improves the resilience and quality of the lawn.

WHY AERIFY?

When air and water permeability is disrupted by soil compaction, the soil composition changes. The ratio of soil pores – there are water-carrying and air-carrying pores – is very important for a healthy lawn.

Maintaining the correct soil pore ratio, and thus optimal soil properties, is essential for consistently healthy grass growth. The spaces between the solid particles are just as important as the presence of solid soil matter (Brady & Weil 2002).

These soil pores transport nutrients and facilitate the necessary water and air circulation. These pores vary in size and can be broadly categorized as coarse, medium, and fine. Coarse pores aerate the lawn and allow water to drain from the soil. They provide space for root growth and the development of soil life essential to the lawn. Medium pores, on the other hand, contain the water available to plants.

Ultimately, the correct distribution of soil pores is crucial, meaning the right ratio of coarse, medium, and fine pores. If the number of coarse and medium pores decreases, for example due to soil compaction, or if these soil pores are saturated with water for extended periods due to waterlogging, this negatively affects the load-bearing capacity of the lawn.

Therefore, if air and water permeability is impaired by soil compaction, the soil must be aerated, otherwise the resilience and quality of the lawn can suffer. The soil pores must be able to be supplied with nutrients, and the necessary water and air circulation must be ensured so that the lawn remains resilient and healthy, and waterlogging does not damage the soil.

Aeration should therefore be carried out at regular intervals, provided soil conditions allow. However, do not aerate if the soil is waterlogged and muddy, as this can lead to a deterioration of soil conditions.

OK, UNDERSTOOD - AND WHEN TO AERIFY?

Aeration should be a regular and consistent part of your garden maintenance plan, but only if weather and soil conditions permit. Aerating when the soil is waterlogged and prone to becoming waterlogged can actually worsen soil conditions.

The best time to aerate is during the growth phase of the grasses, i.e. between March and October.

I personally use both hollow and solid tines and so-called root knives, depending on what I want to achieve.

AND HOW DO YOU AERIFY PROPERLY?

The floor should be neither bone dry nor soaking wet.

Treat the entire lawn area either with a manual scarifier or with a mechanical scarifier. Suitable mechanical aerators can now be rented almost everywhere.

Use the aerator to pierce the soil at regular intervals of 5-6 cm, trying to work as evenly as possible. When aerating with hollow tines, there are two options. If the soil is sandy, you can let the extracted seeds dry and then work them into the soil. I use my lawnmower for this (admittedly, I don't cut grass with the blade anymore) and run it over the entire lawn. Afterwards, the seeds are nice and small, and I can work them back into the holes (e.g., by brushing or dragging).

The second option is to fill the holes with sand - I myself use quartz sand or washed Rhine sand and Master Topdresser S75 - which of course is also worked back in.

I always do deep aeration with solid tines in autumn/winter and spring. This way, the lawn is perfectly prepared for the new lawn season. But more on that later.

Aeration | The short version

Advantages:

Time:

• During the vegetation period from March to October.
• Not in hot, dry conditions or after prolonged rain.
• By the way: If you mix some grass seed into the sand, the result will be even more perfect.

Source: MM'S Rasenwerk: https://mms-rasenwerk.de/rasen-aerfizieren.html