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Depending on where you live – and your attitudes towards the appearance of the garden – lawning can be hard work. If you don’t wanna go artificial route (which has its own environmental and physical challenges) there are other ways to make lawn maintenance easier. There are many small steps you can take to maintain your lawn lush and green or to save water– and one way to encourage lawn growth and make your landscaping easier is to aerate the grass.
Here’s what ventilation is and why you should poke holes in your yard.
What is ventilation?
Grass can be deeply rooted and healthy, but sometimes it takes a little help. Ventilation is that Method of punching holes in the lawn so that water and nutrients penetrate deeper into the soil and strengthen the roots. When you have well-nourished and hydrated roots, they will grow deeper and make the grass stay green longer – not to mention thicker and more sustainable. You don’t need to water or fertilize nearly as much as you normally would when a lawn is adequately ventilated.
When to aerate your lawn
Landscaping Briggs & Stratton explains that ventilation helps with stunted grass growth, which is compacted soil: “Compacted soils have too many solid particles in a given volume or space, preventing proper circulation of air, water and nutrients in the soil.” Amounts of straw (densely mixed layers of organic debris, such as live and dead stems, leaves, and roots that accumulate where the grass stems meet the ground) can contribute to a compacted lawn.
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According to lawn care page Trees.comOnce you have half an inch or more of straw, it is probably time to remove it and ventilate your garden. Ventilation can also be beneficial if your lawn dries out quickly as the water may not penetrate deep enough. If you’ve just bought a new home, the ground may be compacted due to construction work, or if your lawn has heavy traffic it can compact the soil and prevent it from growing.
How to aerate your lawn
First you need to prepare the lawn. Remove the straw layer so the aeration tools can properly pierce the soil. After removing straw, Real green recommends watering your lawn a few days before aerating. Pour an inch in the soil to make it easier to penetrate. Then choose the type of ventilation you want, be it Spike or plug. Spike ventilation is the pricking of holes in the yard that can be done with Ventilation shoes, manual thrust or Hand aerator, and electric aerators.
Connector ventilation includes hollow spikes that punch the ground and remove a chunk of the earth. This process creates a wider hole for optimal ventilation. Whichever variant you choose, make sure that you cover the entire lawn in one direction. Home depot suggests walking across the courtyard in a vertical motion again. After this process is complete, you probably should fertilize or add a layer of compost (but it is not required). Be sure to water your lawn the next few weeks two to three times a week to strengthen the roots.
