The When and How to do Albuquerque Lawn Aeration and What to Do After It’s Been Completed
Proper regular Albuquerque lawn maintenance is essential for achieving a visually appealing and healthy lawn at your Albuquerque home. Annual maintenance tasks have a significant positive impact on the monthly tasks required for lawn upkeep. Annual lawn aeration by homeowners can alleviate soil compaction and promote grass growth. Timely and proper aeration can yield favorable results for nearly all lawns.
When to Aerate Your Lawn
For optimal results in larger lawn projects, such as grass seed planting, it is advisable to aerate the lawn during or just prior to the period when the grasses experience maximum natural growth. Aeration is beneficial for lawns; however, incorrect timing may result in grass stress. Avoid aerating dormant lawns.
Cool-season grasses prevalent in northern lawns should be aerated during early fall or early spring for optimal results. Be sure to go with late spring or early summer for the optimal time for aerating warm-season grasses commonly found in southern lawns. Grasses can recover and fill in areas where the soil is exposed by aerator equipment when aeration is done during active growth.
Aerating is most efficient when the soil is moistened by either irrigation or rainfall a day prior, as it minimizes the physical strain on the operator and the equipment and is optimal for the lawn’s health. Adequate moisture facilitates the aeration process, as excessively arid soil presents a challenge. It is advisable to refrain from aerating excessively moist lawns and instead wait for a few days.
How to Aerate Your Lawn
Aerating equipment can be categorized into three main types, namely small manual versions, larger tractor-like, and pull-behind machinery. Spike aerators utilize solid, spike-shaped tines to penetrate the soil and create holes. Homeowners utilize spiked aerator “sandals” attached to their footwear to aerate their lawns while performing yard work.
Although spike machines may provide some assistance on a limited scale, they can exacerbate compaction by compacting soil around the holes.1 Slicing aerators employ revolving blades to penetrate grass, thatch, and soil. Slicing aerators, akin to spike aerators, facilitate the creation of channels for air, water, and nutrients while preserving soil in situ without inducing further compaction.
Lawn professionals generally favor core or plug aerators, which employ hollow tines arranged in rows to extract soil plugs from the lawn and leave them on the surface to decompose. The dimensions of the plugs and the resulting holes are contingent upon the specific machinery employed. Aeration of lawns can be performed either by engaging a professional lawn service or by undertaking the task oneself with expertise.
Aerator machines can be rented from equipment rental companies and lawn and garden stores, which also offer instructions for operating the selected model. Aerating a lawn involves a similar pattern of movement to that of mowing as one traverses back and forth across the lawn. Focus on identified problematic areas, such as pet enclosures or outdoor baseball fields. Multiple passes in various directions can enhance coverage and maximize benefits.
What to do after aeration
Allow soil plugs or excess soil to dry in place after aerating your lawn. The organic matter from the broken-down materials will enrich the soil and improve the lawn surface, but it may not withstand rain or mowing. Immediately following aeration, it is opportune to conduct lawn maintenance activities such as overseeding with high-quality Pennington Smart Seed and fertilization or performing basic lawn repairs.
The aerator creates openings in the soil, allowing seeds and nutrients to have direct contact with the soil while also providing fresh pathways for roots to access necessary resources. The combination of these elements can speed up seed establishment and promote denser and more luxurious growth in your lawn.
Incorporating aeration into your yearly maintenance routine or conducting periodic compaction assessments can promote the optimal thickness, health, and aesthetic appeal of your lawn. Pennington is dedicated to offering high-quality grass seed and lawn care products to assist you in accomplishing your lawn objectives.