What is Lawn Aeration?
Lawn aeration is the process of breaking up the surface of the lawn to better allow oxygen, nutrients and water to penetrate into the root zone. Aerating helps relieve compaction caused by heavy foot traffic and provides an ideal seed bed for overseeding. Aerating also aids in reducing thatch build-up and promotes deep rooting of the grass plant.
How is aerating achieved?
Aerating can be done several ways. Core aerating uses hollow tines or forks to remove a plug of the turf. The hole provides a seed bed and an entry point for the nutrients, air and water, as well as proving a seed bed for overseeding. The plug is usually left on the surface and is ground up and worn away by subsequent mowings or a vigorous raking. At this time the lawn can also be topdressed with loam, compost or other soil amendments.
Aerating can also be done with solid tines. No core is removed so topdressing and overseeding are slightly less effective but the surface is still penetrated allowing for improved air, water and nutrients uptake and some relief of compaction.
Aerating is usually accomplished with a walk behind machine with hollow or solid tines mounted on a drum which propels the machine forward, poking holes along the way. Aerating can also be done with simple tools like a pitchfork, a pitchfork-like tool with hollow tines, or even sandals equipped with long spikes.
When and how often should I aerate?
Aerating is most effective when done every fall, especially if it is done in conjunction with overseeding and fertilizing as part of a complete lawn care program. However, renting an aerator can be costly, the act of aerating is physically strenuous, and hiring a lawn service to do it can be even more costly. Aerating every other year or even every three years is acceptable if the lawn is low use and low maintenance.
Mole holes are unsightly on lawns and can be disruptive to the root systems of garden plants. Moles lurk in their subterranean fortresses throughout the year. But gardening and lawn-care enthusiasts are made acutely aware of the need for mole control mainly during the spring and fall, especially after periods of rain, when moles push mounds of dirt up to the ground surface.
The mole’s preferred diet is a carnivorous one: insect grubs, adult insects and earthworms. Neither the eastern mole nor the star-nosed mole is a rodent, and therefore any gnawing damage you detect on plants is unlikely to have been caused by moles. Rodents do, however, make use of mole tunnels to attack plants underground – making moles accessories to the crime!
Moles produce two types of tunnels, or “runways” in your yard. One runway runs just beneath the surface. These are feeding tunnels and appear as raised ridges running across your lawn. The second type of runway runs deeper and enables the moles to unite the feeding tunnels in a network. It is the soil excavated from the deep tunnels that homeowners find on their
Lawns heaped up in mounds that resemble little volcanoes.
Mole Control: Pest Identification
Since moles are not the only animal pests responsible for runways in lawn and garden areas, they are often confused with these other pests – the pocket gopher and the vole. Because these lawn and garden pests are rarely seen, it makes more sense to base identification on the signs they leave behind, rather than on how the animals look. After all, you may never come face to face with these subterranean foes! And proper pest identification is the first step in effective mole control.
Whereas mole mounds, as stated above, are volcano-like in appearance, pocket gopher mounds are horseshoe-shaped. Voles, meanwhile, leave no mounds at all behind. Instead, voles construct well-defined, visible runways at or near the surface, about two inches wide. Vole runways result from the voles eating the grass blades, as well as from the constant traffic of numerous little feet over the same path. And if any of these lawn and garden pests can literally “beat a path” through the grass, it’s the voles. Rabbits don’t have anything over this prolific rodent!
Spring is the Best Time to De-thatch a Lawn
One of the first things you can do for a lawn in the spring is thatch control. Thinning out the thatch in the spring clears out old, dead grass and other organic matter that has built up over time but has not broken down.
De-thatching will open up the lawn surface allowing for improved nutrient and water uptake as well as severing up stolons and rhizomes which encourages new growth. The renewed growth and warming temperatures of spring provide the ideal setting to perform this procedure.
Most lawns would benefit and thrive from even a light de-thatching almost every year.
How Do I De-thatch my lawn?
First, determine if your lawn has an excessive amount of thatch. A thatch layer thicker than a half inch would warrant a de-thatching. De-thatching may not be necessary if a lawn has a thatch layer less than 1/2 an inch, however, even a moderate amount of thatch would reap the benefits from a light de-thatching.
If it is determined that a lawn needs de-thatching, you can hire a lawn care company to perform the task.
De-thatching a lawn in the spring helps it "wake up" by removing old, dead material, cutting old rhizomes and stolons (which encourages new growth), and thinning the thatch layer to allow better access for nutrients and water to penetrate the surface. Whether your lawn has a thatch problem and needs a deep de-thatching, or it just a light scratching, spring is the time do it for noticeable results in the summer.
Winter Lawn Care Tips
In most parts of the country, lawn grass goes dormant in the winter. In the south, cool season ryegrass is often overseeded into the turf to maintain a green lawn. In the north, it's too cold for any grass to grow so we wait patiently for spring - sometimes under snow cover, sometimes not. Lawn care doesn't quite end in the winter though.
There are still some considerations and concerns that one should be aware of even in the winter.
- Clean it up. It is extremely important not to leave debris, leaves, or toys out on the lawn. These things can smother the grass, create disease conditions, and invite insects, mice and other damaging pests.
- Lower the height of your mower by a notch or two (.5" - 1.0") the last couple of times you mow. Excessively long grass can smother itself, cause disease, and is at risk of damage from freezing and thawing conditions. However, do not cut the grass too short and scalp it thus exposing the crown of the plant to extreme conditions.
- Be aware of traffic. Under snow cover, or exposed to the elements, dormant grass will tolerate a moderate amount of traffic but a heavily worn path will be slower to green up in the spring and cause compaction.
- Monitor weather conditions. Turf is very resilient and can tolerate an extreme winter but certain conditions can be harmful in the long term. It might be worthwhile to chip away a little exposed ice in a low spot if you know a winter storm or deep freeze is approaching.
Winters can often be unpredictable and may put your lawn through some extreme conditions during the course of a winter. The best thing to do is make sure the grass has hardened off, you've "put the lawn to bed" properly, monitor the weather, and focus on keeping your sidewalks clear and building snowmen.
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