What Does Lawn Aeration Do for My Lawn?

Who doesn’t want a beautiful lawn that’s the envy of the neighborhood? One of the lawn care steps that can help you achieve that dream is use of a lawn aerator. But, how do you know if lawn aeration will benefit your lawn? The tire experts at Treadworld are here to help you determine if you need to aerate your lawn. We know tires like the backs of our hands, and we know a thing or two about the equipment our tires fit.

As you likely know, aerating your lawn creates tiny holes, or removes small soil plugs, alleviating soil compaction and allowing water, oxygen and nutrients to more easily reach the grass roots below the surface, helping them to dig deeper into the soil, leading to stronger and more resilient overall growth. Aerating, in conjunction with proper use of fertilizer and effective watering, can give you a thick, lush, plush lawn.

But not all lawn ailments can be solved by aeration, and aerating the lawn unnecessarily can cause damage by weakening the grass and leading to pest or disease problems, so a good first step is to diagnose the problem before jumping in.

Specific Lawn Issues that Indicate It’s Time to Use a Soil Aerator

Compacted soil is the enemy of a beautiful lawn. When you see puddles in your yard after watering, it can be a sign that the soil is compacted, and not letting moisture – and nutrients – flow freely to grass roots. Puddles can breed mosquitoes and other insects, plus standing water can thwart your seeding efforts by washing away grass seed before it can take hold. Conversely, if the soil never seems to get saturated, but rather dries quickly, that can be another sign of compacted soil, which again, can work against seeding, which requires moist soil for germination. Bald patches and sunbaked areas of dirt in your yard may be an indication that grass roots are unable to get the proper nutrients or absorb water. The appearance of areas that are turning yellow or brown is another sign that your soil may be compacted, and though harder to diagnose, if your grass seems to have stopped growing, that’s another sign.

The Screwdriver Test

While you could buy a compaction tester, a simple test for compacted soil is the screwdriver test. Just take a 6-8-inch screwdriver, and push it into your lawn. If you meet resistance and it is difficult to push the screwdriver in all the way, then you likely have a compaction issue and could benefit from using a yard aerator.

What’s the Best Lawn Aerator for Me?

Once you’ve determined a need for aerating your lawn, you’ll want to decide whether to go with a spike aerator or a plug aerator, also called a core aerator. Spike aerators puncture the lawn with long spikes to allow water and nutrients access to grass roots, but they don’t remove soil from your yard. Lawn plug aerators, usually preferred by experts, use rows of hollow tines that pull-out plugs of soil and deposit them on top on top of your lawn, where they break down with weather or the next mowing. Plug size varies in width and depth, depending on the aerator you use.

Lawn Aeration Can Enhance Other Lawn Care

Aeration can be an early step to putting your lawn on the fast track for quick seed establishment and thicker, lusher growth by getting your lawn ready for further lawn care, or preparing it for simple lawn repairs. Aerated lawns respond well to fertilization or overseeding, and you can do this immediately after aerating. After aeration, seeds and nutrients have direct contact with soil through the aeration openings, and roots have fresh pathways for the air, water and nutrients they need.

When you Need Top Replacement Aerator Tires, We Can Help. We’re Treadworld, Home of the Best Lawn and Garden Tires Anywhere!

You can count on us here at Treadworld to provide you with the dependable, high performance RubberMaster Lawn Care Tires you want. Even the best lawn aerator can’t do its job if it isn’t fitted with reliable tires. We also provide many lawn care tire styles to fit your needs, including lug tires, turf tires, smooth tires and rib tires. All our tires offer the finest in top quality, long-lasting, never-let-you-down reliability, manufactured with strict tolerances from top rubber compounds, triple-tested for quality before being X-rayed to be sure they’re perfect, then covered by our Ultimate Advantage Lifetime Warranty. Don’t hesitate to contact our tire experts via live chat or email with any questions or for help finding the perfect lawn and garden tires—or ATV tires, or UTV tires, or trailer tires, or any other specialty tires you need—from our large selection.