Aerating Garden Grass

To have a splendid lawn, you should use certain basic care practices, such as fertilizing, mowing and watering. Likewise, it is essential to ensure that nutrients can reach the soil.

This is why aerating the Lawn can be vital to its health, as it allows air and water to penetrate it. So it is essential to learn how to carry out proper aeration.

What is lawn aeration?

Aeration involves poking small holes into the soil to allow air, nutrients and water to penetrate the grass roots. Compact soils have many solid particles in a specific volume and space. Therefore, aerating the Lawn is the best method to improve air and gas exchange while assimilating water and nutrients.

There are two aeration systems :

• Simple punching. Holes are made with spikes or points
• Punches. Portions of the soil are extracted with hollow points.

Tools for drilling the ground

The types of soil piercing tools are spike aerators and plug aerators. With the spike aerator, you must use the tool to make holes in the ground with a solid spike or fork.

Plug aerators remove a core or plug of grass and soil from the Lawn. You should use an aeration tool or machine that removes soil plugs for best results. Drilling holes is less effective and can cause additional compaction in the areas around the holes.

Periods to aerate the Lawn

First year. Aerate lightly in September if the grass has been sown or planted in March or April. However, if it has been established later, limit aeration in the most exposed or most walked areas.

Second year. Aerate very carefully in March, July and September. Another aeration (a fourth) can be carried out at the end of October, depending on the site’s climatic conditions or region.

Third year onwards. The first aeration should be at the beginning of March, then repeat the operation every month or at most every 45 days until the end of October.

Types of Grass According To Their Use

Grass for sports use

For this purpose, good resistance to trampling is needed, which is why a mixture of English ray grass and poa is often used. Fescue is also widely used.

Grass for ornamental use

For decorative use, opting for varieties and mixtures that provide more intense shades of green with thin, bushier-looking leaves, such as bentwood, fescue, and classic English, is ideal.

 Lawn for rustic use

More resistant grass that adapts well to any climate. The Bermuda type and, above all, fescue are usually used. It is best to use varieties that require little maintenance.

When To Sow The Lawn

Take your time with the planting process, as you can ruin your efforts if you have not previously prepared the soil, without forgetting the aeration and provision of a suitable substrate so that the grass develops in the best conditions.

The idea is to stay away from times with more extreme temperatures, such as the hottest summer months and the coldest winter months. It is best to plant during spring and autumn. Due to their milder temperatures, March, April and September are perfect months to carry out this task.

Rushing is not good, so once you have planted, wait to set foot on the land for 10-15 days to allow it to develop correctly and not hinder its growth.

With these simple keys, you are now in a position to choose the type of grass that best suits your needs.

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