Here at Alex’s Lawn & Turf, we service many homes around the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN area and help create the best lawns possible. As we continue to provide outstanding service and deliver incredible results we often get many questions about what we’re doing and why. One of those questions includes “aerating.” This is the odd-looking service that makes your yard look like it has a lot of holes in it.
So, what is it exactly and how will it benefit your lawn?
Benefits Of Aerating Your Lawn
Simply put, your lawn is much like you and me in that it needs to breathe and eat. While these actions may be some of the only things we have in common, they’re pretty important. In order to have your grass breathe and eat more efficiently, we perform a lawn aeration service. This process helps your lawn breathe better by providing more airflow to the soil and it also helps the grass eat and grow strong by being fed with fertilizer.
To put it simply once more, aeration makes sure your lawn grows healthy when the springtime comes. A few more benefits of this service include:
1. Air can get to the soil and the roots of your grass helping it breathe
2. Fertilizer and nutrients are helped reach the root system
3. Improves water intake and helps water reach the root system
4. Helps to break up thatch
5. Reduces water run off
6. Helps strengthen and improve root system
7. Improves the durability of your lawn
How Do I Know If My Lawn Needs Aeration?
Sometimes, it can be difficult to tell whether your lawn needs to be aerated or not. If you’re not sure if you should schedule lawn aeration services in Minnesota, here are some signs that lawn aeration is necessary:
- Your grass looks dry or yellow despite being watered
- Your grass has a spongy feeling
- The soil beneath your grass feels hard
- Water pools easily during rain instead of absorbing into the soil
- There are brown patches in your lawn
If you really want to test if your lawn needs aeration, cut out a section of lawn that’s at least 6 inches deep and look for root growth in the removed soil. Healthy grass should have roots growing at least 4 inches deep, whereas grass that isn’t getting the air, water and nutrients it needs will probably only have roots growing 1-2 inches deep. If this is the case, it’s time to have your lawn aerated.
In general, it’s a good idea for lawns in Minnesota to be aerated every 2-4 years to ensure healthy grass growth. However, certain circumstances may require you to aerate more frequently or more immediately. Situations that will likely require lawn aeration include:
- You’ve recently laid down sod, which needs help to take root properly
- Your lawn receives a lot of foot traffic from children playing or a large outdoor event
- You’ve recently performed construction work on your property, which can cause soil compaction
A frequently used lawn should be aerated once per year. A lawn with new sod or recent construction work should be aerated as soon as possible to prevent root damage and declining grass health.
Perform Lawn Aeration This Year
As you can see, there are many benefits of aerating your lawn in the autumn season. This is a great time of year to do aeration on your lawn because it will allow your lawn to absorb the fertilizer and strengthen it before the cold winter months.
If you’re located in the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN area and you’re needing this incredibly effective lawn treatment, call Alex’s Lawn & Turf today! Our lawn maintenance experts would be glad to help your lawn look its best once springtime comes around.