Aeration
What is aeration?
Aeration is a key factor in keeping lawns healthy and green, as, like us, your lawn and the soil beneath it needs to breathe.
TopGrass use a professional cam driven aerator which creates lots of holes in your lawn, piercing the soil profile. The machine does not just spike the ground, it also heaves and agitates the soil, fracturing its structure and facilitating the air/nutrient/moisture distribution. On a golf green, for example, greenkeepers will do this many times a year to keep the turf in great shape.
When is the best time to aerate?
You can aerate a lawn at any time of the year as long as the ground is not too soft that the machine sinks into the soil and not too hard that the tines cannot penetrate. Your Lawn Technician will assess this for you when he visits to carry out the work.
We carry out the majority of aerations during the summer and autumn months, but this can also be completed in the spring or winter if needed.
We recommend having your lawn aerated at least once a year for best results. If you are looking to promote a very healthy lawn, you may consider having two or more a year.
General benefits of aerating:
- Air can get down to the rootzone, which allows the grass plant to breathe. This also oxygenates the bacteria living in the soil, which helps to break down the fertiliser
- Water is able to penetrate the soil and reach the root system more effectively. This is very important in the summer months for maximising the benefit of any rainfall or watering, helping relieve the effects of drought conditions
- Fertiliser nutrients have improved access to the root system
- Compacted soil is fractured allowing the root system to grow and spread more easily
The results of the above are a thicker, lusher and healthier lawn.
Autumn/winter aeration:
Autumn/Winter Aeration can be key to ensuring that your lawn stays lush and healthy throughout the autumn and winter period. These go hand in hand with our Autumn and Winter treatments in reducing the spread of moss in the lawn and helping to prevent disease throughout the wetter months.
Moss grows in damp conditions and on compacted soils, so aeration will help reduce the surface moisture and compaction, making it significantly harder for the moss to spread.
Check out our professional aerator in action!