There are a on the face of it dateless routine of production , tools , techniques , and tasks refer to lawn care . Whilethe bedrock of lawn careare simple ( embed your Mary Jane , water your grass , mow your smoke ) , anything beyond that can seem complicated and overwhelming . Take wad aeration , for lesson . It sound technical . In this easy guide , we ’ll erupt down plug aeration and cover everything you need to know – – from what it is , how it works , the pros and cons , and any alternatives that be .
What is plug aeration?
Plug aeration is one method of loosen the soil under your lawn to salvage atmospheric pressure that ’s built up . Soil step by step becomes compact over sentence . Regular lawn use , such as walking or mow , contribute to mild soil compaction , but things such as construction , thatch buildup , or parking on your lawn can kick in to sternly compacted lawn .
Compacted soil is more unmanageable for air , water , and nutrients to pass through , which leads to a lawn clamber to get what it needs to flourish . Plug aeration works by removing small cores of soil and leaving cylindrical golf hole in your lawn , thus relieving the pressure and allowing the remaining soil to spread out .
How effective is plug aeration?
Plug aeration is very good at relieving soil latent hostility . In fact , plug aeration is so effective that it ’s typically used in case of terrible crush . However , plug aeration is a more tangled aeration method . Since it takes more effort and more specific equipment than other methods , it is n’t often used on mild compression or for even twenty-four hours - to - day maintenance . Although it can be utile for any lawn , it ’s more often reserved for heavily pack or large lawn .
For the average lawn , aerating once every two to three years is idealistic . However , if your soil is mud or clay - rich , or if several soil compacting ingredient or events occur ( such as a big construction task ) , then your lawn may fare better being aerated once a year . If your lawn has never been air , or you are n’t sure when it was last aerated , then it may be just to begin with chaw aeration and switch to spike aeration after . The ideal time to air your lawn is during the growing time of year of your special gage multifariousness ( fall for cold weather dope , saltation for warm weather green goddess ) , when the stain is moist but not muddy .
What tools are used for plug aeration?
Plug aerators can take a few different forms , but there are a few basic qualities that all plug aerators have in common . They ’re most usually wheeled devices , unremarkably similar in shape to a lawn mower or seed spreader . There are curt , hollow , cylindric protrusions on the axle . As the aerator is promote along , the axle plow and the cylinders dig into the ground and remove core of soil .
Plug aerators are generally expensive , but they can be a great investment if you have a large K or a lawn that ’s probable to be compacted frequently . If you do n’t expect to use a plug aerator often , many big hardware stores offer the option of lease them . you could also break with your local landscaping companies , to see if they offer plug aeration as a service of process .
What other methods of aeration are there?
The other method acting of aeration is spike aeration . Similar to plug aeration , spike aeration revolves around puncturing the solid ground . However , as the name implies , it does so with spikes rather than vacuous cylinders . This loosens the ground , but does n’t in reality remove any of it , making it a less effective method for severely press lawn . Spike aeration is typically used for mildly compacted lawns and ecumenical day - to - sidereal day maintenance .
aerate your lawn can help your grass develop and expand . Of the two case of lawn aeration , plug aeration is more effective . It ’s used to oxygenize hard pack together lawns , but not typically used for veritable yearly aeration . Spike aeration is the more common choice for unconstipated care , but does n’t allay as much insistence as plug aeration . No matter which aeration method acting is correct for you , the ideal time to air out your lawn is the same . If you have dusty weather grass , aerate your lawn in the fall , while lawn with strong conditions Gunter Grass should be activate in the bounce . Your soil should be damp but not squashy . Add lawn aeration to your even care routine , and begin with plug aeration .
