Why You Shouldn’t Put Off Aerating Your Lawn

As you create your fall gardening checklist , you may have questions about what to do with your lawn before winter sets in, such as whether it needs aeration . There are a few different factors to consider, but if you decide to aerate your lawn, now is probably the best time to do it. Here’s what you need to know.

Do you really need to aerate your lawn?

Technically no: While your lawn will certainly benefit from aeration, says Tom Kalb , a horticulturist with North Dakota State University Extension, most lawns don’t need it to survive.

So how do you know if your lawn is one that needs it? According to Kalb, lawns that benefit most from aeration include:

• This causes heavy pedestrian traffic
• Have excessive thatch roofing (more than 1 inch thick)
• Grown on heavy soils

If your home falls into one of the above categories, it will likely benefit from annual aeration. Otherwise, he says it’s best to aerate every five years for optimal growth.

What is the best time of year to aerate your lawn?

Most people choose to aerate their lawn in the spring or fall, but which is best? According to lawn experts at the University of Maryland , it depends on whether your lawn consists of warm-season grasses or cool-season grasses.

Here’s how the USDA defines the two:

• Warm-season grasses grow primarily from June to early September and are well adapted to hot, dry weather and remain green into July and August.
• Cool season grasses grow best in the spring and fall when soil and air temperatures are cooler.

While June and July are best for lawn aeration with warm-season grasses, such as those grown in the southern parts of the U.S., cool-season grasses grown in the rest of the country benefit from fall aeration , and today we’re at the center of them attention.

But don’t put off lawn care: fall aeration should be done in September or October.

Benefits of Lawn Aeration in the Fall

So, what makes fall the best time to aerate cool-season grasses? Here are a few benefits of fall aeration, according to a University of Illinois horticulture educator :

• This makes your lawn thicker, which creates competition for weeds.
• It improves water drainage in compacted soil, which can make your lawn less susceptible to disease as well as weeds such as yellow walnut, knotweed and spotted milkweed.
• This makes it easier for water, air and nutrients to reach the root zone.
• If you also seed in the fall, aeration holes can help the seeds come into contact with the soil and improve germination.

If you’re new to aeration or don’t know where to start, read this previous Lifehacker post that will walk you through the process.