When and how do you aerate your lawn?

After a hot, dry summer with pockets of storms, your lawn needs a breather. You’ve been mowing for months and over time, clippings and debris cause thatch buildup that prevents water, nutrients, and oxygen from reaching the soil.

Another squelcher: thatch can lead to soil compaction, as can foot traffic, lawn equipment, heavy clay soils, and rainfall. The net effect is turf that acts like a barrier to entry for the essentials that soil needs to thrive and produce a healthy, lush lawn. 

Aerating your lawn can loosen thatch, alleviate soil compaction, and promote a healthy root system. It also encourages deeper, stronger root growth while improving turf density and weed resistance. 

Turf vitality is rooted in healthy soil—and aeration gets to the core.

Does your lawn need to be aerated? 

A little thatch is normal and can protect grass roots from temperature extremes—but too much can choke your lawn and block water, air, and nutrients. Some simple tricks to detect thatch buildup:

• Walk across your lawn. If it feels spongy or bouncy, especially when dry, you likely have excess thatch.
• Use a garden trowel or pocket knife to remove a small wedge of turf about 3 inches deep. Look for a brown, fibrous layer between the green grass and the soil. If this layer is more than ½-inch thick, it’s time to dethatch or aerate.

When rainfall or irrigation collects on the surface or runs off rather than absorbing into the soil, your lawn is likely suffering from compaction–and aeration is the solution. 

Timing: when to aerate your lawn

Early fall is an ideal time to aerate your lawn. Cooler temperatures allow the lawn to recover better, the soil is still warm and weeds have stopped germinating. 

Is aerating every year necessary? If turf growth is your plan, you should include aeration into your yearly lawn maintenance schedule. 

Large swaths of land and areas on a rural property may not require aerating every year. The same is true for designated buffer zones and naturalized areas with native landscaping. You may choose to aerate these spaces less frequently, such as every other year. 

>>Overseeding insight: Fill in thinning areas of turf and spark new, healthy growth by overseeding after aerating your lawn. Fall is prime time for overseeding, and aeration creates ideal conditions for seed germination and establishment. 

Pro tips: how to aerate your lawn, step by step

You can use a push-behind core aerator to remove plugs of soil and thatch. Aerators with a spike or slice tool also cut through turf to accomplish the job. But why add one more tool to the shed and create more labor for a job that can be completed more effectively and easily with a convenient AERA-vator™ attachment for your mower?

Core aeration leaves behind rows of messy soil plugs on the surface that must break down—and this takes time. The process disrupts the lawn surface more than necessary without achieving full-coverage results. 

>>The bottom line: While core aeration accomplishes the task, you can cut your time and effort with benefits by using a front-mount, PTO-driven attachment with oscillating steel tines. Rather than the traditional plug-pulling method, the AERA-vator™ attachment does not disrupt the turf surface while enhancing drainage, water infiltration, and nutrient uptake. 

We recommend aerating and overseeding in the fall, and here are some steps for success: 

• With the AERA-vator coreless aeration attachment, you can skip prewatering your lawn because the vibrating, oscillating steel tines do not slice or rupture turf like a traditional core aerator. 
• Use the quick-attach, PTO-driven AERA-vator™  aerator to improve productivity compared to other types of aeration equipment. 
• If overseeding (recommended), immediately apply grass seed so it settles into the holes for optimum germination and establishment. 
• Apply a slow-release fertilizer, keep soil consistently moist, and avoid heavy traffic so roots can establish. 
  
  

Maintain healthy turf momentum 

Fall is the best time to aerate your lawn because of cooler temperatures and more precipitation, but if you overseeded, take care to water every few days. After a couple of weeks, continue mowing your lawn on a typical schedule. 

Looking for more lawn maintenance and mower tips? Your local authorized Grasshopper dealer is your partner in keeping your property looking its best. We’re a ready source for all of your mower equipment, maintenance, parts, and education needs. 

Learn how your Grasshopper mower can accomplish a range of lawn and landscape maintenance tasks with implements such as the AERA-vator™. Our network of dealers can help you select productivity-boosting attachments to suit your needs. Just ask us how we can help.