Lawn aerator attachment on a garden tiller

A lawn aerator is a

garden tool A garden tool is any one of many tools made for gardening and landscaping, which overlap with the range of tools made for agriculture and horticulture. Garden tools can be divided into hand tools and power tools. Hand tools Today's garden to ...

designed to create holes in the

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...

in order to help

lawn grasses A lawn is an area of soil-covered land planted with grasses and other durable plants such as clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawnmower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic and recreational purposes. L ...

grow. In compacted lawns,

aeration Aeration (also called aerification or aeriation) is the Systems engineering process, process by which air is circulated through, mixed with or solvation, dissolved in a liquid or other substances that act as a fluid (such as soil). Aeration proces ...

improves

soil drainage Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess of water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils is good enough to prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic condition ...

and encourages

worm Worms are many different distantly related bilateral animals that typically have a long cylindrical tube-like body, no limbs, and no eyes (though not always). Worms vary in size from microscopic to over in length for marine polychaete wor ...

microfauna Microfauna (Ancient Greek ''mikros'' "small" + New Latin ''fauna'' "animal") refers to microscopic animals and organisms that exhibit animal-like qualities. Microfauna are represented in the animal kingdom (e.g., nematodes, small arthropods) and t ...

and

microflora Microbiota are the range of microorganisms that may be commensal, symbiotic, or pathogenic found in and on all multicellular organisms, including plants. Microbiota include bacteria, archaea, protists, fungi, and viruses, and have been found to ...

which require

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...

Lawn problems

Lawn aeration involves controlling lawn thatch and reducing soil compaction, making grass roots multiply. Aerating either by coring or spiking causes the roots to divide or sever apart, which rarely happens naturally. Severing the roots causes them to multiply and thus the blades of grass multiply, keeping the lawn thick and deeply rooted as the holes become engorged with roots. Lawn thatch is a layer of dead organic tissue that can protect the lawn by moderating temperature and reducing evapotranspiration when it is a reasonable thickness, but too much thatch can limit soil oxygenation and reduce watering effectiveness. Soil compaction makes it difficult for grass to develop long roots and disturbs both natural rainwater and artificial

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

Types of aerators

There are two types of lawn aerators: #spike aerators use wedge shaped solid spikes to punch holes in the soil #core aerators have hollow tines that pull out plugs (or "cores") from soil Curved Spike Aerator

Core/plug aerator vs. spike aerator A spike aerator creates holes in the ground by pushing the soil sideways as wedge-shaped spikes penetrate the soil. Since there is no soil removed from the ground, watering will cause the compacted soil around the holes to expand and close. A core/plug aerator removes soil from the ground and leaves the core on the turf. This reduces compaction in the soil, and the holes can stay open for a long time allowing air, fertilisers, and water to reach the roots. Core aeration is suitable for heavy clay soils, and spike aeration is more suited to sandy or loamy soils. Powered aerator vs. manual aerator AIREADORA 04

Powered aerators employ the power from ground propulsion to drive multiple tines into ground. The machines can aerate a large lawn in a relatively short time (similar to mowing speed). Manual aerators usually have two to five hollow tines mounted on a step bar. The operator puts one foot on the step bar and push it downward, forcing the tines to penetrate into the soil. Then he pulls the handle on the step bar upward to remove the soil cores out of the ground. By repeating the same operation, the cores left in the tines will be pushed out by the next ones. Manual aerators are much cheaper than powered ones. The trade-off is the speed. For a typical residential lawn (1/4 acre lot), it will take hours to finish. Some products also have issues with the tines becoming clogged with soil, which can slow down the operation even more. However, a well-made manual aerator offers advantages such as ease of use, selective aeration, and economy.

Guidelines

Grass type determines the best time of year for aeration. Cool-season grasses (bluegrass, fescue and ryegrass) should be aerated in early spring or fall (March, April or September). Warm-season grasses (Bermudagrass, buffalograss, zoysiagrass) should be aerated in May through July. It's recommend to space aerator holes 3 inches or less apart. Given the spacing of tines on many aerator machines this means several passes could be necessary.

Lawn problems

Types of aerators

Guidelines

References

External links

See also