Aeration is the mechanical process of punching small holes in your lawn (lawn spiking) or removing soil cores from your lawn (hollow tine aeration). We have professional aerating machines that move across the lawn surface punching metal spikes 2- 3 inches into the ground making hundreds of small holes. The spikes (or tines as we call them) can also be hollow to enable the machine to pull a soil core out of the ground.
The purpose of aeration is to reduce soil compaction, reduce sub surface thatch and improve soil health by allowing, water, oxygen and nutrients to pass easily into the root zone, this procedure also improves surface drainage and aids gaseous exchange (healthy soil =healthy grass) . As this process helps to improve surface drainage, it will also discourage moss and disease.
Soil, particularly heavy clay soils have a tendency to compact. The soil particles get pushed closer together by heavy rainfall and heavy traffic on the surface making it difficult for moisture and oxygen essential for grass development to flow freely back and forth from the surface to the roots leading to poor root development. Poorly developed roots lead to weak grass, poor drought and poor disease tolerance. Compacted ground can have serious consequences for any lawn but can be cured by simply aerating.
Our preferred method of aeration is using solid tines as we can create much deeper holes, the method will also heave the soil (better aeration), also as we are not removing plugs this ends up being a much tidier process with a much faster recovery of the lawn. This process of aeration is ideal on all soil types and can be done on a regular basis if requested throughout the year.
Hollow tine aeration is reserved for dealing with specific problems in lawns and is also included in our lawn renovation service.
The illustration shows the effects of aeration over a period of time.
Aeration is the mechanical process of punching small holes in your lawn (lawn spiking) or removing soil cores from your lawn (hollow tine aeration). We have professional aerating machines that move across the lawn surface punching metal spikes 2- 3 inches into the ground making hundreds of small holes. The spikes (or tines as we call them) can also be hollow to enable the machine to pull a soil core out of the ground.
Lawn Therapy recommend lawns are aerated at least once a year.
Regular aeration helps to reduce soil compaction, and helps the soil breath (healthy soil = healthy grass).
Soil compaction is naturally occurring and can be caused by, but not limited to, foot traffic, rain, trees and extremes of weather.
