Lawn Aeration In Walpole, Medfield, Dover, Westwood, MA and more

Benefits of
Lawn Aeration:

See Also:

• Property Maintenance
• Spring / Fall Clean-Up
• Mulching / Edging
• Lawn Mowing
• Tree / Shrub Care
• Landscape Design
• Plantings
• Lawn Aeration
• Lawn Installation
• Fertilizer
• Mosquito & Tick Spraying
• Bi-Mix Compost Blowing
• Landscape Construction
• Landscape Design
• Site Work Contractor
• Patios, Walkways, Pool Deck Design, Fire pits, Outdoor Kitchens, Retaining Walls, And More

When Do You Need To Aerate Your Lawn?

Ideally, the best time for lawn aeration in Massachusetts is either in Fall or Spring. This is when the soil is most likely to be naturally moist and it is suitable for the holes to be set effectively. Ideally, you would aerate in the Spring when it is just coming into growing season for the grass, as this gives the grass the opportunity to heal properly. Keep in mind that the weather in Massachusetts varies a great deal and aeration is very condition dependent. If it is too wet then the holes will not let water and air through as the sides of the holes will seal up.

When it comes to frequency of lawn aeration it is dependent on the lawn. New lawns should be aerated more often as they have a less matured root system, and aerating helps this develop and grow. We would recommend you aerate your lawn twice a year for a new non-established lawn. Lawns with hard or clay soil should be aerated once a year as they have more difficulty getting air and water to the roots. For all other types of soil and lawn, you should aerate at least every 3 years, but more frequently if the grass is looking unhealthy or not growing well.

When Should I Aerate And When Should I Dethatch?

Aerate

Aeration can prevent a lawn from becoming compacted, and when this happens soil particles do not allow proper nutrients to reach plant roots. You’ll know your lawn needs to be aerated if the soil is compacted. To test this, push a screwdriver into the ground. Can you do it easily, or is the surface too hard?

We recommend that you aerate your lawn on an annual basis, in the spring or fall.

Dethatch

It’s important to choose the right time of year to dethatch, depending upon the type of grass you have and your climate.

Dethatching is tough on a lawn, so do it when the lawn will have the best chance to recover. Don’t dethatch if you’re in a drought or a heat wave. Ideally, there should be about 45 days of good growing conditions after you dethatch so the grass will recover without weeds taking over. Generally, late spring and early fall are the best times, but a lot depends upon your grass and whether it grows during warm or cool weather.

Core Vs. Liquid Aeration?

Core Aeration

Grassroots need oxygen to function and in our heavy clay soils here in Massachusetts, getting enough oxygen to the roots can sometimes be difficult. With core aeration, we poke holes into your soil and pull the cores out. Aeration helps lawns with thatch problems. It loosens the soil to let nutrients work better; plus, it helps your lawn make the best use of watering because an aerated lawn will retain more water with less runoff.

You do not want to aerate in the summer, though. It is best to wait until the cooler weather (spring/fall) arrives and the soil is a bit moister.

Liquid Aeration

Take the battle against thatch a step further and what you get is liquid aeration. As the name suggests, this is a liquid application that can be as effective as or even more than a traditional physical aeration. Liquid aeration is an excellent tool because it can loosen the soil deeper than core aeration can.

There are some liquid aeration type products on the market. We are always testing and using new materials, but the basics are they contain a few main ingredients. First, they contain some sort of wetting agent to get the materials down into the soil. A wetting agent can be made from natural materials like the yucca plant, or from a more synthetic soap-like material. Either is probably fine. Secondly, the product should contain food for microbial life, typically humates and maybe kelp. Finally, a good liquid aeration product should contain enzymes or bacteria that are specifically designed to break down thatch. Sometimes the thatch decomposition product is in a separate package and requires its own application.

Important! Composting After Thatching, Aerating, And Seeding

This composting process is an important part of lawn care as it brings the lawn back to life in a short amount of time.  After thatching, aerating and seeding your lawn will ensure that the mix goes deep into the soil with ease and creates a beautiful healthy lawn. We have had great success by laying down several inches of compost on top of our seed after aerating and dethatching and watering thoroughly. Composting all over your newly seeded lawns will help hold moisture throughout the early season producing instant green grass that we enjoy taking compliments on.

In addition composting your lawn is a great way to naturally keep weeds at bay by competing with the seeds you just put into place. Composting will not only help produce a thicker and greener lawn but it will also add ph nutrients back into the soil that were leached out during the winter months. Nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and more. The compost is high organic matter content which means there are plenty of organisms that feed off compost including earthworms who play a huge role in aerating the top layer of your soil. These organisms through their waste (poop) release numerous amounts of nutrients back into the ground making them once again available for plant life.