Aeration Services
Lego Services provides both Lawn Aeration and De-thatching Services in Central Pennsylvania.
What is Core Aeration?
Plants need oxygen as much as they need carbon dioxide, but they need oxygen in their root areas. As people walk, play football or practice swinging the golf club on their lawn, they compact the soil, squeezing it together and removing spaces that oxygen normally fills. Plants use oxygen when they metabolize (break down) the sugar they store from photosynthesis. Without oxygen for this process, plants will literally starve. In addition to improving oxygen availability for plants, it also improves life for soil organisms. Lawn aeration allows water to filter more consistently through soil, and helps reduce problems with thatch.
Core Aeration also allows the root systems of your turf grass to grow deeper into the soil. Deep root systems provide a healthy thick lawn. The shorter the root system, the easier it is for the grass to die. By removing a 'plug' of soil, you are loosening up the remaining dirt for the root systems to continue growing.
When Should You Aerate?
Depending upon how much foot traffic the lawn in question gets, you may need to aerate more than once a year. You always want to aerate when the lawn can grow and heal itself from the process. Aerating a lawn disrupts plant roots and is stressful to the plants in the beginning. It is best to aerate in the spring and fall—when the plants are actively growing, and it is not too hot. Warm season grasses grow most during the hot summer, so aerating during the summer works well for them. Disrupting the plant roots will interfere with their ability to take up water and recover from the aerating process. Aerating mid-summer requires more careful observation of moisture levels.
How Do You Aerate?
It is not a bad idea to hire a professional with a punch-core aerator to aerate the lawn for you. Most equipment rental places do not have core-aerators that actually remove the core. Before the professional arrives, however, you need to do some prep-work. Mow the lawn to a slightly shorter height and give the lawn at least one inch of water two days prior to aerating. This will loosen the soil and help the lawn recover. After aerating, continue giving the lawn 1 inch of water twice a week.
Aerating your lawn at the right time with the proper equipment can ensure that you have a beautiful yard, every season of the year.
Want to know a cheap and easy way to aerate yourself?
Golf Shoes! Walk on your lawn with golf shoes weekly or biweekly and notice the difference in as little as a month. Your lawn will appear thicker, richer green colors, and all around healthier to the eye. And you won't receive the extra soil damage returned from using a machine aerator.
While poking holes in the soil is not an ideal solution to aeration, and can actually compact the soil more if done to often, I have personally seen nice results returned from this simple method.
Core Aeration Services
Lego Services provides Aeration Services for the Altoona Area and surrounding cities. Visit out Service Locations section to see if your area is covered.
