Core aeration hand tools

Clay soil is likely to compact more than a soil with higher sand content. If your lawn is grown on sandy or loose soil, you will want to carry out soil aeration preferably after every two years. Augustine thrives in early summer months and best to be aerated in the late Spring April. These are the optimal weather for faster growing and recovery of a lawn.

There is no need to aerate the soil if you recently spread grass seeds on your lawn or sodded. Allow some time, at least a year for seeds to germinate and form a steady root system.

Avoid aerating a lawn that is flooded or pooled with water. Immediately after an extended period of downpour or after thorough sprinkling, the soil becomes too wet and will stick to the tines making the whole process meaningless and tedious.

Aerating a lawn manually is a less expensive method especially for small yards. However, you will need specified tools for this purpose. Lawn aeration by hand can be labor intensive and time consuming for large lawns thus recommended to use a power or commercial lawn aerator. A manual aerator has a handle and a foot bar attached to sharp cylinders. To use the tool, you hold the hand with both hands and drive it into the soil and extract it. The sharp cylinders will perforate into the turf and remove plugs of soil and grass leaving some holes.

A foot bar becomes useful where soil is hard or compacted. A manual spike aerator works like a manual core aerator but instead of sharp cylinders that plug the soil, it has sharp spikes that make holes into the turf. Using a manual core aerator can produce optimal results as compared to spike aerator especially in areas where soil is prone to compaction. Poking holes alone may not be sufficient enough to loosen the soil.

Like a spike aeration, using a fork will make holes in your lawn for efficient flow of nutrients, air and water to the grass roots. Although a less expensive methods, forking can be time consuming and tedious for large lawns.

There are a number of things to be done fist. Establishing the type of grass you have on your lawn helps in planning on the best time of the year to aerate. As mentioned earlier, cool season grass are best aerated during Fall and Spring for warm season grass respectively. How often to aerate a lawn depends on the type of soil your grass is grown on.

Clay soil compacts easily and best aerated frequently as opposed to sandier soil type. Generally, aerate clay soil every season and after every two years for other soil types. Based on your lawn size and budge, decided on a manual lawn aerator tool.

As mentioned, the three commonly used tools are; manual core aerator, spike aerator or a fork. Compacted lawn soil hinders proper growth of grass, thus resulting in an unhealthy, unattractive lawn. There are still plenty of manual lawn aeration methods that are equally effective. Although manual methods may not be as effective as using a machine, they are still capable of delivering excellent results.

Moreover, the tools are quite affordable. The major downside with manual methods is that they can be quite tedious and laborious. You are required to hold the handle using both hands so that you can drive it into the soil. In areas where the soil is too compacted, the foot bar offers extra leverage. This tool works best on moist soil, and it aerates your lawn by penetrating the earth with sharp cylinders which make perforations into the turf and remove small plugs of lawn.

This process can be, but it is essential to run the aerator over the entrie lawn. Another manual tool that could help you aerate your lawn is the manual spike aerator. This tool operates similarly to the manual core aerator, but instead of cylinders, it has a number of spikes.

Instead of plugging the lawn, it drives small holes into the turf to loosen the soil. This allows for better penetration and circulation of air, water, and nutrients. A fork can be a useful tool for aerating your lawn.

The process is more or less like spike aeration. The process, however, is extremely tedious and time-consuming, especially if you have a large lawn. Before you aerate your lawn, you must understand the process. These are some of the critical things to be mindful of while aerating:. The first step to aerating your lawn is establishing the type of grass that grows on it. Soil also affects the intervals between each aeration.

Some soils such as clay require shorter aeration intervals while sandy soils call for longer intervals before the next aeration process. Different homeowners use their lawns in different ways. If you drive over your lawn frequently, or if you have children playing on your lawn all year long, we recommend aeration every year to avoid excessive soil compaction.

Additionally, if you have recently spread grass seed on your lawn, there is no need to rush into aerating the soil. You should wait about a year to allow enough time for the seeds to germinate and develop strong root systems. You can examine the depth using a small shovel or a screwdriver. You also have to establish the type of manual aerator that you would like to use. Do you want a core aerator or a spike aerator? Depending on your needs and preference, select the tool that works best for you.

You can also use a fork for the operation. Before you proceed with the aeration process, ensure to prepare your yard accordingly. The preparations involve raking debris, sticks, and leaves off the lawn. You should also mow your lawn to make the penetration easier. If you have sprinklers, be sure to turn them off before aerating.

Manual tools work best in soft, moist dirt. Be sure to water the lawn before you carry out the operation. If you have areas on your lawn that receive more traffic than others, we recommend paying close attention to these areas.

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. 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.

Lawn aeration, or core aeration, will help fix this problem by pulling up plugs of soil and then allowing air, water, and nutrients to reach the roots of your grass. Lawn aeration will help strengthen the roots and allow them to grow deeper.