The Science Behind Core Aeration: How It Benefits Your Grass

If you’re the type of person who likes to understand the reasons behind the services you’re investing in, you might be curious about the purpose of lawn aeration.

Maybe other lawn care services and tasks make sense to you. You water your lawn because all living things require water to grow and thrive. You fertilize your lawn because it needs nutrients to replenish what’s been depleted from the soil.

But lawn aeration is one of those services that people often tell us they don’t fully understand.

We love that you want to be a wise consumer of lawn care services, which is why we want to shed some light on the benefits of lawn aeration. We’ll not only explain how it works but talk about why it’s so beneficial.

In this article, we’ll cover:

How does aeration work?
What is the benefit of aerating your lawn
How to get the most out of lawn aeration
Choosing the best lawn aeration services in Louisville, KY

At the end of the day, we want to help you feel educated on the decisions that you are making for your lawn. You deserve to have a good understanding of how the lawn care services you pay for actually work.

How does aeration work?

Before we explain how aeration works, it helps to understand that lawn’s need to be able to “breathe” In order to perform optimally. Unfortunately, this can be quite challenging with our soil type.

Because Louisville’s soil is predominantly clay, it becomes compacted pretty easily. Clay soil has small pore space to begin with and when it becomes compacted, it’s very difficult for not only oxygen but also water and nutrients to move toward the subsurface levels where they’re needed most.

The way in which lawn aeration works is two-fold.

• First, the holes being made throughout the lawn with a piece of machinery called a core aerator do help break up the soil compaction. The holes that are made throughout the lawn are helping to loosen the soil. As a result, more water, nutrients, and oxygen can freely move.
• Second, the cores of soil that are left behind on the lawn once the holes are made are also important. Homeowners don’t always realize that leaving these pieces of soil (also called “plugs”) is part of the process. That’s because they will naturally break down and decompose, adding nutrients back into the soil. This helps to further loosen the soil and improve compaction and overall soil quality.

Honestly, aeration is one of the best things that you can do for your lawn. Our soil type can make it really challenging to grow healthy grass but lawn aeration can make a tremendous difference in your results. 

Just keep in mind, it’s playing the long game as it’s not an overnight impact. But you can absolutely see a noticeable difference in the overall performance of aerated lawns vs. non-aerated lawns over time. 

It’s often called the “secret to a healthy lawn” as it’s frequently underrated for how valuable it can be. If you’ve ever wondered what some of the differences between residential lawns and golf courses are, regular aeration is a big one! 

What is the benefit of aerating your lawn?

In explaining how aeration works, we’ve already somewhat answered this question above. The biggest benefit is that lawn aeration helps alleviate soil compaction, which is one of the challenges we face here in Louisville, KY.

But there are other benefits of yard aeration that you should also consider.

Some of the other benefits of lawn aeration include:

• Healthier Grass: When the roots are getting the oxygen, water, and nutrients they need, your lawn is going to perform better. From a resilience standpoint, that means a lawn that can better stand up to problems. Lawn problems like weeds, disease, and pests tend to be more prevalent in lawns that are already struggling. But when you have thicker, healthier grass growing, it’s going to ward off problems better.
• Reduction of Thatch: Thatch, which is the organic layer made up of dead and living stems which naturally occurs on the lawn, can become problematic if it grows in excess. It builds up between the surface of the soil and the bottom of the grass blades. A little bit won’t harm your lawn, but when it builds up, it can cause major issues. For one, thatch tends to be a layer of the lawn where surface-feeding insects like to hang around. A build-up of thatch can also be a contributor to lawn disease. But lawn aeration will help to break this up.
• Improved Aesthetics: A huge benefit of lawn aeration is the overall improved appearance of your lawn. As we mentioned, this does involve playing the “long game,” meaning you won’t see an improvement overnight. But there’s no question that healthier grass tends to be greener and thicker which means a well-aerated lawn will have improved aesthetics. Before lawn aeration, compacted soil can mean that your lawn isn’t achieving its full potential because oxygen, water, and nutrients are struggling to move down to the root zone where they’re desperately needed.
• More Value out of Lawn Care Services: If you are paying for services like lawn fertilization and weed control but you aren’t investing in lawn aeration, you might not be getting the maximum value out of these other services. These lawn care products are going to be sitting atop the compacted soil instead of penetrating down to the root zone where they’re needed.
• Improved Drainage: Compacted soil can also become waterlogged which can become a major hassle and headache for you. Waterlogging occurs when water is unable to drain. With no air space left, your grassroots can literally drown. It can also leave your lawn soggy and unusable. Nobody wants to have water pooling in their lawn. 

How to get the most out of lawn aeration

Maximizing the benefits of lawn aeration boils down to a few key considerations. Here are some points we’d suggest keeping in mind.

Optimal Timing

In order to yield the most benefits of lawn aeration you also want to make sure that you’re performing this service at the optimal time of the year.

The best time for lawn aeration in Louisville, KY is in the spring, at the start of the lawn care season. This is because during the winter months, the soil can become compacted due to snow, ice, and foot traffic. 

Lawn aeration is a great way to start your season and ensure that you’re producing the best lawn care results. 

You also want to make sure that you’re aerating often enough. Ideally, if you can aerate every year, you are really going to maximize the benefits.

DIY vs. Professional Aeration

You also want to be sure that this service is performed properly. 

Some homeowners tackle DIY aeration by renting a core aerator and trying to aerate on their own. It’s not that this is impossible to do, it’s just that it comes with more hassles and headaches than people tend to realize before getting involved with it. 

A core aerator is a large piece of machinery and not the simplest to operate. A rental place is likely going to rent you a push aerator, which can be quite laborious to push around on your property. You also have to consider transporting the aerator to and from your home.

It could also yield subpar results. Often, the machines available at a rental place are clunky and old, having been used by hundreds of homeowners before you!  This can definitely have an impact on your results.

Being Selective About Aeration Services in Louisville, KY

Of course, just because a lawn care company offers aeration services does not mean they’re going to automatically get you the best results. 

You first want to evaluate the lawn care company performing these services and make sure that you’re choosing a company that you can trust.

A lawn care “pro” can still rush through or cut corners when performing your lawn aeration so you want to make sure that you’re choosing wisely. In order to truly get all of the benefits of lawn aeration, you’ll need the right pro performing this service for you.

Choosing the Best Aeration Services in Louisville, KY

Given the importance of aerating, you want to make sure that these services are done right. When you hire a professional to perform these services, you can remove the guesswork and help ensure the best results. That means gaining the maximum benefits of lawn aeration.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to getting the results that you desire and deserve. 

When you choose Limbwalker to help grow and care for your lawn, you can gain confidence that we’re committed to offering the best over everything. That means the best lawn care services AND the best customer experience.

We are here to be your lawn care partner and set you up for long-term success.

Are you ready to have a thick and healthy lawn that’s getting everything it needs at your Louisville, KY home? Get in touch with us to get a quote for our lawn care programs, which include three lawn care pricing options and let’s talk about aerating your lawn!