What Happens If You Don’t Aerate Your Lawn?

1 Aeration creates holes down into the soil to alleviate compaction so air, water and nutrients can reach grass roots. Deprived of their basic needs by compacted soil, lawn grasses struggle in stressful situations, such as

heat and low rainfall

, and lose their healthy, rich color.

Do you really need to aerate your lawn?

No, it's not necessary to aerate your lawn every year

, especially if your grass is healthy and thriving. Aeration is good if you've got compacted, poor or clay-heavy soil that's been impacted by heavy equipment or lots of foot traffic. It's also good to aerate if you are renovating a yard or installing a new one.

Can I skip aerating lawn?

Can You Overseed Without Aerating?

You can overseed lawn without

aerating to improve your turf. Use a combination of a lawnmower and a rake or dethatcher to loosen the soil before spreading your seeds and fertilizer across the ground. Water the area, mow as needed, and apply more fertilizer after six weeks.

How do I know if I need to aerate my lawn?

1. It's Fall or Spring. The fall is the perfect season to aerate and seed your lawn. …
2. Puddles. Puddles are an indication of compacted soil. …
3. Worn Areas. Patches in the yard? …
4. Inability to Moisten. …
5. Thinning Grass. …
6. Discolored Areas. …
7. Uniformly Thin and Dull. …
8. Yard Stopped Growing.

When should you not aerate your lawn?

Ideally, aerate the lawn with cool season grass in the

early spring

or autumn and those with warm season grass in the late spring. When experiencing prolonged dry conditions and drought, aeration is recommended. This will improve the passage for water and nutrients to reach the lawns roots when watering is limited.

Should I mow before or after aeration?

In general, aeration creates the most benefit on soil that is a little bit moist. Then, try not to mow right after aerating. Instead,

mow beforehand

, and consider laying seed and fertilizer over your lawn after aeration and give your lawn time for that new seed to germinate before you mow again.

How Much Should lawn aeration cost?

Professional Lawn Care Aeration and Treatment

The cost to aerate your lawn by hiring a lawn care company is about

$15 to $17 per thousand square feet

. The average lawn size is about ten thousand square feet, making the average aeration cost around $150.

Will grass seed grow if you just throw it on the ground?

If you throw grass on the

ground it will grow

, but we would recommend throwing a layer of mulch or soil over the seeds that helps promote growth. Bermuda seed needs to be covered to germinate.

Can you plant grass without tilling?

Over-Seeding

: A Quick & Easy Fix

It's also an easy and effective way to strengthen your grass – without the need of tilling the soil, removing roots or removing old grass. Over-seeding gives your yard the robustness it needs to fend off weeds, pests and fungus, as well as improve drought tolerance.

Does aerating lawn make a difference?

Why Aerating Helps Lawns

A layer of compacted soil just 1/4 to 1/2 inches thick can make a significant difference in the health and beauty of your lawn. 1

Aeration creates holes down into the soil to alleviate compaction

so air, water and nutrients can reach grass roots.

Should I pick up plugs after aerating?

Those aeration plugs are vital to the health of your lawn. Resist the urge to “clean” the lawn after it's been aerated, and whatever you do,

don't remove the plugs

.

What should I put on my lawn after aerating?

Apply fertilizer

immediately after aerating your lawn to put nutrients into your grass roots. This allows the grass to better prepare for summer heat. Growing a thick, healthy lawn is useful in preventing weeds as well. Reseed your lawn, especially in areas of the lawn where the grass is thin.

Can you aerate too much?

As a general rule,

you shouldn't need to aerate more than once a year at any time

(“too much of a good thing” applies here, since you don't want to damage your soil).

How can I make my grass greener and thicker?

1. Mow Your Lawn Correctly. …
2. Water Grass Properly. …
3. Fertilize Grass Adequately. …
4. The Importance of a Lawn Soil Test. …
5. Control Lawn Weeds, Insects, & Diseases. …
6. Aerate and Overseed Your Lawn When Needed. …
7. Deal With the Shady Spots in Your Lawn.

Which is better spike or plug aerator?

Plug aerators

are usually more effective at relieving compaction in lawns with a heavy clay soil since the solid tines used on spike aerators compact the clay soil further when they push into the ground. … Soils that crumble easily are usually high in loam and sand which benefit more from the use of a spike aerator.