Soil aeration is the unsung hero of lawn care tasks. Although many homeowners don’t perform it, this practice helps your irrigation and fertilization efforts achieve maximum effectiveness to result in healthy, green grass that’s better able to stand up to stress – as well as be the envy of the neighbors!

Why You Should Aerate Your Lawn

If you’re unfamiliar with the term, aeration involves perforating the soil with small holes to allow air, water and nutrients to penetrate the grass roots. This helps the roots grow deeply and produce a stronger, more vigorous lawn.

According to Briggs & Stratton, “The main reason for aerating is to alleviate soil compaction. Compacted soils have too many solid particles in a certain volume or space, which prevents proper circulation of air, water and nutrients within the soil. Excess lawn thatch or heavy organic debris buried under the grass surface can also starve the roots from these essential elements.”

How does that happen? As ASI Landscaping Management points out, “Throughout the year, your soil and grass go through a lot. It’s being trampled on by you and your family, rolled over by lawn equipment, and otherwise taking a lot of direct stress. By the time fall shows up, the grass and its roots can be compacted, which can affect how it grows going forward. Aeration involves using special equipment to perforate the ground with a series of shallow indentations.”

In addition to helping the roots, aeration also helps with the natural decomposition of the thatch layer in your lawn. Each time you mow, small pieces of cut grass stay in the lawn, creating a protective layer to shelter roots and young grass blades from the harsh sun. However, if the thatch becomes too thick, it can begin to suffocate your lawn. Aeration keeps thatch at the appropriate level. Even though Florida tends to have sandy loam soil – which is a collaboration of sand, clay, and silt and doesn’t get so easily compacted – aeration can still be necessary.

When You Should Aerate Your Lawn

In Central Florida, you should aerate your warm-season lawn twice a year – ideally in late spring and early fall – to allow the grass to recover quickly and take advantage of nutrient and water absorption during the peak growing periods.

To be more specific, early fall (September and October) is an optimal time because it’s after the peak of summer heat stress, allowing the grass to strengthen its root system and recover from the high temperatures.

Late spring to early summer (April to July) is good for warm-season grass – such as St. Augustine, Bermuda and Zoysia – which is actively growing. Aerating during this time gives the grass the best chance to benefit from the improved airflow and nutrient access.

If you’ve never aerated your lawn before, you may wonder if aeration is necessary. Take a good look around your property. You need to aerate if you see the following, which are signs of compacted soil:

• Thatch buildup on the soil surface.
• Pooling water: Water pools on the lawn surface after rain or irrigation, showing that the soil isn’t absorbing moisture efficiently.
• Spongy or hard soil: The soil feels hard, dry, or spongy underfoot, making it difficult for roots to grow.
• Thinning grass or bare patches: The lawn appears sparse, with areas of visible soil, as roots are unable to access essential water and nutrients.
• Discoloration or wilting: The grass loses its vibrant green color and may appear yellow or wilted due to stress.

Another good indication is if your lawn fails the “screwdriver test.” Find a spot where you see evidence of soil compaction, and push a standard screwdriver into the ground. If it’s hard to push, your soil needs to be aerated.

Aerating once a year is enough for most Central Florida lawns, but heavily used lawns – like those with kids, pets or frequent outdoor entertaining – may benefit from aeration twice a year.

Steps to Aerate Your Lawn for the Best Results

If you have a small lawn that only needs light aeration, you can go over it with a pitchfork, pressing the tines down into the soil at regular intervals. Also known as spike aeration, it will create holes where air, moisture, and nutrients can better reach the roots – but it won’t pull up plugs of soil to help the thatch decompose. Moreover, this method is tedious and time-consuming, which is why it’s better suited for a postage stamp-sized lawn if you intend to DIY.

It’s more practical to use a core aerator, which punches down into the ground with hollow tines, pulling up plugs of dirt, thatch and grass and leaving them on the surface of the lawn. You can find this type of equipment at a home improvement center or garden supply store.

There are two main types of core aerators: manual and gas-powered. Many stores offer rental services for gas-powered aerators, saving you from having to purchase it yourself. 

The following general instructions for aeration are courtesy of Briggs & Stratton:

• Start with moist soil (wait 24 hours after a rainstorm or irrigation).
• Choose a tool or a machine that removes plugs of soil from the lawn, rather than making a hole in the ground. That causes the surrounding area of the hole to compact roots and grass even more, thus defeating the purpose of aerating your lawn. 
• Since most machines and tools only cover a small percentage of soil surface, multiple passes might be necessary. 
• Once the plugs have dried, they can be broken up and spread over your lawn for a clean appearance (the plugs can be broken up using your lawn mower or by pounding them with the back of a rake).
• After aeration, following up with the right care can ensure your lawn gets the full benefits to make it thrive.

Water your lawn thoroughly – Moist soil helps roots absorb nutrients more efficiently.

Avoid heavy foot traffic – Limit lawn activity for a few days to allow the plugs to break down naturally.

Mow as needed – Mowing helps break up the soil plugs faster, returning organic matter to the soil.

Fertilize as needed – Aeration boosts fertilizer uptake.

Overseed your lawn – Overseeding – as well as seeding – should be done in conjunction with aeration because it allows the seeds to reach closer to the existing root system. If you want your yard to look its best throughout winter, fall is the time to overseed. This refers to the practice of seeding a temporary cool-season grass – such as ryegrass – over the permanent warm-season lawn that goes dormant during late fall and early winter in many parts of Florida. This provides an attractive green lawn until it dies out in spring and growth of the warm-season grass resumes. Our blog post – “What to Do In Fall for Your Central Florida Yard” – covers this topic in detail.

The Take-Home Message

As with all aspects of lawn care, aerating isn’t glamorous, but can result in lush, vibrant grass that’s the basis of a yard with maximum curb appeal! But if the intense work it requires doesn’t appeal to you, call us! Our professionals at Daniel’s Lawn Service & Pressure Washing are true locals with a passion for keeping your Central Florida yard beautiful and healthy!

In addition to lawn care, our full-service company provides landscape design, yard maintenance, plant and tree installation, tree trimming, tree stump removal, land clearing, pressure washing and so much more. Contact us today so we can do the work, and you can do the enjoying! We proudly serve all of Central Florida – including Orlando, Sanford, Longwood and Lake Mary! We look forward to helping you achieve your goals and bring your vision to life!