Aeration is the process of loosening compacted soil on your lawn so that nutrients and other resources can easily reach the roots of your grass. While you might have heard about this service before, you may be wondering if you really need to aerate your lawn every year. Well, the answer is a resounding yes! If you skip out on aerating your lawn, the soil could become compacted and the roots of your grass might not be able to access the nutrients and other resources that it needs to grow healthy and strong. When you should aerate your lawn in Georgia depends on what grass type you have. If you have warm-season grass, you should aerate your lawn in the spring and if you have cool-season grass, you should aerate your lawn in the fall.

What is core aeration?

Core aerator machine in lawn in Mountain Park, GA.

Core aeration is the process of loosening compacted soil by removing small cores of soil from the ground using an aerator machine. As the machine runs over your lawn, cores of soil will be pulled from the ground, leaving tiny holes in your lawn. Nutrients and other resources will use these tiny holes as passageways to reach the roots of your grass. When the roots of your grass are able to absorb these nutrients and resources, they will be able to grow strong, resulting in a healthier lawn that will be better equipped to withstand various stressors.

You can leave the cores of soil on your lawn to decompose because as they break down they will return nutrients to your soil.

What happens if you skip core aeration?

Core aeration is a service that you should never skip out on. If you don't aerate your lawn every year, the soil can become or stay compacted. When the soil on your lawn is compacted, nutrients and other resources like water, sunlight, and oxygen have a difficult time reaching the roots of your grass. When the roots of your grass aren't receiving the nutrients and resources that they need, they can struggle to grow and can even become susceptible to lawn diseases and insect infestations. To ensure the roots of your grass always have access to the resources they need, you should have your lawn aerated every year.

When should you aerate your lawn?

Core plugs removed after aeration service in Buckhead, GA.

When you should aerate your lawn depends on what type of grass you have. Georgia has both warm-season and cool-season grass types, and these types of grass thrive at different points in the year. Because aeration can be an invasive process that can stress out your grass, you'll only want to aerate your lawn when it will be strong enough to endure it. If you have warm-season grass, you should aerate your lawn during the spring when it will be at its strongest. This will allow your grass to thrive during the upcoming summer because it will have been able to absorb the nutrients needed to withstand the hot temperatures.

If you have cool-season grass, you should aerate your lawn in the fall because that's when this type of grass will be at its strongest. By aerating your cool-season lawn in the fall, you'll help the roots of your grass absorb the nutrients and resources that it will need to make it through the winter season. However, you want to make sure that you aerate your lawn early enough in the fall that it will have a chance to recover before winter hits.

Give us a call today to schedule our core aeration service.

At Bloom’n Gardens Landscape, we offer a core aeration service that will give your lawn access to the nutrients and resources that it needs to thrive. We can aerate your lawn in the spring if you have warm-season grass and in the fall if you have cool-season grass. We offer our core aeration service to residential, commercial, and HOA property owners in Atlanta, Buckhead, Smyrna, GA, and throughout the surrounding areas. Call us today at (404) 314-1474 to schedule our full-service maintenance program that includes core aeration.