Do lawns need to be aerated every year?

No, you don't need to aerate your lawn every year, especially if your lawn is healthy and thriving. Aeration is good if you have a compacted, poor or clay-rich soil that has been affected by heavy equipment or heavy foot traffic. It's also good to ventilate if you're renovating a patio or installing a new one. A little aeration, such as once a year, can go a long way in creating a beautiful, healthy lawn.

Your soil, its compaction, and the type of grass you have determine when to aerate your garden lawn. How often should you air your lawn? Regarding frequency, Friell said that aeration should be done at least once a year on most lawns. Lawns with compacted soil or with a high clay content can benefit from aeration twice a year. It is advisable to aerate the grass when the grass is at its peak growth period so that it can recover quickly, think early spring or fall for cold season grasses, and late spring to early summer for warm-season grasses.

If you have high traffic areas or heavy clay soil, you'll want to air them out every year. If you have sandy soil or your lawn grows well, you can air it every 2 to 3 years. Remember that your lawn only needs to remove the straw if you have more than half an inch of straw in the grass. If you don't know when or how to aerate your lawn and prefer not to have to figure it out, hire a lawn aeration service.

If your lawn looks brown, has a thick layer of straw, or if you notice thinner areas, you'll want to air it twice a year until the grass gets better. Whether you use a grass aerator with solid wedge-shaped tines that drill holes in the ground or a central aerator equipped with hollow spikes that remove dirt, the grass aerator will penetrate more easily and can create deeper holes when the soil is wet. Lawn aeration, often called core aeration, removes small plugs of grass, straw, and soil from the turf. However, it is important to fertilize and spread turf seeds after aeration as final steps in maintaining lawn care.

If you have a rough-shaped lawn with large accumulations of straw, discoloration, and puddles, you'll want to air it twice a year until it gets better. Vehicles or small equipment driving on grass are the most obvious offenders, but even outdoor entertainment or games for children and pets can leave all or part of the grass compacted. Right after aeration, it's the perfect time to plant with premium Pennington Smart Seed and fertilize your lawn or make simple lawn repairs.