How many times a year should you aerate your lawn?

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. 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.

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. The top layer of soil may have been removed or buried. The grass could have been compacted by the use of construction vehicles.

A lawn that dries easily or feels fluffy can have a lot of straw. If a piece of grass reveals that the straw is larger than half an inch, then aeration is necessary. If a lawn has layers of soil and was created with grass, this can cause problems with drainage. The water stays at a ground level.

This creates compact conditions and hinders root development. If a lawn has regularly parked vehicles, aeration should be done at least once a year. Lawn aeration is the act of placing a special machine on the lawn that drills holes approximately 2 to 4 in length and one inch in diameter. 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.

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. Aeration should be done once a year for healthy lawns and twice a year for lawns with compacted soil and straw accumulation. Lawn aeration should be done at least once every two years to maintain a normal-looking lawn.