11 Must-Know Lawn Aeration Tips for the Greenest Grass on the Block

Mowing, watering, and fertilizing are key parts of a healthy lawn maintenance program. But without proper aeration, the soil can’t offer the strong foundation your lawn needs to thrive. 

As the term suggests, lawn aeration creates better air circulation for your lawn’s root system. When done correctly and at the proper time, aeration permits deeper penetration of water, oxygen, and fertilizer into the soil, building stronger roots for a lush lawn. If you’ve been skipping this important task, here are some lawn aeration tips to improve the appearance of your yard.

1. Mow the Lawn First

Regular mowing is important for your lawn, but it’s especially vital to do before you do any additional maintenance tasks like fertilizing or aerating. Whenever you’re doing something that involves penetrating the soil, it makes sense to cut your grass low—experts say to set the mower to around 2 inches above the ground—to allow for easier access. In this case, it will be much easier for a lawn aerator to reach the soil surface of a trimmed lawn than one that’s overgrown.

2. Choose Plug Aeration Over Spike Aeration

The two primary methods for aerating your lawn are spike aeration and plug aeration. Both are what they sound like; spike aerators feature spikes like tines on a fork that poke holes in the soil, while plug aerators reach into the ground to pull out plugs of soil. Either method will be successful in poking holes in your lawn. However, plug aeration is preferred because it creates clean holes by pulling out plugs of soil rather than forming compacted holes with spikes.

3. Mark Off Obstacles in Your Yard

Whether you use a manual or an automated aerator, it helps to have all yard obstacles marked off, like sprinkler heads. Walk through your yard and insert a flag into the soil by anything that could be destroyed by an aerator—it’s a good idea for your own safety, too.

4. Take Multiple Passes

You should take at least two passes of your yard with an aerator, working across your lawn in the same pattern you mow it. If the grass is in good shape, two passes should indeed do the trick. But if you’ve got patchy grass, repeat the process three or four times to ensure that you are removing an adequate amount of plugs to aerate the roots.

5. Leave the Plugs Alone

You might think that once you’ve removed the soil from the ground, you should also remove the plugs. Granted, it’s not the most attractive look for your lawn to have plugs of dirt scattered about, but it is temporary. Those plugs will break down over time, providing much-needed nutrients to your lawn.

6. Aerate During Peak Growth

Lawn experts advise aerating your lawn during its peak growth, which will depend on the type of grass and the region’s climate. For warm-season grass, it’s a good idea to aerate in the late spring, but cool-season grass should be aerated in early autumn.

7. Aerate High-Traffic Lawns More Frequently

A healthy, well-maintained lawn can get by with annual aeration, usually during the fall or spring, depending on the type of grass. But if your lawn is the site of frequent outdoor games or serves as a playground for scampering children and pets, then you’ll have to aerate your lawn twice a year. All that foot traffic causes the soil to be compacted, which blocks vital airflow to the roots. To compensate, add spring and fall aeration to your maintenance schedule.

8. Avoid Aerating New Grass for One Year

You want to give new grass as much help as possible to grow, but that doesn’t involve aeration—at least not yet. Whether you’ve recently seeded or sodded your yard, keep off of it with any aerators for at least one year to let it establish roots first.

9. Aerate When Soil Is Moist, Not Wet

It’s very difficult to aerate bone-dry soil, but you can do more harm than good if you attempt to aerate a lawn that’s too wet. The best time to aerate is when it’s moist, usually a day or two after a rainstorm or a watering. Test the soil by inserting a screwdriver into the surface. If it goes in easily, it will also easily permit the spikes of the aerator. If you cannot insert the screwdriver or it doesn’t go very far into the soil, it needs proper watering before aeration.

10. Fertilize After Aeration

After you’ve aerated, it’s time to fertilize. The soil is now better primed to receive those nutrients, so give special attention to any patchy or brown areas in your lawn. You’ll want to time this well to avoid any rain in the forecast, and you should hold off on watering because you don’t want to wash away the fertilizer before it can get absorbed into the soil.

11. Consider Hiring a Pro to Do the Work

Lawn aeration is a doable DIY task, even an enjoyable one for some. But if you don’t have the time or inclination to do the work, hire a professional lawn aerator near you. Not only will they get the job done right, but they’ll likely be able to diagnose any other issues that might be preventing you from getting the lush lawn you want.