Do you often take a look at your lawn and wish it was thicker, greener or less patchy? If so, you could be suffering from soil compaction and poor grass aeration.
Luckily, these symptoms are easy to solve by making aerating your turf part of your regular lawn care routine.
Poor lawn drainage Soil compaction often manifests itself by the pooling or puddling of water on the turfs surface or by runoff into the surrounding beds or paths.
Compacted soil has had the air and moisture squeezed out from between the grains of the soil leaving fewer and smaller passages for the rain to soak into the turf.
This water then collects on the surface and runs off into the surrounding garden, but leaves the grass with only a wet surface layer and very little seepage into the deeper soil where the roots can access it an nourish the grass.
This puddling and runoff from compacted soil can lead to shallow root structures and rapid drying and dehydration.
The suction effect of the evaporating water between the grains of the soil also compacts it further compounding the effect for the next rainfall or watering.
You can identify poor drainage by comparing your lawn to others in the area.
If yours seems to be thinner, less green and dries out more quickly you may well have an issue with water retention in the soil that can be solved by lawn aeration.
Thin turf or bare batches A thin coverage of grass is a good sign that your turf isn't absorbing or retaining enough water and that the grasses root system isn't extensive enough to keep the grass drinking from the water stored deeper in the turf.
Some of this maybe due to your local climate, but if you compare your lawn to your neighbours and it looks dry and washed out then you may well have a lawn aeration problem.
In extreme cases, especially in high use areas such as near paths and shortcuts across your lawn, you may see bare areas of turf where the grass has been worn away and won't come back.
A healthy, tough seeded grass should stand up to heavy use if the soil is in good condition and full of air, moisture and nutrients.
Just remember to cut little and often to promote the grass to grow back thickly and to spread over the thinner patches.
Coverage of lawn thatch If you have a thick layer of dead organic material, or thatch, covering your turf at the base of your grass blades then poor aeration could be to blame as this is one of the signs of lawn compaction.
In a normal, healthy lawn, the soil is full of air, moisture and nutrients that promote a robust population of both microfauna such as fungi and bacteria and the larger soil dwelling animals such as earthworms that promote a healthy soil.
Both of these help to break down dead organic material above and below the surface and help return the nutrients to the soil to assist in feeding the remaining grass.
Lack of these helpers due to soil compaction and poor aeration lets the thatch layer build up and can get so thick that rain or watering it merely soaks the thatch where it acts as a barrier for the water and air to penetrate the soil perpetuating the problem.
A constantly damp layer of dead material is also a perfect breeding ground for the diseases of grass.
Simply scarifying the lawn to remove this material and aerating the lawn will solve this problem.
Disease, weeds and moss An unhealthy lawn, by whatever cause, tends to leave the grass thinner, drier and with a stunted root system that leaves it open to dehydration and disease.
As the grass starts to thin out, it exposes bare soil that provides the ground space for weeds to start to take hold.
Spring is the perfect time when wet and warmer conditions with a post-winter turf provide the ideal opportunity for them to take root and grow rapidly.
If the grass is not properly maintained the weeds will go to seed and spread giving you a bigger problem! Moss is a similar problem, often in more shaded areas where the grass can't get enough water or light to grow as thickly as it might otherwise.
These areas, especially if they are damp are excellent for many mosses which can push out the grass unless the problem is addressed.
Lawn or yard aeration, a solution to your lawn woes In all these cases, lawn aeration can help significantly to keep the weeds in check, encourage the grass to grow back thicker and stronger and require less time, effort and money to maintain.
If your lawn suffers from these, order in an aerator and read on to discover the benefits of lawn or yard aeration.