my lawn's soil is very hard and the grass is thinning. i believe i need to aerate it.
2006-09-03 19:40:35 · 6 answers · asked by mbidema 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Garden & Landscape
Aerating a lawn is usually done because of poor drainage. You mentioned that your soil is hard. If it is hard because of too much clay content then yes you need to aerate, but that won't fix the problem by itself.
There are two methods you can use. If your lawn is not too big you can drive holes in it with a garden pitch fork. The other is rent a commercial aerator that takes plugs out of the lawn. This is the same system they use on golf greens, when they start to thin out. (best)
After you aerate and rake up all the plugs, you then to add a layer of sand, about a 1/4 of an inch. Then re-seed over top and water twice a day until it has rooted. The best time of year to do this is coming up in September because it is a little cooler, If you can't do it then, wait until the spring.
2006-09-03 21:07:51 · answer #1 · answered by bennii 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If your soil is mostly clay and/or clay combos, you probably do. Aeration can be done a few ways. You can hire someone to do it, you can buy a hand aeration device, or you can aeration shoes. The best and easiest is to hire, but it will cost. The next is to do it yourself, but it takes some work. You can also add some ingrediants to your lawn to help. A few inches of sand or some volcanic ash will help mix up your clay yard. These are costly, but work. Goos Luck
2006-09-04 03:31:49 · answer #2 · answered by Ron B. 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If your lawn is hardening so much you don't need aeration, you need to till. Plants don't grow in soil, they grow in between the particles of soil. A good soil mix is 25% air, 25% water and 50% soil particles. You need to till and mix. This action brings inorganic stuff up to the surface and organic stuff down to the bottom.
2015-03-28 17:24:06 · answer #3 · answered by Joshua 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Aerating is good. Also, you can never apply too much lime. You may want to try raising your blades up to allow the grass to thicken up.
2006-09-03 19:45:04 · answer #4 · answered by up all night 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would aerate it, it can't hurt. Go talk to the man at your local nursery and see if he has some tips for you to use.
2006-09-04 02:35:43 · answer #5 · answered by couchP56 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
that would be a good idea, but you should talk to a lawn guy
2006-09-03 19:44:30 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋