If you have your Denver sprinklers all set for the late summer and are looking to further improve your lawn, you may have heard lawn experts reiterate the benefits of core aerating your lawn. You have heard right. Core aeration has been proven to work. It is a mechanical process used to remove tiny plugs of thatches and soil from your lawn, after which the plugs are deposited on top of your lawn in order to break down and re-filter its content through the soil. This filtering process of the plugs is similar to applying a top dressing to your lawn.

Healthier Landscape
Any lawn that is annually aerated will be a healthier landscape, which will subsequently be easier and simpler to maintain because it will have fewer insects and weeds. Experts suggest that your lawn be aerated every fall season. This helps to promote its growth and continue improving its health. When you are applying the core aerating principle to your lawn, there are important things to consider. Let’s take a look.

Soil Compaction
Aerating your lawn helps it to reduce or alleviate its soil compaction. This allows the property owner to plant roots deeper into the ground and it also better utilizes nutrients and water. When soil is compacted, it prevents the establishing of a healthy grass root system. It also acts as a hindrance to fertilizer and water, preventing it from getting to the roots of the plants. Over time, the recurring activities like playing or walking on the grass and mowing your lawn will all contribute to soil compaction.

New Construction
When a builder is constructing a new home, the lawn is just as important as the actual house. For example, the topsoil is usually compacted using heavy machinery. When the homeowner moves in, an attempt is made to grow a lawn that is healthy. This shows that no landscape is too new to benefit from aeration.  

Accumulation of Thatch
Aeration lessens the accumulation of thatch. Most of the lawns in the United States are subjected to thatch build up over time. When plant clippings and plant tissues are decaying, thatch is accumulated. If a build up is allowed over one half of an inch, it will prevent light, air, and water from getting down to the root zone of the plants.

Breeding Ground
In addition, thatch is a good reproduction ground for disease organisms and insects. What core aeration does is to combine the thatch and the soil, depositing them on the lawn in order to facilitate filtration with the soil’s organisms. This will help to accelerate the decaying of the thatch layer.  

The Right Timing
When it comes to aeration, timing is of the essence. If you want to have a cool season lawn, then you would aerate the lawn during the spring and the fall because this is when the soil is most moist. If you are going to seed the lawn, then do so in the fall when you are combining aeration and seeding. In addition, when you aerate during the fall, you will improve the depth of the root and create a greener lawn.

This is the right time to do your fall aeration. To discuss this further, contact the lawn experts at Water Solutions Sprinkler Service at 720-435-1495.