No, there is no need to aerate the lawn every year, especially if the lawn is healthy and prosperous. Aeration is good if you have compacted, poor or clayey soil that has been impacted by heavy equipment or a lot of foot traffic. It is also good to air if you are renovating a patio or installing a new one. Clay soils, for example, need aeration every year or every few years, depending on how compacted the soil is.
Clay soil retains water, but cannot easily circulate oxygen for plant health. How often should you aerate your lawn? As for frequency, Friell said that aeration should be done at least once a year on most lawns. Lawns with compacted soil or high clay soil can benefit from aeration twice a year. You want to aerate the lawn when the lawn is at its peak growing period so that it can recover quickly, think early spring or fall for cold-season grasses, and late spring to early summer for warm-season grasses.
If you have high-traffic areas or heavy clay soils, you'll want to air every year. If you have sandy soil or your lawn is growing well, lawn aeration can occur every 2 or 3 years. Aeration should be done once a year for a healthy lawn and twice a year for lawns with compacted soil and straw accumulation. The best time of year is just before the high growing season, which, for cold-season grass, is the beginning of spring and autumn, and for warm-season grass, it is the end of spring.
Remember, your lawn only needs to remove the straw if you have more than half an inch of straw on your lawn lawn. Turf aeration, often called core aeration, removes small plugs of turf, straw, and soil from the turf. However, it is important to fertilize and spread lawn seeds after aeration as the last step in maintaining lawn care. If your lawn looks brown, has a thick layer of straw, or you notice areas of thinning, you'll want to aerate twice a year until the lawn improves.
If you have a lawn that is in poor condition with a large buildup of straw, discoloration, and puddles, you'll want to aerate twice a year until your lawn gets better. Right after aeration, it's the perfect time to overseed with premium Pennington Smart Seed and fertilize your lawn or make simple repairs. 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 spike lawn aerator equipped with solid wedge-shaped tips that drill holes in the ground or a core aerator equipped with hollow tines that remove soil, your lawn aerator will penetrate more easily and can create deeper holes when the soil is wet.
Small vehicles or equipment driven on grass are more obvious offenders, but even outdoor entertainment or playground play for children and pets can leave all or part of your grass compacted.
