Q: Can you describe the meaning of aeration?

A: Aeration is the physical removal of soil plugs from the soil to recreate air spaces and correct the problem of compacted soil.

Q: Why is compacted soil detrimental to a lawn?

A: Without air spaces, lawn roots cannot grow deeper in the soil. Less oxygen, water, and other nutrients are able to travel freely through the soil. Because of this, the lawn cannot grow as much and becomes easily stressed.

Q: How does aeration help?

A: Aeration re-creates the air spaces that are needed for the easy passage of water and nutrients. More water can be absorbed into the soil, and more oxygen can reach the roots.

Q: How can I tell if the soil is compacted?

A: The lawn will start to suffer, even if there is no change in your lawn maintenance. Runoff from irrigation is also more likely. If you have trouble sticking a writing pen into the soil, the soil is compacted.

Q: When should I aerate my lawn?

A: If your lawn’s soil needs to be aerated, do it at the beginning of the lawn’s growing season, and no less than 4 weeks before the end of the lawn’s growing season. This will be during the late spring and early summer for warm-season lawns, and early spring or early fall for cool-season lawns. If you aerate first, your reseeding and fertilizing will be more effective because there will be spaces for the seeds and fertilizer granules to fall into.

Q: How often should I aerate my lawn?

A: This will depend on the soil structure your lawn is growing in, as well as the amount of foot traffic your lawn sustains. More sandy soils might need only 1 aeration a year, while more clay-like soils might need two.

Q: How do I aerate my lawn?

A: Rent a core aerator from a landscaping company or garden supply store. Mow your lawn a little shorter than normal, and water it a couple of days before you aerate. Aerate on a day with mild temperatures. Run the core aerator twice across the whole lawn, in perpendicular directions. You should be removing 20 to 40 plugs per square foot, and each plug should be 2 to 3” deep and ¾” in diameter. Leave the soil plugs on the lawn to break down (you can rake across them to make the surface smoother). Continue with your regular lawn maintenance for the rest of the season.

Q: Can I use spikers to aerate my lawn?

A: No. Spikers do not remove soil from the lawn; they instead compress the soil further and make the compaction problem worse! Use only aerating tools that remove soil from the ground.

Author’s Bio

Jonathan McGraw is a natural landscape designer who writes for naturesfinestseed.com, a great source of environmentally friendly grass seeds for your home or commercial projects.

Your lawn’s roots are growing in soil that, over time, has the tendency to become compacted. This effect is usually due to foot traffic and the general soil structure – clay soils have the tendency to become compacted more easily than sandy soils. As the soil becomes compacted, important spaces between soil particles become lost. Passages through the soil become more constricted, which limits how deeply the roots can grow, how much oxygen can reside in the soil, and how much water, fertilizer, and other nutrients can travel through the soil and reach the roots.

Due to a lack of nutrients and stunted root growth, the lawn will begin to suffer and be less tolerant of stresses such as extreme heat or cold, drought, pests, weeds, and disease. How does aeration help reverse all of these problems? To aerate is to physically remove plugs of soil from the ground in order to reintroduce those necessary spaces. Once those spaces are recreated, fertilizer, water, and even new seeds will be able to fall into the holes and become better incorporated into the soil structure.

Testing Your Soil

First, determine whether your soil is compacted in the first place. You may notice that your lawn is more susceptible to stress or that it is having a hard time greening up; but these problems could be attributed to other things besides compaction. Try to stick a screwdriver or pen into the soil – if it has difficulty going down very far, then you have a soil compaction problem.

The Aerating Process

To aerate, you should rent a core aerator from a garden supply store. “Spikers” or spiked shoes are marketed as aerators, but they do not remove plugs of soil and will actually worsen your lawn’s compaction. With the core aerator, you should be removing 20 to 40 plugs of soil from each square foot of grass, with each plug measuring 2 or 3” long and ¾” in diameter.
Leave the soil plugs on the lawn to decompose. They will provide microorganisms and nutrients to the soil. If you don’t like the look of these soil plugs littered across your lawn, use a rake to break them up. Depending on the soil and the amount of foot traffic your lawn is exposed to, you may have to aerate up to twice a year.

It’s important to aerate early in the season because aeration will stress your lawn, and your lawn will need time to repair itself from that stress. Making aeration one of your first lawn maintenance tasks will give your lawn that necessary healing time, as well as make your watering and fertilizing more effective throughout the season. The result will be a beautiful spring lawn for you and your neighbors to admire.

Author’s Bio

Jonathan McGraw is a natural landscape designer who writes for Naturesfinestseed.com, known for its environmentally safe grass seed, reclamation projects and selection of hearty lawn choices like Buffalograss Seed.

Sports Themed Utensils

If you have a favorite college team you can get sports themed grilling utensils. Every school from Alabama to Texas Tech is represented with a set of utensils. You can flip those burgers and represent your favorite team at the same time with these great utensil sets. There are 4 and eight piece sets available that give you all the tools of the trade while proudly displaying your favorite team’s logos.

Multi-level Cooking Racks

If you’re cooking for a big group of friends and family, you don’t want to have to spend all day at the grill. Wouldn’t you like a little time to socialize, have a few cold drinks and maybe even eat some of the good stuff you’ve been cooking? To minimize your grilling time, think about getting a multi-level grilling rack. These racks are typically easy to use with most propane and charcoal grills. Instead of grilling 4 or 5 burgers at a time, how about cooking 15 at a time. You can save time and have more fun at your outdoor get together.

Looking Good

You want to look good when everyone comes up to rave about your grilling prowess. To look your best while grilling out, think about getting an attractive and durable leather grilling apron. These leather aprons are built to last and keep you looking your best when you are laboring to make the perfect steak. There’s no sense serving up delicious, attractive food, if you can’t keep yourself looking stylish in the process.

Getting these essential barbeque accessories will have you cooking out this summer in style.

Choose a Design

Some people choose to get really radical with their patio design and may install a new deck, or a new paving stone design to the ground. Both of those are great ideas, but are very large scale, involved projects. Once you have those things done, or if you are just trying to add a little pep to what you already have, choose a good design theme. There are a lot of themes to choose, from Mediterranean to Moroccan, and everything in between. You don’t have to go overboard, though. A simple consideration of colour and design can make any patio design affordable and easy.

Think About Plants

A good idea is to make proper use of attractive plants on and around your patio. Choosing the right kind of plants can help you make other design choices down the road. Many home owners get into a one plant scheme, and this is fine for a nice uniform look. But if you really want to make it interesting, vary the landscaping plants you choose. Throw in some fountain grasses at various spots to create contrasting heights. Another great idea is to get a large pot and fill it with water to grow some water lilies. A water garden or two can really make your patio an interesting place to visit.

Furniture…Finally

The finishing touches of your patio design should be great, comfortable furniture. Just like your interior decorating, keep texture, colour, style, and price concerns balanced when picking patio furniture. And don’t forget comfort. You will probably be entertaining people, so don’t skimp. Get rid of the $5 plastic chairs and tables, and pick out some nice furniture that complements the other design elements of your patio design.

Keep these things in mind as you design your patio. Create and oasis that friends and family will love. The patio is like the summer time family room, so put some real design thoughts and work into your project.

A Burst of Color

If you love home style projects, you know that few things can brighten up a room like a healthy dose of colour can. You can’t repaint every time you are craving a colour change though, so adding some flower boxes to your windows are a great idea. Filling the flower boxes or window gardens, as they are sometimes called, can be a huge burst of colour ready to flood into a room whenever you open the curtains.

Inside or Outside

Traditional window boxes are installed externally. They are very easy to get into place and watering/caring for the plants are a breeze. Simply stroll by the window, open it up for some fresh air and give the plants a drink. Internal boxes require a little more planning and can be a little messier to deal with, but they are a wonderful way to bring a flower garden indoors.

Customizing Your Window Garden

If you are going to install window boxes, use the opportunity to really liven things up. Drive through your neighbourhood, chances are you will see the same half dozen types of flowers planted everywhere. Take note of what the neighbours are using and make a mental note to not get any of these popular choices. Pick some unusual plants that will make your new garden really stand out. Vary blooming times, colours, and sizes.

Adding window boxes bring the colours and beauty of a garden within view, even when you are inside. Spring is here and the time is right for adding some spring colour to your home’s style with window boxes.