The more a lawn is used, the more compacted the turf becomes. In the long run, no air can get to the grass roots, waterlogging occurs, moss sprouts and the green suffocates. Targeted aerating helps now. You can find out how the ventilation works here.

When does it make sense to aerate the lawn?

If regular scarifying and fertilizing no longer results in the desired lush green grass surface, the lawn needs a more intensive freshening treatment. Instead of scratching the turf a little with the scarifier blades, compaction is tackled with soil nails up to 10 centimeters long. There are two time windows a year when it makes sense to aerate the lawn to give the grass air to breathe:

  • Aerate the lawn in spring between March and April
  • Aerate the lawn again in autumn from September to October
  • Treat stressed playing and soccer turf every 2 months from March to October

Instructions for manually aerating a grass area

For lawns up to 200 square meters, specialist retailers offer inexpensive devices for manual aeration. Conically shaped, hollow ground nails are located on a rail with a handy handle. Punch holes in the compacted lawn 15 to 20 centimeters apart. The earth cones pushed up are caught in a tub and later disposed of. How to proceed correctly:

  • Mow the lawn deep, scarify and remove all plant parts that have been combed out
  • Aerate the green area at a density of 200 holes per square meter
  • Spread a thin layer of fine-grained, washed sand and sweep in

The amount of sand should not exceed half a bucket per square meter. After airing and sanding, the lawn is extensively watered.

Aerate lawns with the help of machines - this is how it works

Aerating the lawn with muscle power is not recommended for larger areas. For this purpose, the machine rental company offers compact aerators for private use. These are equipped with a large number of hollow spoons to gently break up the compaction in the turf. How to handle the device skillfully:

  • After mowing and scarifying, position the Aerator to begin work along a straight edge
  • Press the lever to activate the spikes and immediately proceed slowly
  • Don't trample the emerging cones of earth again

Don't stop when you are mechanically aerating the lawn. The pounding spikes could perforate the green too much. In the last step, sand and water the lawn, as after manual aeration.

tips and tricks

You can only aerate the lawn successfully if professional aftercare takes place. Depending on the intensity of the aeration, there are bare patches that close quickly if you fertilize the lawn with organic or mineral-organic fertilizers after sanding. Larger gaps are ideally repaired with reseeding.

GTH

Category:

Garden design