“When should I aerate my lawn,” asks Dustin from Ohio, “Is it better to aerate in the spring of the fall?”
That’s a great question, and one I get quite a bit during the lawn growing seasons. Now, if we all lived in the perfect lawn care world, I’d tell ya’ll to aerate in both spring and fall. That would keep the thatch layer in check (in most cases), as well as reduce clay soil compaction to the point where we wouldn’t have to worry about roots being thinned.
But since I know that the majority of you aren’t lawn care nuts like me, I will have to just recommend the minimum acceptable level of aeration goodness.
In most years, I’d say that fall is the best time to aerate the lawn. This is when grass roots are naturally in a thickening and deepening mode anyway, and pulling cores from the lawn will allow them to spread deeper and wider… lovely!
In addition, fall is a great time to incorporate some fresh grass seed into the lawn. Temps are favorable and moisture is adequate in most areas of the Midwest.
However, in years like this, where the snow pack has been extra deep and long, and the snow mold is rampant, I think you may want to move that up to the spring. Lawns are super duper flat right now and the prolonged cold temps through the Midwest are not helping the turf wake up from winter slumber.
A nice core/plugging will help open the lawn up and get the nutrients from your fertilizing efforts right down where it can take fast effect.
Of course, if you have a major thatch issue, I highly recommend double-aerating. That means you take the machine across the lawn North and South, and then again East and West… and pull double cores. This is a practice that few people take advantage of but can make a huge difference in the results you get!
