Lawn Aerator - Like power raking, using a lawn aerator is a job that doesn't need to be done often, but it does need to be done. Over time, the soil in your yard becomes compacted. In the garden you break the soil up every year when you use a tiller. But in the lawn the soil keeps getting more and more compacted unless you use a lawn aerator.
Why Use a Lawn Aerator?
When the soil becomes hard packed, nutrients and even water have a hard time reaching the grass roots. As a result, your lawn starts to perform poorly and begins to show signs of stress. When you aerate the lawn you create holes in the soil that allow the beneficial nutrients and moisture to penetrate. Lawn aeration should be part of your spring lawn care plan.
A lawn aerator comes in two basic models. There are core or plug aerators that remove a plug of soil from the ground leaving a hole behind. The other type is a spike lawn aerator. The spike aerator punches small holes in the grass and soil, but does not remove any soil. Both types are very effective at opening up the soil so it is receptive to nutrients. However, if your soil is a heavy clay type you may want to choose a core or plug aerator. The reason for choosing this lawn aerator is because clay soil tends to compact quicker than lighter soils. By using the core aerator to pull small sections of soil out, you will allow the soil around it to spread out a bit.
Dethatching and Aeration
While both power raking or dethatching and aeration are jobs that don't need to be done very often, it is a good idea to understand why and how you do them. Here is a good video from the Sears Lawn Team that gives great info on both jobs:
As you can see, both power raking and lawn aeration are beneficial for your grass. The nice thing about it is these jobs only need to be done once per year and as you can see in the video, they are not very difficult to accomplish. The video shows both manual aerators and the type that you can pull behind your lawn mower or garden tractor. But did you know there is a type that you can use with your Mantis
garden tiller?
The Mantis Aerator/Dethatcher attachment will fit any Mantis tiller. Simply put the attachment on your tiller and effectively remove the thatch. The dethatcher has 60 steel spring picks that will allow you to clear a 15 inch swath of thatch in one pass. The lawn aerator will cut into the soil with four tempered steel knives effectively creating a way for nutrients and moisture to penetrate.
Using a lawn aerator should be part of your spring lawn care each year. By aerating your lawn periodically you will have a healthy lawn for years.
Buy a lawn aerator:
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Yard Butler D-6C Manual Lawn Coring Aerator |
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Yard Butler M-7C Lawn Spike Aerator |
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Bond 9215 Green Giant Spiked Aerator Shoes |
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Step 'N Tilt Lawn Core Aerator without Container |