>Turf Update: Aeration Aeration Aeration!!

Utah has some nasty, hard packed soils. Heavy clay in some areas, traffic or ph issues making it resemble concrete in others. This keeps water and air from reaching the root zones of your turf, essentially strangling it! The good news is that a simple mechanical aeration can loosen the soil and help build a favorable soil profile for your turf without tilling and amending the soil. There are several types of aeration methods out there from spiking to high pressure water injection, but we'll focus on the core style method, as it is the most common, reasonably priced and most beneficial.

Core aerating a lawn involves using a heavy machine to press hollow tines into the ground, cutting a soil plug out, lifting it and dropping it on top of the soil. Machines range in size from about the width of your lawnmower to huge tractor driven styles. Some hydraulically punch holes, some use a spoke full of tines and there are even ultra small step powered hand aerators. Different machines have the ability to punch to different depths, with the ideal punching an 8-12 inch deep hole. In the real world, where there are sprinkler lines,  TV cable, phone cable and who knows what else buried through your yard at who knows what depth, punching holes that deep would be a little bit like playing roulette. For golf courses, parks and other large areas that have mapped, known underground areas easily marked out, these deep core machines can allow loosening of the soil profile to the full depth of most common turf roots' abilities. Very favorable in establishing deep root networks that allow for stronger turf that holds up to drought conditions much better. But your yard is probably not a hypermapped, blueprint built, utility free zone, so let's focus on what can work for you! This brings us back to the small to mid sized spoke tined aerators that can punch holes 2-4 inches deep under most conditions. Is that deep enough to help, you ask? The short answer is yes. The reason being that those top few inches of soil are often the most compacted from foot traffic, snow, lawn equipment and even water just settling out the soil. By thoroughly coring this area, you allow for the soil below it to be penetrated by more water, turf roots and air and even allow some soil mixing to a limited degree.  The machines to do this job are available at many rental yards and of course, there are likely many lawn services out in your area doing aerations with their own equipment that you can probably get to take care of this critical startup chore. Either way, get that soil open and prepared for everything that comes after or all the water and fertilizer in the world won't make a difference if it just runs off like you put it on your driveway!

So you got the soil opened and it looks like a herd of wild dogs just hit your yard, right? Want to rake those unsightly plugs up? STOP! The reason you did this in the first place is to create looser soil. The plugs deposited on top of your turf will become a vital new part to that. These cores will break down, along with the organic materials in them (grass roots, thatch, etc.) and form a new, thin, loose layer on top of your old packed tight layer. Your turf will set new roots into this layer as well and essentially "lift" itself into the new layer. Does this mean your lawn will start growing higher and higher. No. There is still the same amount of soil there, you didn't add any, but it will, over time, make a layer at the top that becomes richer and richer soil with decomposing plant material being worked with time and movement of your soil. If you feel the need to be rid of those plugs, break out your mower, set it low with a mulch plate on and go pulverize the plugs once they dry out somewhat. The more organic material in a plug, the easier it is to lift and blast apart. If you have cores that are so heavy and dense, that after several mowings, they are still there and/or holes remain glaringly open after more than a month, then you've got a serious clay problem that will need extra steps and we'll cover that in the season ahead.

BONUS AERATION FEATURES: So know you know how this works and a few of the essential "whys", but let's cover some of the rest of the benefits to aerating turf. Not only do you get the chance to make your water and fertilizer count, but by adding air to the soil profile, you keep water from standing and rotting your grass plants. You'll get better water penetration on hill sides and gullies, helping to curb puddles and dry spots where water is evenly applied. But did you know that aerating can actually thicken your turf? It's true! Many types of turf, bluegrass especially, sends new shoots up where above and below ground roots are cut! Imagine looking at each individual hole on an established lawn, that the network of roots is sliced tens, if not hundreds, of times! BOOM! New grass blades on their way! Thatch a problem? Outside of the very most serious problems (we'll cover that in mowing tips during the season), thatch can be completely broken up by punching holes through it and allowing water and air to do it's job in the composting process! Aeration is the cure! So it's warming up now, thoughts flow to being outside and it's time to think about getting off on the right foot with your turf this year. Hit the rental yard or keep your eyes peeled for signs and ads for aerating or call your trusty lawn service. Just get it done so that you can enjoy the benefits the rest of the year.

a p.s. on Power Raking- Many people ask us about power raking their lawns instead of aerating this time of year. Most cool season turfs are vertical growers. What this means is that they do not form a dense net of vegetation on top of the soil. Any serious thatch therefore is caused by cut material left too long on the turf, meaning it's loose and lying there, unable to break down because the matte is too deep to allow air flow under it. Indiscriminately tearing up healthy turf to get rid of what a short mowing with your bag on and an aeration will fix? Not good! You'll allow room for weeds to grab a foothold and compete against your turf as well! I liken power raking to just pulling your hair out by the fistful when it's time to get a haircut.  Power rakes were developed to deal with warm season grasses like Bermuda and St.Augustine turfs that grow in thick, dense patches horizontally, primarily in the southern U.S. As far as replacing aeration, power raking does nothing to relieve compaction, thicken a lawn nor improve the soil. Don't waste your time and money on this service.