Have you been wondering what one of the best secrets to a great lawn is? While there are a number of different lawn care services that can have a big impact on the overall look and health of your lawn, lawn aeration is one of the biggest.
Lawn aeration in Texas is so important due to our sandy loam soil type, which is prone to compaction. This can make it difficult for oxygen, water, and nutrients to get to where they are needed. To help you understand more about this essential service, we’ll explain more about aerating lawns in Texas.
Aeration is the process of making holes throughout your lawn by pulling small soil plugs (called “cores”) with a special machine called a core aerator. By doing this, it allows more oxygen, water, and nutrients to penetrate deep into the soil and down to the root zone. That’s important because it creates a more favorable environment for the root system to grow. Healthier roots add up to a healthier lawn.
Aeration can also assist with thatch build-up which is common in Texas Zoysia grass. This naturally-occurring, dead organic material that can build atop your soil—is a common problem in our region. Thatch build-up of over ½” can prevent oxygen, water, and nutrients from penetrating the soil to reach the root zone.
Excessive thatch can even make your lawn more susceptible to problems such as disease or pests. But a lawn aerating service will help break up thatch by increasing the activity of soil microorganisms that decompose it.
Aerating lawns in Texas can occur in both the spring and the fall. A lot of it has to do with the soil temperature. You don’t want it to be too hot or you’ll risk drying out the grassroots of your existing grass. However, the milder temperatures of both spring and fall make those seasons ideal.
If you were to only pick one, we’d recommend the spring, before entering the prime growing season. The loosened soil helps the fertilization that we apply in the spring to be more effective. When you apply fertilizer atop of clay-like soil, it just sits there.
As we mentioned, lawn aeration in Texas can be performed in both spring and fall, and many homeowners want it completed bi-annually in order to really maximize the benefit that they get out of this service.
However, at the very least, you should be having this service performed annually. Given our soil type, it’s too important to let more than a year pass without aerating. Any other service or efforts you make like watering or fertilizing are not going to be as impactful without well-aerated soil.
Though some people attempt DIY aeration, this is a much more involved service than they often realize. The equipment that is typically available for rent is often clunky and has likely been overused. Oftentimes the equipment is also very heavy—a lot heavier than most people realize—and the task of doing a full pass over the yard is exhausting.
It’s more time-consuming and laborious than the average homeowner has bargained for. Plus, very few people really want to spend their time performing aeration on their own when they have better things to be doing.
And don’t forget to mark the sprinkler heads and any shallow lines before aerating! This is actually another pro to using a lawn aerating service from Grassperson as this important task is taken care of by us as part of the service.
At Grassperson, lawn aeration is part of our fertilization and weed control service offering. Our goal is to take all of the burden off of your plate when it comes to achieving a great lawn, and lawn aeration is an essential part of that.
When professionally performed, aeration is going to allow your roots to get what they need to grow longer and stronger and that’s going to lead to overall healthier grass. However, when you don’t aerate, you end up with a shallow root system, and that’s going to lead to weakened grass.
If you truly want the best lawn on your block, then this is a service that simply cannot be overlooked. By investing in professional lawn aeration, you’ll be able to have that lush green lawn that you desire.
Ready to get the results that you desire for your lawn in the Flower Mound, Highland Village, or Lewisville, TX area? Get a free quote and then enjoy the best lawn with no worries!