When to Aerate Lawn in Virginia (Answered)
When the weather gets nice, homeowners like to show off their thick, green lawn. But in order to have healthy grass, you need to keep up with regular maintenance throughout the year. One of these tasks is aeration. Continue reading if you want to learn when to aerate your lawn in Virginia.
The best time to aerate your lawn in Virginia is between late August and early November. The weather will begin to get cooler during this time of year and soil conditions will be ideal. You want to avoid waiting until after the first frost, as the ground will be frozen.
What is Lawn Aerating?
Aerating is a regular maintenance process where you use machinery to poke holes in the lawn, in order to remove small amounts of dirt. You can either do this task with hand tools, or heavy machinery.
The latter option will be easier on large surface areas, while hand tools are ideal for smaller lawns. Depending on where you live, aerating is best done in the late summer and early fall, as this is when temperatures are cooler.
Why You Should Aerate a Lawn
Aeration is an essential part in keeping your lawn healthy. In order for grass to grow properly, the roots need water, air, and other nutrients. Over time the surface of your lawn will become compacted with regular wear and tear.
The problem with hard soil is that it blocks the flow of air and moisture to the grass roots. As a result, the grass will be limited in the amount of how much it can grow. The good news is you can fix this problem by aerating your lawn.
Aeration creates holes in the dirt so grass roots can receive the oxygen and water they need to grow. You can figure out if your lawn needs aeration by inserting a screwdriver into the dirt. If it doesn’t slide in easy, the soil is too compacted.
When to Aerate Lawn in Virginia
In the beginning of this article we talked about how the best time of year to aerate your lawn in Virginia is between late August and early November. This is the ideal range, because the temperatures tend to be cooler and the grass is growing well.
The most important thing is aerating your lawn before the first frost. It can be difficult trying to find out the exact day this happens in Virginia, which is why it helps to aerate your lawn early in the fall.
You want to aerate your lawn before the first frost, as this is when the grass has the most amount of root growth. And if you plan on fertilizing your lawn after, the chemicals have a higher percentage of entering the ground when the soil is warm.
How to Aerate a Lawn
In the sections above we talked about the importance of aerating your lawn. This task opens the soil up, in order to allow nutrients to reach the grass roots. Even if you don’t spend much time on your lawn, the simple act of mowing the grass can compact soil over time. Here’s how you can aerate your lawn.
1. Pick up Debris
Before starting any type of outside project, it helps to prepare the work area. You will need to pick up sticks, leaves, pine needles, and anything else on your lawn. These debris will get in your way during the aeration process and could potentially damage the machine. This is the last thing you need, especially if you’re renting an aerator.
This is also a good time to prune any trees around your yard. This should be done on a regular basis, as it helps lower the chance of broken limbs and falling branches. You will also want to choose a sunny day to complete this project. Aerating your lawn in the rain can be very messy and the machine will end up damaging your lawn.
2. Rent an Aerator
Before renting an aerator from your local hardware store, it’s a good idea to call them ahead of time. There are two kinds of machines and it will help to figure out what they offer. A non-turning aerator will be much harder to maneuver, because you will need to lift it up each time you change direction. By the end of the job your back will be very tired.
Instead, you’ll want to rent an aerator that allows you to turn it without lifting the machine. It won’t be as smooth as turning a lawn mower, but it will be much easier on your body. This will also save you a lot of time and it works much better on larger lawns. Most hardware stores will either offer half day, or full day rental packages.
3. Mow the Lawn
You will need to mow the lawn before aerating it. This will help get the machine as close as possible to the surface of the ground. As a result, the aerator will be able to remove more soil from your lawn, which will help provide water, air and nutrients to the grass roots. There will be too much grass to deal with if you don’t mow the lawn before aerating.
There’s one more crucial step you will need to do before firing up the machine. If you have a sprinkler system, you will need to mark the areas on your lawn with flags. This will let you know where they are, so you can avoid them when using the aerator. If you forget to do this simple step, you could potentially damage the sprinkler heads.
4. Follow a Pattern
By now you are fully prepared to aerate the lawn. You don’t need to follow a pattern like you would with a lawn mower, but it does make the process easier. If you do random movements instead, it might become difficult to figure out the areas you have passed over. Try doing vertical and horizontal lines so that each area of your lawn will be covered.
The main point is to aerate as much of your lawn as possible. Even if you’re using a machine that allows turns, it’s still a lot of work. That’s why it’s important to set half a day for this project so you won’t be rushed. When you’re done aerating there will be thousands of little dirt plugs. This is normal and it will take 2-3 weeks for them to break down.
Final Thoughts
By now you should know when to aerate your lawn in Virginia. This process should be done between late summer and early fall. Aerating will help make your lawn healthier, as air, water, and nutrients will be able to reach the grass roots.
Soil will become too compact if you don’t aerate your lawn on a regular basis. Normal use from walking on the grass, mowing the lawn, and even pets will push dirt further down. That’s why it’s crucial to maintain your lawn and get on a maintenance schedule if you want healthy grass.
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