Core Aeration

Down to the Core: Aeration for a Healthy Lawn

Does your lawn receive heavy foot traffic? Is it spongy or dry to the touch? Core aeration is a critical yet commonly overlooked component to the health and vibrancy of your lawn.

Highly compacted soil reduces circulation, resulting in a lack of air and water in your lawn. This allows thatch to build up under the surface of the grass, compounding the problem and starving the roots of their essential nutrients. As the name implies, “aerating” your lawn allows air pockets to reopen in the soil, ultimately enabling your lawn to replenish its oxygen and other nutrients.

How Core Aeration Works

Core aeration is essentially poking holes in your lawn to remove plugs, or “cores,” of thatch. Both creating the pockets and removing the plugs are equally important to the process. Simply making holes can actually worsen compaction if the thatch is not subsequently removed. Because soil generally performs poorly in New Jersey winters, we recommend NJ homeowners aerate in early fall for optimal lawn health in spring and summer.

Core aeration is best completed with either a spike aerator or plug aerator. While it is certainly possible for you to aerate your lawn using your own devices, it is a tedious and time-consuming job that you should consider leaving to a professional landscaping and lawn care company. For example, did you know that you should water your lawn the day before aerating so that it is moist enough to aerate? Or that the soil plugs you excavate should be broken into small pieces after they have dried? These are just a few of the intricacies you might not be aware of.

Core Aeration Services from IPHCS

Integrated Plant Health Care Systems (IPHCS) has the equipment and expertise to aerate your lawn properly and efficiently using a blended mixture of tall fescue, rye grass and Kentucky bluegrass. Above all, we pride ourselves in being the keepers of beautiful lawns across the Garden State.