Throughout the year, your lawn in Michigan will be exposed to daily wear and tear that can cause soil compaction. The key to addressing this issue is core aeration! Core aeration is the process through which plugs of soil are pulled up from the ground to loosen compaction. This process creates passageways where nutrients and other essential resources can pass through to reach the roots of your grass. Fall is the best time to aerate your lawn because cool-season grasses thrive during this season, which means it can tolerate the process. Aeration should be done every year to ensure the soil doesn't become compacted so that your lawn can access vital resources that will boost its health.

What is aeration, and how does it benefit your lawn?

Aeration is a lawn care process where cores of soil are pulled up from the ground using an aerator, creating tiny holes that alleviate soil compaction. These holes provide channels for nutrients and other essential resources, such as sunlight, oxygen, and water, to pass through and reach the roots of your grass more easily. With improved access to everything it needs, your grass will become healthier, develop deeper roots, and be better equipped to withstand stressful conditions.

Why is fall the best time to schedule an aeration service?

While aeration is highly beneficial, it requires the right timing to do it. After all, the process can be invasive and stress out your lawn if done at the wrong time, so you want to perform it when it can handle it. Fall is the best time to schedule an aeration service because your cool-season lawn thrives during this season, as it provides cooler temperatures and ideal conditions for it to withstand the process and recover before winter.

Another reason why fall is the best time to have your lawn aerated is because it just came out of the summer season and needs a pick-me-up. Aerating in the fall will help your summer-stressed turf recover from any damage by allowing it to maximize available nutrients that are essential for its health. Fall is also the prime time to prepare your grass for the winter, and one of the best ways to get it in top shape for dormancy is by aerating it.

How often should you aerate your lawn?

To keep your grass in its best shape, make sure you aerate it once a year. Skipping a core aeration service can be harmful to your lawn's health for several reasons. First, the soil can become or stay compacted, meaning its roots will have trouble absorbing vital resources; this is the last thing you want since healthy root systems are the key to its success. Second, your lawn will be unable to recover from summer or prepare for winter, making it more susceptible to various stressors! For these reasons, you should aerate it annually to keep the soil loose and ensure it has optimal access to everything it needs to thrive.

For even better results, you can pair core aeration with overseeding to encourage a lusher, denser turf!

Call us today to schedule our core aeration service!

Do you want to rejuvenate your lawn's health? If so, you're at the right place. Our team at Outdoor Expressions Landscaping offers a core aeration service to commercial and residential properties, as well as HOAs, in East Lansing, MI, and surrounding communities like Okemos and Haslett. We offer this service in the fall to set up your lawn for success going into winter, plus in the spring to get it in prime shape for the new growing season. Give us a call today at (517) 333-7999 to schedule our core aeration service!