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Core Aeration
Core Aeration, Sometimes called "Plugging" is a natural method of improving your lawn's health, especially when paired with seeding.
Grass roots can become stunted when soil becomes too compacted (A MAJOR issue in Maryland with the clay we deal with). Soil can become almost as hard as concrete, preventing Air, Water, Nutrients, and Grass seed from getting down to the soil layer (Where it counts). This can lead to Poor root health and even lawn drainage issues.
We aerate to open up access to the soil so that grass seed, nutrients, air, and water can all make their way into the lawn to be effective, and strengthen the health of your turf.
How We Do It
Hydraulic Down Pressure Aeration
Core-aeration is fundamentally a very simple process. Our machine (Aerator) goes over your lawn and many hollow tines penetrate into the soil. As the tines roll up out of the soil, they bring up a plug of dirt and drop it on the surface of your lawn. (Dont worry- These Soil plugs will eventually decompose and help with seed-to-soil contact later)
When we are looking for good Core-aeration results, we want to see plugs/holes to be about 3" or more deep for the best results.
Our Pro-Aer 30 Delivers the needed down pressure to achieve this. With up to roughly 1,000 psi of calibratable pressure (The best we've been able to find), our Aerator delivers results beyond your standard Aerator on the market, or for rent. With Md's soil profiles often being compacted, you do not want to skimp on Aeration quality. Many other aerators will simply "Bounce" over the ground, not having the full aeration effect we want to see.
At over $15,000, Our machine allows us the ability to efficiently cover your lawn with consistent 3" plugs (Though we often see longer!). Our machine also allows us to seed while aerating, dropping seeds right where we are aerating, and not where we aren't. This means less wasted seed ending up in your gardens, or walkways.
When to Aerate
We typically Aerate Spring and Fall. This is when Soil conditions are typically a nice mild 50-70 degrees.
Spring: March - May
Fall: Spetember - November
Pair With Seeding
As mentioned above, we typically pair Aeration with applying Grass seed. This is because the process of aeration provides an ideal access point for seed to drop into Aeration holes to begin germination. The keys to seeding include achieving good seed to soil contact, receiving plenty of water, and having room for roots to begin taking hold. Aeration gives us all of these!
Warning: Applying Pre-Emergent Herbicides too close to seeding will cancel out Seed germination. Please let us know if you plan on applying pre-emergents!
Some of Our Work
