Roll Condition

Roll Condition

Rolling Lawn Aerators - Making Light Work Of Lawn Aeration

There is no part of any garden that makes rounds off the whole as wells as a beautiful, lush green lawn. It is the understated crowning glory of any green thumbed enthusiast's efforts and most gardeners are secretly prouder of their lawn than any other part of the garden. Lawns take a fair amount of work and effort though and regular attention to issues such as dressing, levelling and aerating need to be given before the lawns true beauty comes to the fore. For this reason garden equipment such as a rolling lawn aerator are essentials in the tool shed.

One part of your lawn care regimen that should not be neglected is aeration. With time your lawn, or typically the top 4 inches of soil and thatch will become compacted and hard which can have a serious negative effect on the overall health of the lawn.

This condition impedes the flow of water and nutrients through the critical top structure of the lawn and many problems attributed to bad fertilization, watering or insects are actually a result of this compaction.

Lawn aeration addresses these problems by loosening this compacted layer and allowing oxygen, water and nutrient access to the top layer. Aerators of all descriptions work on the same basic principle of driving spikes or tines into the top layer of the lawn at regular intervals.

This aeration process can be carried out in several ways either by using a mechanical aerator, using a garden fork (only practical with very small areas) or even using spiked shoes. One of the best options for most residential property lawns is the rolling lawn aerator.

Rolling lawn aerators are usually pushed or towed behind a ride on mower and consist of a drum or axle that has rows of spikes attached to it. As the aerator moves across the lawn the drum presses the spikes into the lawn and pulls them out again through the circular axis the drum travels on. This effectively cuts a groove into the lawn and loosens the compacted soil.

There are two basic types of lawn aerator namely spike and core aerators. As mentioned the spike aerators simply drive spikes or tines into the lawn where core aerators have hollow pins that are pushed into the soil and actually remove a "core" of thatch and soil. Many lawn professionals are of the opinion that core aerators do a better job than spike models and that normal spike aerators may even exacerbate compaction problems.

Either way, any regular loosening of the thatch layer of your lawn is sure to reap benefits and improve the general condition of the lawn. Lawns should be aerated either in fall or spring depending on what type of grass the lawn is made up off. Cool season varieties should be aerated in the fall and summer grass in the spring.

Lawns take a lot of work and with tools such as rolling lawn aerators these tasks can be made considerably easier. The results of these efforts are well worth it though and with a little care and attention your lawn will be your gardens crowning glory.

About the Author

Al Smitty is a writer who loves to discuss many topics ranging from Walk behind aerators to American football. Thanks for reading!