What To Do After Lawn Aeration

However, there are certain things you’ll need to do after aerating the lawn. That will ensure your entire operation is successful.

Stick around on this page to learn what to do after lawn aerating. If we still have time, we’ll give you other helpful details on lawn maintenance.

Let’s get into the business of the day.

What To Do After Aerating Lawn

Aeration is an essential step in lawn care. However, the process involved is challenging, but it’s worth the time and effort.

It’ll allow water to circulate at the grassroots, improve nutrients, and enhance water absorption. This will make your lawn lush, grow healthy root systems, and defend against pests and unwanted weeds.

Operations You Should Carry Out After Aeration

Here are the steps to take following successful aeration of lawns: By following these maintenance procedures, you can be sure of having a fantastic yard.

• Watering

Applying water to your lawn after aeration is essential. It helps the ground settle. However, the frequency and duration of watering are snidely different.

You’ll only water for 15 or 20 minutes instead of 45 minutes. Moreover, deep watering should be avoided for the first few days after aeration.

This prevents water from building up inside the new pores in your grass.

In most cases, watering should be done after overseeding and fertilizing. Doing so will encourage the growth of your new seed. Plus, it will assist you in establishing an appropriate watering schedule.

Another perk of watering after aeration is reviving grasses compacted by foot or vehicle traffic.

• Overseed Lawns

While aerating lawns, the machine leaves spaced holes in the soil evenly. The holes are usually about 2–3 inches apart, providing perfect shelter for grass seed.

This protects the roots from birds and other scavengers.

You can spread grass seed over your lawn using a broadcast spreader. After that, you regularly water and care for the newly overseeded grasses for more excellent results.

Meanwhile, ensure you check the weather forecast before you oversee your lawn. This will ensure you carry out this procedure at the right time.

You should also avoid covering the grass with soil during this operation. It would be best if you tamped it down to press the seeds into the ground for firm contact gently.

• Allow Soil Plugs to Decompose Naturally

Usually, soil plugs will be scattered across your yard after aeration. Of course, most homeowners will be tempted to rake them up. But there are better courses of action than that.

Allow them to sit where they are to decompose naturally. It takes an average of three weeks for these plugs to break down.

If you can’t wait that long, you can speed up the process naturally by consistently watering and mowing the lawn. Additionally, you can collect the soil plugs and grind them.

After that, you reapply them on the property. However, most experts don’t support this method of decomposition.

• Apply Fertilizer

It’s ideal to apply compost following aeration.

Remember, the yard is disrupted, and the grass isn’t as compact. Applying fertilizer will go deep into the roots, providing them with the necessary nutrients.

In addition to that, it’ll also protect your grass from sweltering climates.

Some recommended fertilizers you should apply include high-nitrogen and organic compost. If you have an established yard, it will be the best.

It will retain nitrogen over an extended period and not burn your grass. Then, you can use a starter fertilizer to kickstart fresh grasses.

Furthermore, the holes created during aeration have an added perk when compost is added. It’ll help the nutrients penetrate the soil and prevent the fertilizer from washing away.

• Apply Pre-Emergent Herbicides

The last thing you’ll need to do after aerating the lawn is spray a pre-emergent herbicide. This will prevent grass or weed seeds from growing for six weeks.

However, applying chemical weed control after this procedure can harm freshly planted lawns. It can prevent them from growing and sprouting.

Therefore, it’s not advisable to apply weed control either four weeks after planting or six weeks before planting. But you can use herbicides if you don’t have plans to oversee your grass.

The tiny holes will let any weed killer penetrate deep into the soil.

• Leave Your Lawn for A While

Having satisfied all the steps above, you must allow the grass to rest for a while. The idea is to enable them to recover from the impact of aeration and the subsequent treatment.

So you’re to wait for the grass to grow to a height of 3.5 inches before mowing. Alternatively, you can cut the grass a week after aerating.

Furthermore, you should avoid walking on a freshly aerated lawn because it can make it compact again. Failure to do so will defeat the purpose of aerating your yard.

Of course, you’ll not want your time and effort to go to waste.

Should I Mow My Lawn Immediately After Aeration?

Professionally, it’s not recommended to trim your lawn immediately after aeration. It would be best to only mow to a certain height before aeration.

Then, after a week or two of operation, your property will be yours again. By then, the grass might have grown to a reasonable size. You can bring your mower and then trim your grass.

But if you still plan to sow new seeds, you must wait another four weeks.

Perks of Lawn Aeration

Aerating your grass comes with numerous advantages. These perks could be why you should consider taking this course of action.

Firstly, it improves the airflow in your soil and allows the grasses to breathe correctly. Ideally, grassroots require lots of oxygen to grow big and strong.

That way, they can establish more vibrant and healing landscapes lush.

Secondly, the operation will allow you to oversee your lawn and give it a thicker look. As you add compost, the holes created will enable it to sink deep into the root system.

Within a short period, your grass will grow explicitly.

Several other advantages accompany this operation. Because of time, we’ll be unable to look at them all. However, you can see some things you must do after lawn aerating.

Following these procedures accordingly gives you a beautiful, serene yard. We hope you find this article a helpful resource.