Core Aeration, the Secret Ingredient (2024)

FAQs

Core Aeration, the Secret Ingredient? ›

Core aeration is the removal of small plugs of soil from your lawn. This allows oxygen, water, and nutrients to get down to the roots, which is necessary for growth and improves the health of your lawn.

Liquid aerators have proven to be superior to core aeration. Its effects last longer, and it doesn't leave behind ugly cores on the lawn. However, that doesn't mean that manual aeration methods don't have their place. In some instances, it may be beneficial to use both methods at the same time.

Core aeration is the method of choice for lawn pros because it effectively loosens the soil, giving root systems access to nutrients and keeping soil more nutrient-rich in the long term. Core aeration will leave your yard freckled with little holes, but they'll fill in with denser, healthier grass.

The exact formula for liquid aeration varies from brand to brand, but the basic recipe includes a mix of water and ammonium lauryl sulfate, a chemical commonly found in soap. Ammonium lauryl sulfate disperses clay particles, which in turn promotes soil aeration.

You can over-aerate. Over-aerating your lawn can stress out your lawn and leave you with uneven soil. Even though it can be damaging to over aerate your lawn, it is actually quite difficult to aerate too much. It is recommended to have your lawn aerated once or twice a year.

Liquid aeration has a long-lasting cumulative effect on your soil. The more often you use liquid lawn aerators, the healthier your soil will be. This option penetrates deeper into the soil than core aeration, allowing for the development of deeper roots.

While it is difficult to ascertain what is contained in these products, a few have been shown to contain liquid humates (essentially liquid organic matter) and soap-like materials like sodium lauryl (or laureth) sulfate.

Because of this, its effects can last for months! However, you'll want to continuously apply this treatment so that it builds off the previous and keeps improving soil health; after all, liquid aeration isn't a one-and-done solution but rather a long-term remedy.

Core Aeration will have a more immediate impact on your soil and the look of your grass. But, the effects are not very long lasting. The Liquid Aeration will have a less immediate impact on your soil, but the effects are longer lasting and cumulative, so your result gets better over time.

Liquid Aeration is Less Expensive

For larger lawns, you could expect to pay $300 or more. Liquid aeration does not require a special machine or operators, so the cost is less. You can expect to pay $175 – $200 for a professional liquid aeration service for an average size lawn.

Which is better core aeration or Dethatching? ›

Aerating is considered a better way to dethatch your lawn since it puts less stress on it. As with dethatching, you want to aerate when your grass is at its peak growing season - late summer or early fall.

As we've established, don't remove aeration plugs. It takes approximately one to two weeks for the plugs to break down on their own, but there are some things you can do to help the plugs break down faster to tidy up the lawn. You can hope for rainfall, but you can also water the lawn to help the plugs break down.

During drought conditions: Aerating during a drought can cause additional stress to the grass and make it more difficult for it to recover. During extremely hot weather: Aerating during extremely hot weather can also cause additional stress to the grass and make it more susceptible to disease.

How Long Does it Take for Liquid Aeration to Work? It can take anywhere from two weeks to a few months for liquid aeration to start working on your lawn.

Aeration can help balance water quality, thus reducing water quality problems faced by lake and pond owners and helping “clean” the water of cloudiness and odors. Submersed aerators help circulate the water column, introducing oxygen throughout.

However, liquid dethatchers offer a more convenient and efficient alternative. These liquid solutions contain active ingredients that break down the thatch into smaller particles, making it easier for microorganisms to decompose and for the thatch to integrate back into the soil.