If you are a gardener or a landscaper interested in gardening, you probably have heard about aerating your lawn. Aeration is a great way to ensure that your lawn will absorb water and nutrients more than before. It also reduces soil compaction, which eventually promotes root growth. But what to do after aerating your lawn? This is a question most people have when planning to aerate their lawn during any year’s season.
Here’s an answer to it. In this article, you’ll learn a few things you can follow after aerating lawn to maximize the benefits! So, let’s dive in!
What can you expect after aerating your lawn?
Soil compaction will be reduced, and you’ll have thatch broken.
After two weeks, the soil cores you remove during aeration will break up.
After 3 to 4 weeks, your grass will start germinating (basically, it also depends on the type of the grass)
After 8 to 10 weeks of aerating the lawn, your grass will develop deeper, stronger roots. Your lawn will look fuller and greener.
Five steps you should take after aerating your lawn
Once you are done aerating, what to do after aerating your lawn? The purpose of aeration is to make soil breathe easily. The holes you make during the aeration process allow the nutrients and water to reach the roots easily. Now is the time to mow, seed, and use fertilizer on your lawn. This will ensure the healthy growth of the grass with no thin spots that you usually observe before aeration.
If you have used a core aerator, the plugs of the soil scatter all over the ground. It might make you think of cleaning it up, but you shouldn’t. As it will dry and break itself within two weeks or so.
Seeding if conditions are right
Aeration holes are suitable for seeding the new grass as they are perfectly apart. But do not be hasty. Seeding also depends on your local weather conditions, so do not ignore them. Check the weather forecast and then decide whether to oversee your lawn or not. Seeding should be completed before watering the lawn after aeration.
It is best for lawns with thin grass or bare patches where grass has died.
Water your lawn
As you are just done with seeding after aerating lawn, this is the critical phase for the growth of your grass. So, keep watering it for at least 2 to 3 weeks regularly. Once you observe grass above the ground, you can return to the previous routine of watering your lawn.
Watering daily is best for lawns with yellow or brown grass.
Do not apply Weed killer to avoid pre-emerging weeds
Many people ask about what to do after aerating your lawn regarding weed killers. Pre-emergent weed killers kill the grass or any seedlings as they sprout. Remember that these weed killers prevent the growth of seedlings for up to 6 weeks. So, if you have overseeded your lawn, do not spray any herbicide.
If you have thick, fuller grass in your garden and have no plan to overseed it in the next six weeks, you can apply weed killers after aerating lawn. As the aerating holes let the herbicides move into the holes preventing the growth of weeds.
Using weed killers is best for lawns with annual weed problems.
Apply fertilizer after aerating the lawn
If you have recently aerated your lawn, any fertilizer applied right after will move into the holes feeding the grass with the essential nutrients it needs for its healthy growth. So, applying high nitrogen organic fertilizer after aeration is the best thing you can do for the health of your grass. You can use any fertilizer of your choice (high in nitrogen) that will stay longer in the grassroots.
Applying fertilizers is best for the recently seeded lawns or the lawns where the grass is growing poorly.
Avoid Mowing
What to do after aeration regarding mowing your lawn? Most people mow their lawns just after the aeration. This is not healthy for your grass health. Avoid mowing your lawn after the aeration process. You should wait until new grass (if you overseeded your lawn) finishes germination. It takes around 3 to 4 weeks for the grass to reach 3 to 4 inches above the ground. This is the safe length when you can consider mowing your lawn.
Mowing is best after six weeks of seeding or for the lawns with no overseeding.
Can you walk on the lawn after aeration?
Avoid walking on the lawn after aeration as it prevents seeds (if you’ve done overseeding) and fertilizer from settling. Also, aeration is done to make the soil less compact; walking can make it compact again. Walking on the freshly aerated lawn can also inhibit the growth of the seeds and affect the oxygen and nutrients reaching the roots properly.
It also makes the seeds move and become unsettled. Aeration makes the grass unsettled as it creates holes in the ground. Walking on it can crush the grass, which can ultimately be damaged.
It would be best to wait at least two weeks after aeration to start walking on the grass again.
Conclusion
Now that we have covered what to do after aerating your lawn, it is safe to say that you’ll be ready to follow these steps after aerating your lawn in the right season. If you follow all the steps carefully according to your local weather, I can ensure that your lawn will have ten times healthier grass than before aeration. Along with overseeding the lawn, properly watering is also essential. Avoid mowing or walking on the grass after aeration. Lastly, use fertilizer and avoid applying weed killers after aeration.
If you got any additional questions, do ask us via the Contact us page! We’ll be happy to answer.