Freshen up your lawn - aerate and sand

Freshen up your lawn - aerate and sand

When does it make sense to aerate the lawn?

If regular scarifying and fertilizing no longer results in the desired lush green grass area, the lawn needs a more intensive freshness treatment. Instead of scratching the sward a little with the scarifier's knives, compaction is done with soil nails up to 10 centimeters long on the collar. There are two time windows a year when it makes sense to aerate the lawn to give the grasses air:

  • Air the lawn in spring between March and April
  • Aerate the lawn again in autumn from September to October
  • Treat stressed playing and soccer turf every 2 months from March to October

also read

  • Sand the lawn properly - this is how sand makes the lawn green
  • How to aerate the lawn in an exemplary manner - tips for aerating
  • Problems with too dense lawn

Instructions for manually aerating a grassy area

For lawns of up to 200 square meters, the specialist trade offers inexpensive devices for manual aeration. There are conically shaped, hollow ground nails on a rail with a handy handle. Punch holes in the compacted lawn at a distance of 15 to 20 centimeters. The earth cones that are pushed up are collected in a tub and later disposed of. How to do it correctly:

  • Mow the lawn deeply, scarify it and remove all combed-out parts of the plant
  • Aerate the green area at a density of 200 holes per square meter
  • Spread a thin layer of fine-grained, washed sand and sweep it in

The dosage of the sand should not exceed half a bucket per square meter. After airing and sanding, the lawn is extensively watered.

Aerating lawns with mechanical help - that's how it works

Ventilating the lawn with muscle power is not recommended for larger areas. For this purpose, the machine rental company offers compact aerators for private use. These are equipped with a large number of hollow spoons to gently break up the compaction in the sod. How to use the device skillfully:

  • After mowing and scarifying, set up the aerator so that work begins along a straight edge
  • Activate the lever to set the spikes in motion and then move slowly forward
  • Do not step on the emerging earth cones again

Do not stand still while aerating the lawn by machine. The hammering spikes could perforate the green too much. In the last step, sand and water the lawn like after manual aeration.

Tips & Tricks

You can only aerate the lawn successfully if there is professional aftercare. Depending on the intensity of the ventilation, bald spots appear that close quickly if you fertilize the lawn with organic or mineral-organic fertilizers after sanding. Ideally, you can repair larger gaps with overseeding.

GTH