“We inherited this property from my wife’s mother,” Shawn said. “Every year, she had the lawn service come out and fertilize the lawn. They also aerate the lawn in the spring and fall. I’m not saying it’s overkill, but the grass looks really fantastic. Are all these services really necessary? What happens if we don’t aerate the lawn?”
Homes need maintenance, and determining how much attention and care you want to pay to the landscape can be tricky. Fertilizing the lawn is an absolute essential – I think we can all agree that lawns need nutrition at least once a year. More frequent fertilization is better, absolutely in this part of the South Shore where the hot summers and very cold winters take their toll on the landscape.
South Shore Lawn Aeration: What Are the Benefits
A lot of what’s necessary in terms of lawn care services depends on the soil you’re working with. It sounds like your mother-in-law may have had some concerns about the soil being compacted. This means there’s areas where the soil is really hard and tight – it gets dense like concrete. In those areas, the grass growth suffers because the roots can’t get established in the rock-hard soil. Regular lawn aeration keeps these heavy soils loose without using any chemicals.
Lawn aeration makes it possible for grass to grow in places it otherwise wouldn’t. Soil tends to become more compact over time, particularly in areas where there’s a lot of traffic – which doesn’t necessarily mean vehicles. Children’s play areas can really get packed down. Weather conditions, such as prolonged drought, can also cause soil to become compacted.
If you want to be sure you’re getting your money’s worth out of any fertilizer you’re having applied to your lawn, have the lawn aerated ahead of time. The thousands and thousands of small holes introduced into the lawn’s surface during the aeration process provide highly efficient access to your grass’s roots – exactly the place you want fertilizer to go!
