Soil aeration is as important for the upkeep of your lawn as watering, fertilizing and mowing. If you have a large lawn, soil aeration through traditional coring equipment can be quite a task – although it does provide you with a good work out. Another option for aerating your soil that’s fast-gaining popularity for its ease of application and long-term results is liquid aeration.
What is Liquid Aeration?
Liquid aeration is exactly what it means – spraying your lawn with a diluted solution of a liquid aerator. Most garden supply stores stock different brands of liquid aerators in different sizes. The equipment to spray the liquid can be hired or purchased, depending on your budget. Alternatively, you could hire the services of a lawn aeration company to do the job with their benchmarked tools and equipment in place. The process of liquid lawn aeration may be simple – wherein a concentrated liquid aerator is diluted with water and sprayed over the lawn – however, it’s best performed by professionals in the field of aeration.
How Does it Work?
The concentrated liquid aerator is actually a mix of amendments that helps reduce surface tension in the soil along with breaking up bonded clay particles, thus allowing better water and air penetration. In addition, liquid aerators supply organic material that stimulates the generation of microbes and provides food for them as well. The microbes along with earthworms are the key – it is they that create humus and eventually restructure the soil in your lawn.
How Often do You Need to Aerate?
The answer to this question depends on the condition of your soil. However, there are some thumb rules that can help. Loamy soils will require less number of applications as compared to clayey soils. If you are stuck with a patch of a really dense clay, it is recommended that you apply the liquid aerator twice a month for the first month, followed by monthly applications for at least six to eight months. Clay particles have a tendency to re-bond – the regular application will help in changing the structure of the soil. Over time, you will observe better drainage/seepage of water and lusher and greener grass – this is the result of regular liquid aeration.
Advantages of Liquid Aeration
Mechanical core aeration done by any method has its limitations. The area covered ranges from 20 to 40 percent. Areas away from the hole created for the purpose of aeration receive fewer benefits. Liquid aeration, on the other hand, provides 100 percent coverage of the area. Much faster as compared to mechanical core aeration, liquid aeration is also less expensive in the long run. Unlike mechanical aeration, liquid aeration can be done at any time of the year without any adverse effects on either young or dormant grass. But perhaps, the biggest advantage of liquid aeration is that it can be done on flower/vegetable beds and around your trees as well.
Liquid Aeration – A Must for your Lawn
Liquid aeration gradually helps build the soil structure because of its long-lasting cumulative effect, as well as its role in increasing soil microbes and earthworms – the real aerators of your soil. Get ready for the process, your lawn needs it.
