We often get a lot of questions around this time a year about whether or not to aerate the lawn in fall. While many people understand that aerating in the spring helps the lawn during the spring, many underestimate the benefits of doing it in the fall. In this post we will discuss some of the reasons why we recommend aerating in the fall.
Aeration is the process of removing cores of soil from the lawn to allow the lawn to breathe. There is clay in the soil in central Texas and this can harden over time cause the soil to be compacted and inhibit root growth. Another detriment to lawn growth caused by soil compaction is that you get more runoff when you water the lawn cause the soil resists absorbing said water. By regularly aerating your yard you allow the roots to have more room to grow, as well as allowing air, nutrients, and water to get to the root system.
We had a really bad summer last year and this year hasn’t been any better as far as heat and rainfall totals. With all that heat the soil in the area has become extremely compacted. The lawn does most of it’s root development during the late fall and winter. For these reason we recommend doing an aeration in the coming weeks so that your lawn has the best chance to develop a healthy root system which will help it survive the brutal Texas heat.
