How to Aerate Your Lawn

Aerating your lawn is a simple project that makes grass grow thicker and greener by allowing it to absorb vitamins and water more easily.

Instructions

• Step 1: Water your lawn at least one day prior to aerating to moisten the soil and make the project easier.
• Step 2: Put on safety glasses before aerating to prevent dislodged plugs, which are small sections of the lawn, rocks, and dirt from getting into your eyes.
• Step 3: Aerate your lawn in the same pattern as you mow, going in one direction and then the other, to cover the area completely.
• TIP: Plug aerators are the most efficient and effective aeration tools. Shoe spike aerators and rolling spike aerators do not remove plugs as effectively from the grass.
• Step 4: Leave the extracted plugs on your lawn for at least one day. Then mow the grass, breaking down the plugs, and creating a mulch/reseeding effect.
• Step 5: Fertilize or feed your lawn after aerating. The holes in the lawn are great receptacles for the new nutrients.
• FACT: Did you know? Instead of hiring a gardener to mow the White House lawn, President Woodrow Wilson allowed cattle and sheep to graze, keeping the grass to a reasonable height.