Does My Grass Need to Breathe?
Breathing is not the only reason to use an aerator on your yard. The process of Lawn aeration creates holes or voids that penetrate your grass, through the thatch, and into the soil. This process will keep the soil loose for positive grass root growth and allow water to penetrate deep into the soil where the grass needs it the most.
Lawn Aerators
Lawn aerators come in many sizes and in two basic designs. The two types are the spike aerators and the plug aerators. Both are effective in allowing water and air to penetrate into the soil. When purchasing an aerator it is important to have a good strong steel construction that can take up the constant grinding action the soil will have on the tines.
Spike Aerators
The spike aerator does a good job of penetrating the soil allowing water and air to get deeper into the soil. The concept is nothing more than a tube of tines that rotate behind your tractor and punch through the grass, yard thatch and into the soil. This allows voids to form where water and air can get to the root structure of you grass. The problem with spike aerators is that no soil is extracted from the ground. The soil is basically pushed out of the way and compressed a little to allow for the spike. Although not a lot of compression occurs with the spike aerator my preference would be the plug aerator.
Plug Aerators
Like the spike aerator, the plug aerator penetrates into the soil of your law and leaves punctures that will allow air and water to get to the roots of you grass. The difference is that a plug aerator has tubes that puncture the round and not spikes. these tubes pull out a plug of grass, thatch and dirt and places them on top of your grass. They stay there until the natural process of decay and weather makes them disappear. This process does not compact the soil like a spike aeration may and promotes a healthy Lawn.