Aerating Lawns With a Punch Core Aerator - Repairing Compacted Lawn Soils

Lawns become compacted for many different reasons, this is most often due to normal wear and tear on the lawn which occurs over time. As lawns become compacted they begin to lose their ability to absorb water efficiently, while also restricting the free flow of oxygen to the roots of the turf.

These factors become a problem when water cannot travel through the soil profile properly, which results in water run-off which wastes water, or the water stays trapped at the top of the turf for too long - making the lawn soggy and prone to damage, disease and pest infestation. Oxygen is vital to the roots of the turf, and without this free flowing oxygen, the lawn would become sick or die.

Compacted lawns need to be repaired, and the best way to repair these lawns and soils is with a process called Punch Core Aeration.

Punch Core Aerators
A punch core aerator or lawn corer is a very large and often cumbersome machine which is powered by a gas engine and is self propelled. The lawn corer is directed over a lawn by an operator and punches holes into the soil and sod.

The machine uses a set of hollow tynes which are punched into the lawn as the machine travels. When the hollow tynes pull out from the turf, they take plugs of lawn, thatch and soil with them, which are then left on top of the lawn and in the wake of the lawn corer as the machine progresses.

The homeowner can use a punch core aerator themselves by hiring it from a hire shop, however, consideration must be given to the size and weight of the machine and the inevitable cumbersome operation caused by using a machine of this large size. If time is an issue, or the machine is too large to be used by the operator safely, then consideration should be given to hiring a professional to do the job for us.

Preparing The Soil and Turf
The soil and turf will need to be properly prepared before a lawn can be aerated with a punch core aerator. This preparation is essential, and the aeration process will not work without it. Lucky for us, this preparation simply involves watering the lawn. The lawn will need a very good drink of water the day prior to lawn coring, the amount of water is usually double what is normally applied to a lawn in a regular watering. This step is vital to ensure the soil is moist enough and to a deep enough depth that the cores can be pulled from the soil effectively. A dry soil will not be able to lift plugs from the soil, and a hard soil may possibly damage the tynes on the machine, or the machine may not push the tynes into the soil at all - forcing the punch core aerator to possibly become out of control.

The Punch Core Aeration Process and Cleaning Up
The process of aerating a lawn is relatively straight forward, essentially, the machine simply travels across the lawn being directed by the operator and does the hard work by itself. However, once the coring is completed, the homeowner will be left with a lawn which is covered with plugs of lawn and soil, and will have a lawn full of holes.

The holes do not need to be filled in, in fact, the lawn will benefit the greatest if the holes are left open. This will allow oxygen, water and nutrients to most efficiently travel through the soil with the best results for the lawn. The holes will become invisible within a couple of weeks as the grass thickens up and hides them, but their benefit will continue for months. until they are eventually filled in by new roots, thatch and soil re-distribution.

Alternatively, plugs can be cleaned up by using a rotary lawn mower which is used as if mowing the lawn, this process will either lift up the plugs into the lawn mower catcher, or break up the plugs into fine matter if the catcher is not attached, these particles will quickly break down and disappear into the turf.

Apply Fertilizer and Wetting Agents
Lawn Fertilizer and Wetting Agents must be applied at the completion of lawn core aeration. The open holes in the turf and soil allow the nutrients from fertilizer and benefits of Wetting Agents to quickly and most efficiently benefit the lawn. It is important not to skip this step, by including it, we should see the greatest and fastest result of transforming the health of the lawn in a matter of a few days to two weeks.

Clay Based Soils
If the soil has a high clay content, then an application of inexpensive Gypsum Clay Breaker should also be applied while the holes are open. The Gypsum will work directly with the soil to make the clay more easily penetrated by water, nutrients and the root system of the lawn.

The clay based soil can be further improved after lawn coring by applying a top dressing of free flowing sand directly after lawn core aeration. The sand is applied to the lawn surface and then raked over so that it fills in the holes. The sand will then enable the lawn soil to continue to allow water, nutrients and oxygen to more easily flow through the soil for a longer period of time. Creating far greater lawn health over a much longer period of time.

Julian Franklin shares his passion and knowledge for lawns with everyone interested in having a healthy lawn, you can visit Julian on his lawn care website - Lawn and Garden, where he discusses everything to help make lawns beautiful, including lawn types such as Buffalo Grass.