Columbus aeration services
Maintaining a healthy lawn that is free of brown spots, weeds, and bare spots is easier said than done. Columbus residents often spend long hours outdoors working on their yard, and many are unable to produce the lush results that they want to see despite their best efforts. When your lawn looks unhealthy, your curb appeal suffers. This impacts everything from property value to pride of ownership. One of the more common reasons why lawns in Columbus fail to thrive is because of compacted soil, and the solution to this problem is aeration.
Kentucky bluegrass is the most common grass species on residential properties throughout Ohio. When it is healthy, it is durable and beautiful. Some residents blend this with tall fescue grass, which is well-suited for shaded yards in Columbus. A few other grass types that may be in your yard are ryegrass and fine fescue. These various species are suitable for growing well in Columbus's unique climate, and they are relatively easy to maintain. However, the lawn must be adequately cared for if any type of grass is to thrive and to continue to look amazing. Each grass species has unique care requirements, such as the ideal height to cut the grass to, and how much water it should receive regularly. All grass species may struggle to survive when the ground is too compact.
The unique soil type in the Columbus area can be compacted naturally over time. Factors such as foot traffic, heavy rains, and the weight of snow and ice can contribute to compaction. When soil is too compact, the grass roots are unable to get the full amount of fresh air and water that they need to thrive. Furthermore, efforts to rejuvenate the lawn by fertilizing it may be ineffective because the roots cannot take in the full amount of nutrients that the fertilizer provides.
Keep in mind that Columbus typically receives an average of 40 inches of rainfall each year. Most of this rain hits between March and August, and heavy downpours that strike the ground forcefully are common. Also, the annual average snowfall is 26 inches. Thick snow and ice may blanket the ground heavily for many long days on end.
Through annual aeration, the problem of dense soil compaction is addressed correctly. Aeration is an effective method of loosening the soil so that grass roots can receive all of the healthy elements needed for growth and health. This task seems simple enough for most homeowners to complete on their own, but many residents have underestimated the scope of the work after getting started. Some people purchase fork-like devices from local home improvement stores. These aeration tools are generally affordable, but they require you to poke holes in the ground every few inches. Covering your entire lawn in this fashion is unnecessarily time-consuming. More than that, these tools are ineffective and could make the ground more compact than it originally was.
Effective aeration pulls small sections of soil out of the ground. The soil is loosened because some of the material has physically been removed from the ground at regular intervals. The fork-like devices that many people use, however, push sections of the soil deeper into the ground. While they leave holes behind as well, all of the soil around the holes is more compact than it previously was. Results from the use of these tools are minimal at best.
The most effective aerator tools are more expensive to purchase, and they require potentially hours of your free time to use correctly across your entire lawn. Also, aeration should ideally be completed approximately four weeks before the first freeze in the fall months if you have cold-weather grass in your yard. Warm weather species should be aerated in the spring months. However, this is a rough guideline. If you discover that your yard is compacted severely in the spring months, aerating cold-weather grass at this time may be essential for optimal health. Avoid aerating when extremely hot or cold temperatures are expected. Such temperatures can damage grass roots.
If you plan to spend hours working on your yard, you understandably want to choose a day when you have ample free time available and when the weather is nice. Finding the perfect day for such a task at a specific time during the spring or fall months can be difficult if you have a busy schedule. On those rare days when weather conditions and your schedule align, you may prefer to use your free time in more enjoyable ways.
Beautiful days present ideal conditions to head to one of the city's larger or smaller parks. These include the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Whitestone Park and the Park of Roses, Scioto Mile, Topiary Park, Schiller Park, Goodale Park or Columbus Commons. The perfect day to work in the yard may also be the only time of the year when you can enjoy local festivals, such as the Ohio State Fair, the Columbus Arts Festival, Rock on the Range, the Jazz and Ribs Festival, ComFest and other special events. These times may also overlap with sporting events that you do not want to miss out on. Some of the top teams in the area are the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Columbus Clippers, the Columbus Crew SC and the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Jack Nicklaus Museum, the Jerome Schottenstein Center, the Ohio Theatre, the Columbus Museum of Art, the Kelton House Museum and Garden and other attractions are popular areas to spend time in.
Aeration is an essential step in effective yard maintenance plan. However, it should be done at the ideal time of year and using the right techniques. At Lawn Love, we want to help you keep your lawn well-maintained and healthy. One of the ways that we accomplish this is by providing you with a convenient and straightforward way to schedule aeration service. If you need help with your lawn, book service with our skilled lawn care experts today.
