Mow your grass as short as possible. However, never cut more than a ⅓ of the grass blade’s length to avoid stressing the plants.

One of the most efficient (and fun?) ways to aerate your lawn, these Ohuhu Lawn Aerator Shoes are wearable aerators. These spiked aerator ‘shoes’ attach to the bottom of your regular shoes using velcro straps. Simply walk around the garden, and the spikes at the bottom will be pushed down into the soil under your weight. This model has a powerful 1500 W motor and its scarifying function is very effective. It removes a large amount of thatch and dead grass from the lawn. The aerating roller isn’t quite as effective, though it will work well on lawns requiring more serious maintenance. The aerator churns up the grass, so it isn’t as practical to use on lawns that are already reasonably healthy.For small or medium-sized lawns, manual aeration is the perfect option. For more extensive lawns, you might consider opting for a mechanical approach. Spike roller This hollow tine aerator helps revitalise the lawn by removing 2 x 1.27 cm plugs of earth each time it is pulled from the ground. The hollow tines pull out plugs of earth that are fairly sizeable, measuring 8.9 cm long. As a result, compacted soil is loosened and air, water and fertiliser can all reach further down into the ground. As you may already know aerating your lawn is a very important job that creates holes in your soil to help lawn grasses to grow and flourish. It should be carried out on a regular basis if you want to keep your lawn healthy throughout the year, especially for us here in the UK.

If your lawn grows on pretty soil high in clay or you live in a rather dry climate, more likely than not, the aeration process for you is a real challenge. If so, we recommend you to consider the Kingfisher RC401 aerator specifically designed for the use in harsh conditions. Lawn aerators improve the appearance of grass over time by penetrating the ground and allowing air and water deeper into the soil. As a result, the roots have better access to nutrients and fertilisers. For more high maintenance patches, the aeration process breaks through the thatch layer of interwoven dead and living stems, roots, and leaves that grow between your grass and the soil feeding it underneath. Machine aerators are very good at what they do, but they come at a premium price. The smaller ones work well for small and medium-sized lawns and gardens and are used similarly as old-time lawnmowers. The bigger machines are truly massive, as they must be pulled by a tractor to take care of enormous lawns and fields. For some reason, BMC decided to make the handle in a broom style instead of a T-shaped handle and I didn’t like this. It actually didn’t make the aerator hard to push forward, but I just think a T-shaped handle would have been a better choice for applying downward pressure. At 4 feet the handle is long enough so that you don’t have to stoop down too much while using the tool.

Mark Haley

Aerating focuses more on the soil, allowing more moisture and oxygen to get to the root area, where it encourages root growth and nutrient uptake. Tow-behind aerators are rather large pieces of garden equipment and won’t perform well on small lots or narrow spaces. Tow-behind aerators are best for lawns larger than one-half acre and regular in shape. Consider the width of the aerator and your turn radius as you shop. The metal prongs that do the digging could maybe be a little longer but as they are they do what they’re supposed to if you remember to wet the soil first. If your garden is anything like mine and you’re unfortunate enough to have soil with high levels of clay, then regular aeration is an absolute must! Great if you’ve got the lawn size that warrants it. Anything over about 500 square metres is going to be tough with manual aerators. Your choices whether buying or hiring are:

Sarel rollers areseveral hundreds of pounds but are easy to use and highly beneficial. However, as they only open up the surface of the lawn, it is lawn aeration in the loosest sense, and does not replace spiking or coring. Powered MachinerySpeaking of cables, if you choose an electric lawn aerator, look out for a power cable around 10 m long . This way, you should be able to avoid using an extension cable in most medium gardens. Here are some tips, information, and advice on lawn aerator products that will hopefully give you a better idea about the right type for your gardening needs. Which aerator type is best for you? For those living in the rolling hills of the UK, the ideal time to aerate your lawn is spring or autumn. This is because these seasons usually allow for the most naturally moist soil, which is a crucial component needed for effective hole-setting. Assembly isn’t overly complicated, but takes slightly longer than you might expect. This is because the collection bag needs assembling and its frame can be difficult to insert. Therefore, putting this aerator together takes around 30 minutes.

If you have bald spots around your lawn, post-aeration is a great time to overseed. Germination should be nice and prompt because the soil will receive the air, light, and nutrients it needs to promote faster growth. Should I mow before aerating? One of the best things about manual aerators is how little faff they are to use. This manual aerator can be taken out of the box and used instantly, there’s no cable to worry about nor complex assembly. It’s very lightweight and easy to store. Plus, it makes it easy to work freely around the garden with no power cord to worry about. There are liquid aerationproducts available, which you simply water onto your lawn. But the verdict is still out – most experts refute the claim that liquid aerator products alleviate compaction by breaking down dense soil. Manual Rolling Drum Aerators – these are time and labour saving, as you simply walk across the lawn pushing the roller The plastic shell of the Vonhaus electric aerator isn’t up to the same standard as the Einhell model, but I suppose that is to be expected for the lower price. The wheels are decent enough though, even if I don’t understand the reason for having the rear wheels much smaller than the front ones.

Rolling Lawn Aerator | Lawn Aerator Roller | Push Aerator

Sandy soil closes up more slowly, so biannually is usually sufficient. However, you might only need to aerate sections of sandy soil – mainly the areas of most heavy use. Fork aeration is time-consuming, so it’s perfect if you’re aerating small compacted sections of your lawn – where the kids have been in goal, for example. I saw my own neighbour damage his lawn by walking over it several times with lawn shoes (with spikes), he ended up with a more compacted lawn, and it did nothing to improve aeration or drainage. The 27-pound, ETL-approved de-thatcher features a single-handle, five-position depth control, from less than half an inch below the soil to just under half an inch above. This way you can be sure you set the machine to remove what you want removed and not an entire swath of sod. The scarifying blade is pre-attached, but you also can swap out a rake attachment (included, but you need an adjustable wrench). The handles require minimal assembly, with included hardware.