Does aeration really make a difference

I just bought a house. Last summer, my neighbor mowed my lawn and cut it too short, leaving some patches dead. I plan to seed this year.

Is it worth the effort to aerate? If yes, can I manually aerate about 400 sq ft

I just want to say that spike aeration does serve a purpose. It does aerate soil a bit better than core aeration.

Core aeration helps aerate and reduces compaction, but only if there’s enough grass for the roots to fill the holes.

Aeration just means putting air into the soil. Grass roots and beneficial microbes need oxygen, so spike aeration has its use. But it doesn’t solve compaction issues. Some say it might make it worse, but that’s not true.

You can find more information to counter common myths in my post here

@Wesley
This comment is empty, but I think it should say something about the usefulness of aeration

Mackenzie said:
Yes

Thanks for the responses everyone. I have one more question. Do those spike shoes that strap onto your shoes really work? I like the idea of just walking around while aerating

@Oren
No, you need core aeration for best results

Shan said:
@Oren
No, you need core aeration for best results

Rey said:

Shan said:
@Oren
No, you need core aeration for best results

Where did you read that, and did they try to sell a liquid aerator?

Koa said:

Rey said:
Shan said:
@Oren
No, you need core aeration for best results

Where did you read that, and did they try to sell a liquid aerator?

@Tatum
I’m starting to use both since my service offers liquid aeration free with yearly plans

Koa said:

Rey said:
Shan said:
@Oren
No, you need core aeration for best results

Where did you read that, and did they try to sell a liquid aerator?

I read that in a few places including this forum.

Rey said:

Shan said:
@Oren
No, you need core aeration for best results

They are incorrect.

Rey said:

Shan said:
@Oren
No, you need core aeration for best results

Is that stuff in a jug? It doesn’t work.

If you’re talking about hydrojecting, that’s a different matter.

@Oren
Aeration helps make space in the soil for roots to grow. It means either removing soil cores or tilling.

Spike shoes do neither and might actually make soil compaction worse.

Core aeration is great because it helps aerate while causing little damage to existing grass.

The mods have said that spike aeration isn’t harmful for compaction, but also that it won’t fix compaction problems.

@Zola
Your comment had misleading information.

@Zola
Yep, endure a couple of weeks while the plugs disintegrate, then enjoy the results in spring

@Oren
You should buy a solid manual core aerator. I had a two prong one. They offer four prongs, but if the ground is hard, you won’t get four prongs into it unless you have heavy equipment.

Riley said:
@Oren
You should buy a solid manual core aerator. I had a two prong one. They offer four prongs, but if the ground is hard, you won’t get four prongs into it unless you have heavy equipment.

I do it by hand too when the lawn is still damp. It helps, but I also hire someone for a full lawn core aeration.

The best time to seed cool season lawns is late summer to early fall.

If you’re looking for info on overseeding a cool season lawn, you can check out a detailed guide in this post here

I’m a bot, and this is an automatic response. Please contact the moderators of this forum if you have questions or concerns.

If your grass is healthy, I’d say it’s not necessary. I aerated mine once in five years, and it looked great before, plus it didn’t seem to make a difference.

Ren said:
If your grass is healthy, I’d say it’s not necessary. I aerated mine once in five years, and it looked great before, plus it didn’t seem to make a difference.

It’s about long-term results