Air It Out
Chapel Street Fountain Park has been receiving much attention in the past couple weeks. Two Saturdays ago, a group of Park Angels planted a beautiful bed full with many colorful shrubs and perennials. Today, the attention turned to the turf area of the Park.
Chapel Street Fountain Park has been receiving much attention in the past couple weeks. Two Saturdays ago, a group of Park Angels planted a beautiful bed full with many colorful shrubs and perennials. Today, the attention turned to the turf area of the Park.
We started our turf maintenance program by aerating the lawn. We chose a motorized core aerator which has tines that plunge into the turf and pull out hundreds of little plugs of soil. The purpose of lawn aeration is to make holes in the surface of the lawn to increase oxygen and moisture penetration and reduce soil compaction. It allows air, water and nutrients direct access to the root system of the grass. Now is the optimal time to add fertilizer to the turf. We will be adding an organic compost in the coming days.
After aeration, turf can look very unusual if you are not use to seeing a lawn aerated. All of the holes left in the turf area can make one think that a colony of giant insects have burrowed their way into the ground and taken over the park. But in a few weeks the holes will not be noticeable as we get a few rains and the grass really begins to grow.
Aeration of lawns should be done this time of year (April/May) and for most established lawns should be done every 1-3 years. If your lawn has a lot of foot traffic (Chapel Street Fountain Park) aeration should be done every year.