Scarify lawn, aerate & sanden

Scarifying, sanding and aerating - everything should help the lawn to grow better. But what is the difference and when is what best?

Anyone who is not very familiar with lawn care is quickly confused by the jungle of terms surrounding scarifying, aerating (synonym: aerating) or sanding. Actually, it's not that complicated. We explain to you briefly and concisely what the three care measures are and in which gardens they should be carried out. It should be mentioned in advance that scarifying begins after a deep lawn cut. This is followed by ventilation if necessary and then sanding.

Scarifying the lawn: fact check

Turf scarifying is used to combat moss and thatch. Both occur on average loamy garden soil, without really being able to prevent it. Various factors such as shade, particularly heavy soil, unfavorable pH values or a lot of precipitation can increase the formation of moss in the lawn. The growth of moss is in a sense a vicious circle. If the moss is not removed regularly, the lawn will become weaker and weaker and the moss more and more dominant. It is therefore important to remove the moss in the lawn at least once a year, i.e. to scarify the lawn. Spring is the best time for this because a lot of moss usually forms during the cold season. A scarifier rakes the turf and only slightly scratches the ground. This way, most of the grass roots are spared, but the surface moss is uprooted.

You can find out the best way to scarify the lawn here.

Aerating the lawn: fact check

Aerating the lawn, also known as aerating, aims to improve the soil's permeability to air and water. The supply of air to the grass roots is very important for a beautiful, he althy lawn and little moss and weed infestation. It is also important that the soil allows water to flow through well so that the grass roots do not become waterlogged. Soil permeability depends on its texture, ieof its sand, clay and silt content, as well as its load and the resulting compaction. Higher proportions of sand and silt promote good air supply for the grasses, while higher proportions of clay make air less accessible and can cause waterlogging.

You can only change a little bit about the composition of the soil. Attempts are made to regenerate compaction caused by stress by aerating the lawn. When aerating the lawn, special aerating devices with sticks easily penetrate the soil. Air penetrates the ground through the resulting holes and rain can drain off faster. In the case of very loamy soil, however, this measure can also result in the punched cavities leaving behind compaction and the air not being able to penetrate the soil any better. In order to reduce this risk, ventilation is only carried out when the ground is dry.

How do I know I should aerate my lawn?

On a day when the soil is dry but not parched, do the following experiment:

Use a spade to lift about 20 cm of soil from a patch of grass that gets average traffic and is not under a tree. Fold the base backwards so you can simply tip back the whole piece of soil afterwards without damaging the turf on the surface.

Now look at the earth and then put your hand in it:

• Porous soil is quite fine and easily crushed between fingers. If you don't have a hard time breaking off a piece of soil to pick up and crumble, you probably don't have very heavy, compacted soil and can probably skip the aerating.
• If, on the other hand, it took effort to get the spade of soil out of the ground and the soil stuck together tightly, then your soil is either very heavy, compacted, or both. Aerating your lawn when it's dry can improve its water and air permeability.

If you are not sure yet, you can still do the finger test. To do this, you moisten a piece of soil drop by drop until it is moist and the soil is doughy. If you lose your grip, it's best to start all over again.

• Soil with a high proportion of sand absorbs water quickly and is immediately wet
• Soil with a high proportion of silt absorbs water medium quickly,still retains its structure quite well. It feels mealy fine and has a high plasticity. Unlike clay, however, it is not sticky.
• Soil with a high clay content does take a bit of water to get wet and takes longer to soak up water. It feels like you could make good pottery out of it.
• Try to roll out a sheet of moistened soil on the palm of your hand, thinner than a pencil. It will be difficult for you to do this on sandy soil, while silty soil can be rolled but does not stick as well and becomes brittle easily. Clay soil can be rolled out very thinly without tearing.
• In principle, sand, silt and clay can be found in almost all soils. The texture or soil type is more about how large the respective proportions are. High proportions of sand ensure good aeration, high proportions of silt ensure the best water supply and the risk of water stagnation and lack of oxygen increases with increasing clay content. Heavy or loamy soil is often mentioned. Then soil with a high clay content is always meant.

Sanding lawn: fact check

If your lawn is unfortunate enough to grow on heavy soil, sanding the lawn can help make the soil structure a bit more lawn-friendly, i.e. more permeable to air and water. You read that right: Just like aerating, sanding the lawn is about improving the supply of air and water to the grass roots. Sanding is therefore just as recommended for heavy soils as it is for airing and, if airing is carried out, is usually carried out afterwards. Then the sand can penetrate wonderfully into the holes created during airing and thus make the airing effect even more sustainable. When sanding the lawn, make sure you use the right amount and the right grain size of sand.

Scarify, aerate or sand the lawn: Summary

Turf scarifying is part of the absolute standard program for a somewhat moss-covered and matted lawn. If you want to save yourself the work, this usually has negative consequences: the moss is increasing and the lawn is getting worse and worse. As a result, weed infestation increases and combating all these problems afterwards is very time-consuming.

Aerating and sanding, on the other hand, is more for professionals who want to optimize the growth conditions for their lawn. With light, sandy soils, these measures are superfluous, with heavy soils, aeration and sanding can be doneactually strengthen the lawn. Strong, he althy lawns are more resistant to diseases, weeds and moss, so it's a good thing.

We would like to point out that on medium-heavy soils, timely overseeding with a light turf (after scarifying), regular lawn fertilization - for example with our Plantura organic lawn fertilizer - and regular lawn trimming are more important for beautiful and strong turf than aerating and sanding.