Exploring Landscape Setups

How Core Aeration Can Help Solve Your Lawn Moss Problems

8 December 2022 by Tanya Green

If you take pride in maintaining a beautiful lawn, moss can be your worst enemy, especially at this time of year. Hardy, fast-growing moss plants can quickly spread to cover the largest lawns, and can seriously harm both the health and appearance of your grass.

There are many different ways to tackle moss growth on lawns, but core aeration is one of the most effective. When performed by a professional lawn care service, core aeration can make lawns much more resistant to moss growth, and help to destroy any moss that has already taken root.

What Is Core Aeration?

The traditional method of aerating a lawn is very simple, but is also quite effective. It involves poking deep holes through your lawn's thatch and into the surface of the soil, using a garden fork or specialized aeration tool. This will allow more air and oxygen to reach the soil, as well as the roots of the grass growing on your lawn. It also improves the drainage properties of the soil beneath the lawn, allowing water to drain away more quickly.

However, this basic aeration method has its drawbacks. The holes created by traditional aeration are relatively small and narrow, and only allow a limited amount of air to reach the soil. Forcefully punching holes into the soil also compacts the soil directly surrounding the holes. This prevents air from penetrating deeply into the soil and can create areas of tightly-packed soil that are vulnerable to waterlogging.

Core aeration is a more sophisticated process. Lawn care specialists will use mechanized core aeration machines to remove plugs of thatch and soil from the surface of your lawn.

This process creates wider, deeper holes than traditional aeration, which provide more significant improvements in soil aeration and drainage properties. Removing soil instead of puncturing it also prevents soil compaction around the holes, maximizing aeration and drainage even more.

How Does Core Aeration Prevent Moss Growth?

Moss is a simple, hardy plant that can grow in most conditions, but it thrives in wet, compacted soils that do not contain large amounts of oxygen. This makes a poorly aerated lawn a very attractive habitat for many species of moss. Because turf grasses grow poorly in these conditions, the moss will not have much competition for nutrients as it spreads across your lawn.

Core aeration strikes two blows against moss growing on your lawn. The improved oxygenation and drainage qualities of a core aerated lawn are a lot less conducive to moss growth and will slow its growth and spread. Core aeration also rapidly improves the health of your lawn grass, helping it outcompete the moss for vital nutrients.

When performed alongside other moss reduction methods, such as scarification and overseeding, professional core aeration can help to eliminate all traces of moss from your beloved lawn. It is especially useful for environmentally conscious lawn owners, as it will help you to minimize or eliminate your reliance on chemical moss killers.

To learn more, contact a lawn care service in your area such as OnPoint Lawncare.

Share