Aeration
The aeration is a technique in horticulture for ventilating the bottom of a lawn .
Procedure
Using what are known as English spoons from an aerating device, holes 5 to 9 cm deep are made in the lawn. These usually have a diameter of 1 to 2 cm. The process, also known as “thorns”, breaks up the soil compaction , gas is exchanged , thus promoting the life of the aerobic bacteria and the growth of the lawn. The resulting holes are then filled with sand . In many cases, lawn seeds and fertilizer (top dress) are added to the sand.
Treatment with an aeration device mostly cures waterlogging and moss growth. Waterlogging occurs when the soil is heavily compacted, as is the case with clay or loam soils, for example. The rainwater is prevented from penetrating the soil and accumulates, or the groundwater presses from below upwards and cannot penetrate either. The result is root death; the grass is dying.
Aeration is not to be confused with scarifying . When scarifying, the surface of the lawn is treated, while aerating works the soil. The goals of aeration are a deep loosening of the soil as well as a kind of drainage so that the rainwater can flow away again unhindered and the roots can be aerated.
After aeration, if not already done during sanding, re- sowing and fertilization are carried out. On golf greens , the entire area is sanded and leveled (towed away ) after aeration, see top dressing .
Aeration in private households
The aeration process is already common on all large golf and soccer fields. Since the treatment of the lawn is complex, it is rather unknown in home use. While large devices are clamped in front of lawn mowers or agricultural machinery on golf courses, there are also hand aerators for lawns smaller than 200 square meters in retail.
Coring devices
A distinction is made between two different types of coring spines : The spines with which the holes are created can be hollow ("spoons") or solid. Massive spikes create the holes by displacing the earth. This sometimes means that the rainwater still does not drain off sufficiently. Hollow spoons have the advantage that when the coring device is pierced, an excavation is created that can be removed from the ground. This makes the soil loosening more effective. The number of spoons varies with the devices, so that devices with two to five or even more spoons can be purchased. Here, the factors of effectiveness play a role, but also the amount of force required to pierce the device into the ground.
The coring season
Aeration is usually carried out before a seasonal growth spurt of the lawn, i.e. in the period from mid-March to early May. Aerating too late or too early can damage the lawn. Likewise, dry or hot periods and frost damage the soil after aeration. It is also advisable to aerate again before or during the autumn season, i.e. in September to mid-October. Depending on the soil and climatic conditions, this can also vary, so that surfaces are aerated more often.
Aeration was developed by Tom Mascaro in 1946. Devices can be seen in the Mascaro / Steiniger Turfgrass Museum at Penn State University . Tom Mascaro also invented scarifying in 1955 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Soil aeration - loosen tree locations and lawns by injecting compressed air. In: Tree & Earth. Retrieved June 7, 2020 .
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento from May 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b http://www.club-zur-vahr.de/index.php?id=220