Zoysia Lawn – Aerating

Q: My lawn maintenance company is telling me that zoysia only needs one pass with an aerator. Is this correct? 

A: No, one pass with a lawn aerator accomplishes very little. The purpose of aeration is to make lots of holes in the soil to relieve compaction. A compacted layer of soil as thin as one-fourth to one-half an inch can greatly hinder water infiltration. It also prevents the release of harmful gasses the grass roots make. If your company is using a typical aerator, the machine will not make enough holes to make a difference. Liquid aerator sprays are useless as well. Their main ingredient is soap. Gypsum is useful to relieve compaction, but only in soil high in sodium, which doesn’t occur in our area. I hope I don’t have to tell you what I think about “aerator sandals”. I have more details on lawn aeration at bit.ly/GAaeration.