Aerate lawn with pitchfork – when and how? It is possible to employ pitchforks to aerate your lawn. Aeration is a technique used to supply lawns with the nutrients they require. A lush, beautiful, and bright lawn isn’t some remote reality only seen in films. You can keep up with your lawn by taking a few simple routine maintenance procedures.
Pitchforks can be described as an aerator spikes. If you have a tiny size garden yard it could be an affordable and simple solution to improve the aeration of your yard. To make it effective, put the pitch fork into the grass about three or four inches in depth. Then make sure that the holes are between four and six inches from each other.
You can fulfill your lawn maintenance dreams and never be afraid to host a barbecue for your neighbors ever again! Find out more about how you can have the lush lawn you’ve always wanted!
- What is Aeration?
- Aerate With Lawn Tools
- Aerate Lawn With Pitchfork – The Best Technique
- How Long Will It Take To Aerate A Lawn With A Fork
- How Can you Decide When to Aerate Your Lawn?
- Times of Year
- Other Lawn Aeration Equipment
- Spike Aeration
- Plug Aeration
- What to Do After Aeration
- FAQs
- Is forking good for your lawn?
- Can you use a fork to aerate?
- When should you fork your lawn?
What is Aeration?

Technically speaking, lawn Aeration involves the procedure of infiltrating soil with small holes which allow air, water, and nutrients to get into the root of your grass. If you properly aerate the soil, you aid the grassroots development stronger and deeper to the ground.
We suggest Aerating as it will help in promoting the compaction of soil and also dethatching. Compacted soils are characterized by a wide range of solid particles which could hinder the circulation of vital nutrients, water, and air within the soil.
In excess thatch, your lawn has built up too much organic debris between the soil’s top layer and lush green grass blades. The thick cover may block essential elements from absorbing into the earth. However, you could solve this problem by airing the soil.
Aerate With Lawn Tools

The process of aeration is utilized to release compacted, compressed soil to create channels through which these beneficial elements can reach the root and root of grass growth. The most efficient method to accomplish this is by taking small pieces of soil and leaving gaps in the lawn that let air, moisture, and any additional nutrients penetrate right into the root and the grass.
You can create your own lawn plug aerator yourself or lease one from rental service, or you could use the tools you probably already have lying around in your garage, for example, a rigid rake or pitchfork. The most effective method to achieve this is to use an aerator plug, an inactive mechanical device that can be driven by human power or pulled by a lawn riding =mower. Pennington describes that this device is used by lawn professionals due to its ease of use. machine inserts and removes hollow spikes that are inserted into the soil.
The hollow structure absorbs soil and then pulls it away to form tiny channels within the soil bed. Then, it lays the soil plug back onto the lawn and will eventually get back to leveling the ground. In smaller and simpler lawn areas, the process is done manually.
Aerate Lawn With Pitchfork – The Best Technique

You have made the decision that you’re going to go with what you think is the most efficient method to improve the aeration of your lawn and that is to do the task using pitchforks.
If you’re going to go through the effort of aerating the lawn with a pitchfork, you need to do it right because it requires quite a bit of effort to get the results you’re hoping for.
- The first thing to do is to mow your lawn because it makes the job simpler when you look at the holes you’ve made.
- Create a plan for attack. You’ll be moving in straight lines, either upwards or downwards, and across your lawn.
- Begin to stick the pitchfork into the ground all the way through the layer of thatch and all the way to the root of your lawn and then stick it to the extent it can easily fit.
- If you’re moving across or up, the lawn, you should leave spaced 4 inches apart when you are working to aerate your lawn.
- Perform this procedure across the entire lawn employing this methodical method and you will be able to see an enormous improvement in the condition that you can see on your lawn.
Here you go this is the most effective method to get your lawn aerated. lawn using pitchforks.
Check some of the details from my experience that may cause you to think about another approach.
How Long Will It Take To Aerate A Lawn With A Fork
It’s definitely not an easy task to thoroughly aerate your entire lawn using a fork particularly if you’re so exhausted from the task that you must have a rest and drink regular coffee or lemon juice freshly squeezed.
If you’re an athletic person, then the time required to Aerate your lawn can be drastically diminished.
A rough estimate of the time you need to air-aerate the pitchfork is:
- Two minutes for each square Meter plus tea breaks if you’re unfit
- 1.15 minutes per square meter if are an athlete
When I was using the pitchfork method of aerating my lawn I would reserve an afternoon for the task with the expectation of working at a relaxed pace as I could and still taking breaks for tea.
It is difficult to work, which is the reason I’ve stopped using this method anymore. I’ve purchased a variety of equipment that will make it much easier to accomplish the essential task in the event that your lawn is trampled upon.
Continue reading and in the last section, I’ll tell you the various options to make this daunting job much simpler for you.
How Can you Decide When to Aerate Your Lawn?

We have established the importance of you improving the aeration of your lawn. Many homeowners aren’t aware of the best moment to keep lawn care out of soil aeration. If you are in this group, here are a few things you should be looking out for to know when to Aerate your lawn.
When your lawn is subject to frequent usage, such as pets or kids who spend the majority of their time outside, then you should aerate the lawn.
If your lawn appears to be spongy, or the grass drys out faster it could be a sign that your lawn is overly thatched. To determine this, you could remove a portion of the lawn by using an ax. If the thatch that covers your blade’s grass exceeds 1 and 1/2 inches, we suggest you think about the possibility of aeration.
We also suggest that you aerate your large lawn in the event that you’ve grown your grass in an area in which the subsurface has previously been subject to lots of pressure. Like construction.
If your lawn was initially sod, you must consider Aeration as the soil layering of sod could negatively impact the flow of oxygen as well as water and nutrients throughout your grass. If your lawn started as sod you may want to consider buying Aeration equipment.
Times of Year
The ideal time to Aerate your grass is dependent on a few elements. It’s recommended to do this during the growing season since the grass will heal faster. It is typically in the spring or fall before temperatures change and become too extreme. It is recommended to allow for four weeks to get these extreme temperatures beginning either in the winter or summer months.
It’s also dependent on the kind of grass you’re using. If you’re dealing with “cool season” grasses, it’s best to aerate in the fall. This is due to the fact that grass does not thrive in temperatures, and also hinders the growth of weeds.
If you want to grow “warm season grass” aerate your lawn in the spring. They thrive in warmer temperatures and may die out in colder climates when they are not protected by the soil.
Other Lawn Aeration Equipment
You’ve decided that you’re looking for equipment that is higher-tech than a pitchfork to aerate your lawn. There are two major subcategories of aerators. They are:
Spike Aerators. The Spike aerator is precisely what it is it is a piece of equipment that has a spike that creates a small cut in the ground. The issue of spike aerators lies in the fact that they can make a hole, but they only push the soil in a different direction, which can create a ground less compact.
Core Aerators. The Core aerator is the most important piece of equipment to use for lawn Aeration if you are looking for it. When you put a core aerator into the ground it’ll remove the soil’s core, in the same way as you would take the core out of an apple. The benefit is that it ensures that your soil won’t become pushed outwards and further compacted It takes away the core that makes the lawn less compacted over the long run.
You’ve done it you have the necessary knowledge in order to go to the next step and apply aeration to your lawn using a fork. Now you are aware of what to expect. This is why I utilize a top-of-the-line aerator.
Spike Aeration

Since it is more labor-intensive it is recommended only for those who have lawns of small size, for example, one-half acres or less. The device utilized is nothing more complex than an altered pitchfork. If you’re not looking to buy or lease an aerator spike from the local home centers it is possible to make use of a pitchfork if are lucky enough to have an existing one at home in the backyard shed.
There’s a major difference between a spike-aerator and its mechanized counterpart: It has strong (not hollow) spikes, which means it doesn’t create the soil cores that differentiate the second’s method of operation.
For the best results using an aerator spike, ensure you have prepared the lawn prior to getting into the business. This means raking and getting rid of all the leaves and debris that could be an obstruction. Furthermore, dry earth is harder to handle than moist soil. It is possible to make work a bit less difficult by watering your lawn before you water it.
Be sure to treat equally every part of the grass. Pick a corner and begin there. Walk straight across the grass Then turn around and go to the other side, but this time working towards the opposite side of the previous route. Keep going back and forth in this fashion until you’ve aerated the entire property.
Plug Aeration
If you live in a house with a hugely big lawn the best method for aerating the lawn is using the simplest mechanical device, called plug aerators. You can rent or buy one at the local home center (note that some models require a rigged-up connection with your rider mower). When your push it forward (or pull it in front of your mower) it turns hollow steel spikes which are then inserted into soil dirt.
The spikes then draw dirt cylinders out of the soil, leaving tiny pits within the ground through where air, moisture, and nutrients are able to travel towards the grass roots. Instead of raking and getting rid of the soil plugs the aerator leaves behind and leaving them in the place they are; eventually rain and foot traffic will bring them back to the soil’s bed.
Look also – Best Pitchfork For Mulch 2022 Top Picks
What to Do After Aeration
After you have aerated the lawn regardless of which method you select it is important to fertilize the lawn using a premium fertilizer that is compatible with the kind of grass and soil type. This will allow the fertilizer to penetrate into the root and roots of your grass.
If you decide to reseed your healthy lawn, especially in areas where the grass has become thin, spread the seeds evenly across whole lawn areas that have been aerated. After you have added fertilizer and seeds and water the lawn lightly to ensure that everything gets settled. Its surface yard will begin to settle into the proper position as time passes.
You don’t need to do it more than once a year, during summer and fall. TruGreen suggests that fall is a great time to do this because fertilizing and aerating after summer’s risk of droughts are often more efficient. But, if there are conditions in the conditions of your yard that hinder your ability to maintain an attractive lawn it is important to evaluate the benefits of the aerated holes versus the interruption to growth. No matter when of the year you choose to aerate, be sure you fertilize your lawn immediately following your aeration process.
FAQs
Is forking good for your lawn?
Aerating a lawn with a garden fork can improve the air circulation and percolation however using a fork to rake on a lawn does not lessen the compaction. Garden forks are an attractive thing, but you should use them to dig, not Aerating! This is what it was made to do!
Can you use a fork to aerate?
For lawns with small areas, a normal garden fork can be used to help aerate the lawn. Simply push it in about four to five inches in depth and pull back so that the grass is lifted a bit. Then pull it out and then move it back six inches, and repeat the process.
When should you fork your lawn?
It is recommended to aerate your lawn during the fall every 2 to 3 years after your scarify. Aerating is the process of introducing the air inside. When you perforate the compacted soil using a garden tool, you’re permitting oxygen and carbon dioxide to circulate, while letting the nutrients and water flow down the lawn root zone.