Compacted soil is a common issue among lawns in Indiana and it can quickly harm your grass by blocking essential nutrients from reaching your roots. The solution to soil compaction is either core or liquid aeration. It is highly debated which one is better for your lawn, and we are here to give the answer: both services provide great results and reduce the compaction within your soil, however, it depends on when you schedule them. Since our area in Indiana has lawns with cool-season grass, it is optimal to schedule core aeration in the fall or liquid aeration in the spring for the best results.

What Are Core Aeration & Liquid Aeration?

If you've ever wondered why you are still seeing brown patches of grass even though you regularly water and fertilize, soil compaction could be the culprit. Fortunately, core and liquid aeration are two ways that you can alleviate your compacted soil.

  • What is core aeration? Core aeration removes cores or 'plugs' from your soil. This requires a machine called a core aerator. A lawn care professional will walk the machine across your lawn as it pulls up cores of soil to loosen any compacted areas. The cores left on the grass will break down over time and begin filling in holes in your soil.
  • What is liquid aeration? Liquid aeration uses a liquid formula to penetrate your lawn and break down soil, making it easier for nutrients, sunlight, and water to reach your roots. The active ingredients in liquid aeration products closely resemble soap in that they're made up of humic acid, seaweed extract, and a wetting agent. Since liquid aeration doesn't involve pulling soil out of your lawn, it is a gentler process when compared to core aeration.

Aeration is a service that only needs to be done once annually, so there is no need to schedule both core and liquid aeration in the same year.

Core aeration yields the best results between August and October.

Core aeration equipment servicing a lawn in Fishers, IN.

Core aeration is best to schedule in the fall season, from August to October, to get the best results. This is because the lawns in our area of Indiana have cool-season grass, meaning they are at their strongest point in the cool, fall weather. Cool-season turf can easily handle a little soil pulling and your lawn will bounce back effortlessly and reap the benefits right away.

Liquid aeration yields the best results between April and June.

While we do have cool-season grass in our area and our lawns are coming back to life in the cool spring air, they are still a little weak as they emerge from winter dormancy. Aeration is the perfect solution to help your lawn recover from being covered by heavy snow and debris all winter, however, it is important to be as gentle as possible during this time while your grass recovers from winter. That is why liquid aeration is the perfect solution from April through June.

Since liquid aeration involves a formula that breaks down your soil, it is a much gentler service than core aeration, yet, it will produce the same results and help your lawn thrive.

Contact Us for Core Aeration & Liquid Aeration Services in the Carmel Area

Rather than looking at one service as better or worse than the other, it helps to view core aeration and liquid aeration as two different sides of the same coin. They both offer great results, however, the one you choose just depends on what season it is.

So, whether it's spring or fall, you can count on the experts at Precision Cutz Lawn Care to nurture your lawn with our core aeration or liquid aeration services. If your property is located in Carmel, IN or a nearby area like Fishers or Westfield, call us at 317-965-7868 to schedule today.