Shopping for a Rolling Lawn Aerator? Take These Tips
The secret to getting a healthy, lush green lawn at any time of the year is to keep the soil aerated. The purpose of aeration is to break up the soil and make it coarse so that the nutrients and water can reach into the soil and circulate. This, in turn, promotes the growth of the grass by producing more roots. Fortunately, you don’t need to do the aeration manually, as people used to. These days, you can simply use a rolling lawn aerator to do the job. This tool is easy enough to operate for the average gardener like you and me.
Those who realize the value of aeration in keeping their lawns healthy often consider buying their own lawn aerator. There are different types of lawn aerators to choose from. Each type has advantages and disadvantages over the other types. But many experts consider the rolling lawn aerator as the best. Aside from the fact that it efficiently aerates the soil, it also has features that make it easy to use and maintain.
A rolling lawn aerator can either be manually operated or power driven. To operate the manual type, you usually simply hold on to the handle and roll the tool on the ground, pushing it forward and pulling it back out. Operating a manual aerator requires a lot of hard work, especially if the machine is the heavy type. If you plan to invest in a manual aerator, it is best to choose the lightweight type so you can apply more pressure on the forward and backward motion at the least weight resistance.
In terms of the labor required, the better choice is always the walk-behind or towing aerator. These types run exactly like your typical lawnmower, whereby the operator simply guides the machine as to where to go, but the machine itself does the forward movement. And as the machine moves forward, the cylinder attached to it rolls on the ground to work on the soil.
There are also rolling lawn aerators that can be attached onto a lawnmower. These types are easier to control, and can be maneuvered even into corners or tight spaces. These are also lighter in weight, so transportation and maintenance are easier. It is difficult to come by an aerator with all the features that you want, so it is advisable to consider which features are more important for you. For example, think about whether power is more important to you than portability and weight, or whether you want it heavier in weight rather than more movable.
Shopping around for an aerator also requires that you consider the purpose and use that you are eyeing it for. If you have a relatively small lawn to maintain, for example, you could probably make do with a manual rolling lawn aerator, especially if you need to deal mainly with brown spots or bare patches. However, if you have a pretty big expanse of lawn to maintain, it might be better for you to invest in a power-driven model to make your annual aeration an easier task.
