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How to Enhance the Beauty Of Your Lawn by Spiking and Aeration
Spiking or soil aeration is an important lawn operation when dealing with badly drained, compacted or neglected lawns. The best time to carry out this operation is in the autumn or fall.
The soil of our lawns loses its porosity and becomes compacted due to heavy usage while walking, playing or even during the rainy seasons. The trampled soil is able to hold less oxygen and neither the water nor the nutrients are able to seep deep inside the earth to the plants roots that results in slower plant growth marring the look of your lawn. Lawn aeration can be done using mechanical lawn aerators, the device having a drum like structure with spoons or tines attached at its base to remove soil cores or spiking using a pronged roller. 
The first important step before starting with your lawn aeration routine is to moisten the lawn soil by watering it thoroughly for a couple of days if no rain has fallen. For lawn aeration we need moist and not wet soil which may otherwise cling to the aerator’s tines. If you live in an area experiencing heavy rainfall then wait till the soil has dried sufficiently before starting on the aeration procedure. Once the soil reaches a properly moist state you should use lawn aerator to penetrate the soil. The aerator should be moved in two different directions for better coverage, i.e. up and down and then across.
After this process use manure and fertilizers on the lawn surface which will replenish the soil.
Lawn aeration helps in increasing microbial activity in soil that helps in thatch decomposition. Also the airy soil helps in better penetration of water and other nutrients to the plant roots thereby promoting their faster growth. The other benefits of lawn aeration include increase in the underground water table due to incursion of more rainwater in the soil. Aerate your lawn at least once every year to enjoy and lush and green lawn.
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