There are many all-in-one walk behind lawn scarifiers that also claim to work for aeration. If you’re mostly concerned about soil compaction, then it’s best to buy a separate aerator. Dethatchers and scarifiers that also do aeration often don’t penetrate deep enough into the soil to help a great deal with compaction. When to aerate your lawn Photo by Guipozjim licensed under CC BY 3.0. Fitted with a 300-mm roller, the Greenkey rolling aerator covers quite a wide area at a single path. However, it best suits for aerating smaller and middle-sized lawns since it is not powered by electricity. If you do decide to treat larger areas, it will be a more challenging task that will require more time and effort from you to complete it, given its manual operation. If you’re planting new grass seed, aerating before sowing the seeds can give them the best possible start. This is just as true when overseeding as when planting grass seed for the first time. If you grow your own lawn, you know first hand how challenging this task may be. Even if you water and mow it regularly, creating and maintaining favourable conditions for it to grow isn't always easy. Therefore, if you've noticed that some areas of your lawn look too dry or too damp, buying an aerator can be the answer. These tools typically differ in types, designs, and sizes, but they all work based on the same operating principle, that is, they create holes in the soil to provide the root system of your lawn with more air and water necessary for healthy growth. Generally, it is recommended to aerate the lawn once a year, in spring or in autumn, and do it only when it's clean of dry leaves, moss and other debris. Now, all you're left to do is get a lawn aerator that will best suit your needs. Hopefully, in our selection, you'll find what you need.

One of the best things about this aerator is how durable it is. The tines are easily replaceable if needed, and the body of the aerator is extremely solid. There’s a small area where you can place your foot so your weight will sink the tines into the soil. Hollow tine aerators look just like a garden fork. They’re much less efficient than rolling aerators, due to their small size, however they penetrate much more deeply. The metal prongs that do the digging could maybe be a little longer but as they are they do what they’re supposed to if you remember to wet the soil first. These strap on to your own foot wear and spike the lawn as you walk, though I wouldn’t recommend them on slopes. They take a little getting used to but after a few minutes you get into the rhythm. They are not hard work and offer a very dense spike pattern for thorough aeration and if safe, can be combined with other lawn care jobs. Another simple, reasonably-priced lawn aerator for smaller lawns is these aeration shoes from Gruntek.

Sarel Rolling

Tow-behind aerators are rather large pieces of garden equipment and won’t perform well on small lots or narrow spaces. Tow-behind aerators are best for lawns larger than one-half acre and regular in shape. Consider the width of the aerator and your turn radius as you shop. The main benefit of this design is it makes the lawn aerator easier to push on very compacted soil. It’s able to roll smoothly, rather than each individual nail having to penetrate the ground separately. As you can see, there’s a lot to love about this machine. It’s relatively hard to find flaws with its performance, but there are a couple of points to mention in terms of design. Firstly, the power cable is only 4.5 m long, so an extension cable will almost certainly be required, and the 28 L collection box is also relatively small. For these reasons, despite its powerful motor, it’s only suitable for smaller spaces. As a general rule, you want to make a lot of holes, all over your lawn. Try to ensure an even spread, with at least 4cm between each hole. If you’re using aeration shoes, the spacing of the solid tines on the sole will show how far apart the holes should be. Like above, these are best suited for small gardens as they do require quite a bit of manual work. Similar to the pitch fork, they have spikes placed underneath that pierce the ground while you walk across it. All you do is strap them to your shoes, please wear boots, and walk over the area that needs to be aerated. I would recommend lawn aerator shoes with non-slip platform and heal support for a more secure fit.

Spiked shoes might penetrate about 4cm deep, while a proper pitchfork hollow tine plug lawn aerator will go as deep as 10cm.Assembly takes just 15 minutes and it comes with a 28 L grass bag as well as a generous 10 m cable. The power cable is bright orange which means it is visible in the grass as well. When attached right to your normal shoes, this straightforward and simple device will let you aerate your lawn by simply stomping over it. No strain to push or drag the rolling aerator around or digging the fork in, just walk across your lawn. As you go, its sharp spikes will get 50 mm deep into the ground to make fine holes and puff the soil up, which, in fact, is deeper than most manual and electric aerator rollers. So the aeration efficiency provided by the WIPHANY shoes is easily comparable to that of more expensive counterparts. Finally, there are spiked aerator shoes. These are definitely the best option for those who are looking to up their step count! They’re worn on your feet and will aerate your lawn as you walk around. They could also be worn whilst doing other jobs, like hanging out the washing. There are two methods of aerating, and depending on the condition of your soil, you’ll want either a hollow plug aerator or a spiked aerator. If your soil is very compacted, use a plug aerator . By removing plugs of soil from the ground, these aerators can dramatically improve drainage and create long-lasting aeration. They are simple, cheap and work really well if you get a decent pair and the only thing that lets them down is that they require you to walk around the garden for quite a long time and it can be quite tiring – from my perspective as I mention above it’s a great opportunity for exercise and clearing a chore. I like the look of the ABREOME Lawn Aerator Shoes. Fork aerators will hollow tines

Great if you’ve got the lawn size that warrants it. Anything over about 500 square metres is going to be tough with manual aerators. Your choices whether buying or hiring are: Priced sensibly, I wasn’t expecting much quality-wise, but the BMC Lawn Aerator isn’t at all what I would call flimsy. The metal roller and prongs all seem to be strong and robust and they do exactly what they are supposed to- poke neat holes in the grass and soil without tearing it up. There are many lawn aerators to choose from and all are built with a particular type of garden in mind. To help you decide I have outlined the different types of lawn aerators below, and explained who they are best suited to. For more tips on Lawn Aeration see my article Lawn Aeration Tips. Benefits of Lawn Aeration You can eave these plugs in place – after all, they’re just soil, and will have useful nutrients for your lawn. By doing some lawn aerating, you’re just relocating the soil to give your lawn roots the chance to breathe. However, the spike depth on rolling spike aerators isn’t great – normally they will only penetrate 3-4cm deep.There are a number of different types of aerators you can use to aerate your lawn. Here are some of the most common ones, and what they’re good for. Hollow tine aerators If you’ve got a small to medium size garden and you’re after an electric machine, the Einhell GC-SA 1231/1 Electric 2-in-1 Scarifier And Lawn Aerator is well worth considering. This model works as both a scarifier and a lawn aerator and has a 31 cm width.

While it is acceptable to aerate when damp, don't do it after heavy rains; you'll end up with a muddy mess that makes it hard for the lawn to recover. The rolling aerator is best suited for larger lawns that have a few slopes. The shoe aerator would not be able to cope with slopes as well as the roller. Powered Lawn Aerators Good for: small to medium lawns, where you’re looking for the best aeration possible. Manual rolling aerators

Rolling Lawn Aerator | Lawn Aerator Roller | Push Aerator

These lawn aerator ‘shoes’ are a simple, yet ingenious solution to the problems that come with other types of aerators. Firstly, they won’t rip up your lawn like some powerful electric aerators can so they are good for lawns that are already in a decent condition. Speaking of cables, if you choose an electric lawn aerator, look out for a power cable around 10 m long . This way, you should be able to avoid using an extension cable in most medium gardens. Swardman has left the handle bare, rather than including some type of cushioning. This makes pushing down a little less comfortable – we would recommend either using gardening gloves, or relying exclusively on the foot bar to push the tines into the ground. This is a 2-in-1 aerator and scarifier and comes with both a 48 claw aerator roller, and a 20 blade, stainless steel spike drum for scarifying. Both are ball bearings mounted for smooth operation and longevity.