Tag Archives: Compaction

Compaction in a lawn environment occurs when the soil particles are pressed together through pressure. This can happen to such an extent that moisture and nutrients can no longer reach the grass roots. The roots of the grass also has difficulty growing through the soil. A compacted soil becomes stale and the grass growing within struggles to thrive.

Compaction in lawns

A compacted soil needs to be relieved through an aeration treatment. These treatments open the soil, creating channels and removing soil so that space is created around the grass roots. Grass roots can then receive water and nutrients and grow.

Compaction is one of the most common lawn complaints which I treat. This is because it is difficult to diagnose in a home lawn environment. Treating a compacted lawn involves expensive machinery which can be difficult to get hold of.

Find out more about compacted lawns, how to identify them and how to treat them in these blog posts.

Question: How to flatten a large lawn

I received an interesting question on how to go about flattening a large lawn as a comment on a previous blog post regarding rolling your lawn. I thought that it was interesting enough to put together a full post answer. Find out how professional groundsmen flatten a very large lawn without compacting the soil.

Question: Patchy lawn in colour and growth

I received this excellent question in July 2019. A patchy lawn is a common issue and the possible causes of this case are worth exploring further. Alex wrote: Hi Kris, I laid my lawn (turf rolls) almost exactly a year in July 2018. I prepared the surface and placed a rooting fertiliser before laying the turf. It was… Read More »

Soil compaction and lawn aeration

Hollow tine aeration holes in a green lawn

Soil compaction is one of the most common, but least known problems with lawns in the UK. Around half of the volume of a healthy soil is gaps and channels. These channels allow air and moisture to pass down into the soil, allowing it to “breathe”. Compaction is the act of compressing the soil so that these gaps are no longer there. Read More »