How a Lawn Plug Core Aerator Works

Driven, Pushed or Pulled Over the Lawn

A core plug aerator is a garden tool that can either be motorized or operated manually. It is driven, pushed into or dragged across the recently watered surface of an established lawn. Plug core aeration is conducted as part of regular annual maintenance or to correct excess build-up of thatch or revive an under-performing lawn before reseeding.

Tubular Cutting Blade Action

The aerator has multiple, hollow tubular cutting blades spaced between two and four inches apart that puncture the grass, thatch and soil to a depth of two to three inches. As the blade rotates away form the cut site the core plug is pulled up inside the hollow cutting tube. As the aerator moves across the surface of the lawn the two to three inch long stratified plugs of grass tops, thatch and soil drop away from the tubular plug blades and onto the surface of the lawn.

Provide Air, Water & Nutirents to Roots

The core plugs are left on the lawn surface to decay back into the soil over time as mulch. Alternatively they are raked up, collected and composted or thrown into the trash. The newly exposed plug entry points into the soil will allow water, fertilizer, air and any newly sown grass seed to penetrate into the root zone making the roots and blades tops of the lawn healthier.