You might be under the impression that lawn care is nothing more than fertilizing, watering, and mowing.  Of course, all of these practices are necessary.  But there is still more to do if you want to keep your lawn healthy and vigorous.  Here are a couple of important lawn care practices that should be part of your gardening plan each year.

It’s easy to forget about what’s underneath the lawn.  But all the wear and tear on the grass - walking, running, standing, pushing heavy mowers - can cause soil compaction.  This is a situation where the earth is packed down so much that air and water can’t circulate freely through the soil.  Deprived of these essentials, grass grows more slowly.

Gardeners prevent soil compaction in vegetable and flower beds by turning and loosening the soil before planting.  Obviously you can’t do this with a grass lawn.  There is, however, a special technique for correcting lawn compaction called aeration.  This is the process of making holes in the lawn by removing small plugs of sod.  Doing this creates room for air, water, and nutrients to get back into the soil.  The plugs removed from the ground are broken up and left on the grass, where they will quickly decompose.

Aeration should be done once a year, or twice a year if the grass gets a lot of use.  If your lawn is fairly small, you can do the job with a hand aerator.  But if you have a good-sized lawn, you’ll want to use a power aerator, which is pushed over the lawn like a mower.  You can rent one of these machines from a tool-rental shop.

Another beneficial lawn care practice that is often overlooked is top-dressing.  This is a way of improving the soil from the top down.  The procedure involves spreading a quarter-inch layer of topsoil, finely shredded compost, or other organic matter over the grass.  This material will slowly filter down and integrate with the soil, improving its texture.  Although top-dressing adds some nutrients and microorganisms to the soil, it is not a replacement for fertilizing.  Normally done in the fall, top-dressing is even more helpful when you aerate the soil beforehand.

Many homeowners take the soil under the lawn for granted.  But if your grass is looking sickly and doesn’t grow as productively as it used to, it’s quite probable that the soil could use some work.  Aerating and top-dressing the lawn once a year will do wonders for keeping the soil alive and fertile.