Should I Pick Up Plugs After Aerating?

The more popular and effective way to aerate your lawn results in “plugs” or “cores” or sod and dirt being removed from your lawn and scattered on the surface. Knowing what to do with these plugs or cores is a key component of your lawn care strategy. These cores can provide several benefits but allowing them to break down where they land can also lead to one major drawback in a specific scenario.

Should I Pick Up the Plugs After Aerating? – The Short Answer

The consensus is that no, you should not pick up plugs or cores after aerating. In a few days, these little pieces of your lawn should break down and become unnoticeable. This process is aided by watering your lawn deeply after aerating or waiting to aerate before it rains. Allowing the plugs to stay where they are improves the overall nutrient balance of your lawn, among other things.

The Argument for Picking Up Plugs After Aerating

There is one reason to pick up plugs after aerating: aesthetics. There’s no doubt about it- the plugs left behind after aeration are unsightly. They make your lawn look messy and unkempt for as many as four days on average and even longer if you’re using a low-water strategy.

Plugs can easily be collected with a rake after the aeration is complete. Allowing them to dry for an hour or two can make it even easier to ensure you get every bit of them cleaned up. Once collected, these plugs can be composted or disposed of as yard/food waste if you have local collection programs for these types of waste.

There is, however, one other very specific situation where you might want to clean up some of the lawn plugs you end up with after aeration. Plugs that are discarded near walkways or the edges of your lawn near pavement can either be raked back up into the center of the yard to break down naturally or be cleaned up and composted. This can help prevent the buildup of sod or soil near walkways and curbs.

The Argument Against Picking Up Plugs After Aerating

In most cases, you should leave the plugs wherever they end up. While things might look a little unkempt for a few days, it’s worth it as you will keep more nutrients and microorganisms on or in your lawn where they belong.

After a few normal watering sessions or a heavy rain, the plugs leftover after aerating should break down and become effectively invisible. As they break down they can restore any microorganism that they might be holding right away. Any dirt should wash back down into the ground. Organic matter, including dead grass and roots, may take a little while to decompose but as it does it will provide your lawn with nitrogen and other necessary nutrients.

One important thing to note is that allowing the plugs to break down where they end up will not create compaction in your lawn or impact the results of the aeration process in a meaningful way. The act of pulling these cores or plugs out of your lawn was sufficient to aerate your lawn, you do not need to remove these plugs from the surface of the lawn.

What I Do With My Lawn Plugs After Aerating

Should you pick up plugs after aerating? Generally no, but there are cases where it makes sense. When I aerate my lawn and end up with plugs all over the yard I leave them there and water the lawn well once the aeration is finished. This helps the plugs break down that much faster and improves the appearance of the lawn almost immediately.

I also do rake plugs away from walkways and curbs to help prevent buildup in these areas. I make sure to make the most of the organic matter these cores or plugs have to offer by allowing them to break down in my lawn or by scattering them under an established hedge as the nutrients they can offer to a lawn can be just as beneficial to the other plants in your landscaping plan.