Finest garden aerators to purchase in 2024: guide, electrical, cordless

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In each overview we award the excellent merchandise our coveted Finest Purchase award. To see these and the others we suggest, browse our decide of the most effective hedge trimmers beneath:

Finest garden aerators in 2024

Kent & Stowe chrome steel 4 prong garden aerator

RRP: £36.99

Our score: 4.3 out of 5

Accessible from: Marshalls Backyard (£32.99), Amazon (£36.99), Bents (£40)

Execs:

• Light-weight
• Comfy
• Removes good complete soil plugs

Cons:

• Wants sturdy treading to work

Awarded a BBC Gardeners’ World Journal Finest Purchase for guide hole tined aerating, this easy aerator from Kent & Stowe works effectively. The sleek, FSC-grade ash deal with is comfy, light-weight and doesn’t rub, even after utilizing it for some time. The deal with runs right into a single-riveted metal socket above broad metal treads and these treads are nice for putting and pushing into soil. Nonetheless, the 9cm, chrome steel tines do not go in easily each time, regardless of being pointed. Its greatest function is that it produces good, stable plugs of soil which might be nice for breaking down and reusing as topsoil.

Greenkey Rolling garden aerator

RRP: £45.99

Our score: 4.5 out of 5

Accessible from Amazon (£46.95) and Crocus (£57.99)

Execs:

• Adjustable peak
• Simple to make use of
• Light-weight
• Good for storage
• Plastic caps to cowl the spikes when not in use

Cons:

• Wants assembling – although it’s simple
• Exhausting work, so greatest suited to small gardens

Awarded a BBC Gardeners’ World Journal Finest Purchase for guide aerating, the Greenkey Rolling garden aerator is fundamental however does the job effectively. Light-weight with sturdy spikes, it’s simply the instrument in case your small garden wants aeration. Made out of aluminium and plastic, it’s light-weight however feels substantial and incorporates a T-bar grip in addition to an adjustable shaft to go well with completely different peak customers. The drum is 30cm broad, which covers a garden rapidly and simply, and there are 30 x 4.5 cm spikes to make sure deep, even aeration. It comes with a two 12 months guarantee.

Learn the total Greenkey Rolling Garden Aerator overview

Powerbase 1400W electrical garden rake scarifier

RRP: £89

Our score: 4.5 out of 5

Accessible from Homebase (£89)

Execs:

• Simple to manoeuvre
• Light-weight
• Compact
• Folding handles and detachable assortment field for storage
• Twin begin system for security
• 4 depth settings

Cons:

• Plastic assortment field cowl catches on handles
• Noisy at 103dB
• The gathering field doesn’t decide up all of the particles

Awarded a BBC Gardeners’ World Journal Finest Purchase for price range, the Powerbase 1400W Electrical garden rake scarifier is a 2-in-1 mixture machine that is gentle and compact however pretty noisy, reaching 104dB. The interchangeable drums are straightforward to connect and take away with the allen key offered, and have blades for shallow aeration, designed to assist enhance garden well being, moderately than relieve compacted soil or open the construction of heavy clay and spring tines for scarification. It has a twin begin system for security with a working width of 32cm broad and 4 depth settings. The physique is made out of plastic, which feels sturdy, and it has a beneficiant 40L assortment bag, plus the handles fold for simple storage. It comes with a 10m cable and is just £24.02 greater than the Wolf Garten Multi-Change® Curler Moss Removing Rake that we examined, so it’s an awesome, labour-saving different. It comes with a two-year guarantee.

Learn the total Powerbase 1400W Electrical Garden Rake Scarifier overview

Stihl RLA 240 cordless garden scarifier

RRP: £439

Our score: 4.5 out of 5

Accessible from Simply Lawnmowers (£209)

Execs:

• Glorious security options
• Simple to make use of
• Comfy

Cons:

Awarded a BBC Gardeners’ World Journal Finest Purchase for security, this mixture machine is powered by a 36v, 4.8Ah battery. It takes 205 minutes to cost, however is straightforward to plug in and has a useful cost indicator, though that is faint in daylight. The battery additionally has nice security options – it received’t work with out a security key, and there’s a lock on the powerbar for an efficient dead-man change – and it lasts lengthy sufficient to cowl a 250m2 garden, in regards to the measurement of a tennis court docket. Due to easy, high-quality wheels, it feels light-weight and simple to manoeuvre, which is stunning provided that it weighs 15kg. Highly effective aerating blades reduce via the highest layer of soil effectively, to assist enhance garden well being, moderately than relieve compacted soil or open the construction of heavy clay, and in doing so, additionally sort out many of the thatch and moss within the garden. The scarifying drum attachment was efficient on moss too, although not as environment friendly with thatch. Though, this machine struggles with inclines, catching on the floor and shutting itself off in case your garden is not stage, this isn’t an excessive amount of of an issue, as a result of you possibly can simply alter the heights – +7.5 mm to -9.5 mm – to keep away from this downside, and this computerized shutdown can also be an awesome security function.

Better of the remaining

Though some fashions didn’t fairly obtain a BBC Gardeners’ World Journal Finest Purchase award, they nonetheless have options that make them price recommending. Browse our decide of the most effective of the remaining on take a look at.

Stiga Important SV 213E electrical garden scarifier

RRP: £159

Our score: 4.3 out of 5

Accessible from Mowers On-line (£155), B & Q (£159)

Execs:

• Simple to make use of
• Light-weight and compact
• Folding handles and detachable assortment field for storage
• Interchangeable drums are straightforward to take away and set up
• Twin begin system for security
• 4 depth settings
• Quiet at 91dB

Cons:

• The 15m cable isn’t included
• Assortment field doesn’t decide up all of the particles

The Stiga Important SV 213E Electrical Garden Scarifier is gentle, compact and environment friendly with regards to tackling moss and thatch within the garden. It has two interchangeable drums, one with spring tines for scarification and the opposite with blades for shallow aeration, which is designed to assist enhance garden well being, moderately than relieve compacted soil or open the construction of heavy clay. It additionally has a twin begin security system and may be adjusted to 4 depths, starting from -6mm to +4mm, which is shallower than the opposite fashions we examined. We discovered that the 40L assortment bag left some particles behind and the 15m cable – the longest within the group we examined – is an extra price of £21.71. It’s compact and simple to fold the handles for storage, and comes with a two 12 months guarantee.

Learn the total Stiga Important SV 213E Electrical Garden Scarifier overview

Cobra S3840V Cordless Scarifier

RRP: £360.99

Our score: 4 out of 5

Accessible from Eager Gardener (£329.99)

Execs:

• Comfy to make use of
• Very efficient
• Fast to cost

Cons:

• Scalps the garden
• Very poor directions

The Cobra S3840V Cordless Scarifier handles effectively. It’s huge, and the wheels are susceptible to being slightly stiff, but it surely’s light-weight and has a soft-grip deal with, which makes it comfy to make use of. At 92dB, it’s comparatively quiet, too. The 40V 5Ah battery prices rapidly in simply 90 minutes, and gives 40 minutes’ use. The machine itself is straightforward to make use of, and we liked with the ability to see the cost indicator via the clear window. The aeration blades and spring tine scarifying drum may be set at 5 heights, which vary from -10mm to +5mm. Sadly, the directions are poor, so it takes some time to get this machine up and working. On the plus aspect, at 38cm broad, it covers a big space of garden, decreasing how lengthy you spend on the job, however its measurement makes this mixture machine very cumbersome and troublesome to retailer.

What’s a garden aerator and what does it do?

Aerating your garden is a part of a spring and autumn garden care regime and there are two completely different strategies of aerating your garden:

• Spiking – this entails utilizing stable spikes to create holes within the garden, that are a few millimetres in width and a number of other centimetres deep, to assist relieve compacted soil.
• Hole tining – because it sounds, hole tines are pushed into the bottom to take away cylindrical plugs of turf, round a centimetre broad and some centimetres deep. Relying on the soil sort, you might want to fill these holes with a sandy combine or go away them to let the soil develop and shut the holes, which helps with waterlogged clay soil.

Sorts of garden aerators: the alternative ways to aerate your garden

There are 4 varieties of aerator, every with their very own professionals and cons:

• Spike sneakers – these are low cost and simple to make use of and simplest on mushy – however not soggy – floor in small gardens.
• Handbook aerators – though these are helpful instruments, which might do particular jobs (see above), utilizing them requires a whole lot of effort because it will get tiring, even on a small garden. However they’re low cost, and an awesome thought if you happen to’re after a exercise.
• Handbook Rolling Drum Aerators – these are time and labour saving, as you merely stroll throughout the garden pushing the curler
• Powered Aerators – the plain benefit of utilizing these is that they’re labour saving. They’re additionally virtually all the time out there as a part of a 2-in-1 mixture machine that scarifies as effectively, so that you get two jobs performed for the worth of 1. Nonetheless, it’s essential to notice these mechanical aerators don’t aerate in the identical method {that a} guide aerator does – they use metallic blades moderately than spikes or tines. These blades create shallow slits moderately than deep holes, and though they are going to assist preserve a wholesome garden, by permitting air and water to maneuver via this prime layer of soil, they received’t enhance your garden if it’s compacted or you will have heavy clay. Mechanical aerators are fairly an funding too, as you’re utilizing them twice a 12 months on the most – even when they’re a 2-in-1 mixture of aerator and scarifier – and so they require more room to retailer than the opposite alternate options.

How to decide on the most effective garden aerator

Relying on the kind of aerator you’re going to decide on, there are a number of key options to search for:

• Handbook hole tine – look out for sturdy, stable tines that may address compacted turf, an honest tread to forestall your foot from slipping, and a soft-grip deal with for consolation.
• Handbook rolling drum – ideally you desire a good variety of metallic spikes on the drum to create loads of holes – as a information, 27 spikes provides you with about 180 spikes per sq. metre. The spikes must also be not less than 5cm lengthy to make sure they penetrate the bottom deeply.
• Mechanical aerator – go for sturdy, good-sized blades and a set field. If space for storing is a matter search for handles that fold down and a collapsible assortment field moderately than a stable one.

How we examined garden aerators

To see how effectively garden aerators carry out, the GW evaluations staff examined a spread of fashions throughout a spread of backyard conditions – creating holes and slits in numerous turf and floor situations. Earlier than we began, we checked for any wildlife within the grass and natural particles on the garden floor. The garden aerators have been in contrast, and the next standards used to calculate the scores, with equal weight given to every:

• Set-up & storage: We appeared on the meeting wanted, ease and readability of directions, any storage options and, the place related, the cable size.
• Dealing with: We assessed ease of use, weight, noise ranges, consolation and security options.
• Efficiency: Thought-about the energy of the tines or blades, in addition to how effectively they created holes and slits within the garden. For the 2-in-1 machines, we additionally evaluated how effectively the spring tines eliminated moss and thatch within the scarifying mode.
• Worth for cash: We reviewed all the above, plus high quality and design, the RRP and the size of guarantee.

For extra info on our testing course of see How we Overview

This overview was final up to date in April 2024. Sadly, costs change and issues exit of inventory so we apologise if something has modified.