If your lawn is looking like it needs a little fixing up there are some ways to improve it.That's in today's Melinda's Garden Moment.Give your lawn a boost by core aerating away problems like compacted soil and thatch.Use a knife to dig into the sod and check for the brown layer of partially decomposed grass known as thatch. If it is more than inch thick it is time to core aerate.Heavily used lawns and those growing on clay soils are likely to be compacted. Dig down about 6 inches. If the grass roots only extend down about an inch or two, the soil is probably compacted and would benefit from core aeration.Make your job easier and get better results by watering your lawn a couple of days before aerating.Rent a machine or hire a professional for this task. The core aerator creates openings in the turf allowing air and water to reach the soil and grass roots.Run the aerator in two directions and leave the cores lay on the lawn. Once complete you can fertilize and even over seed thin or sparse lawns.I'm Melinda Myers, check out our website for this and other gardening tips.