Turf Attachment Questions

[jenkinsph]

Yes, core aerating is done in tall fescue lawns all the time here in the Mid Atlantic states. The cores are big enough to get the compaction under control yet small enough to dry out/ break up as to not cause damage to the existing grass. Depending on how deep you can pull up a plug of soil, ideally 3 inches, and with a good aerator I would just go in one direction. If you go in two directions I would think about this being a good time to overseed as you have more plugs of soil on top of the ground giving you even better seed to soil contact.

I core aerated my tall fescue lawn this past fall and overseeded with great results. I wanted to aerate in two directions but the rented core aerator broke a weld on the hitch and I couldn't get in done but one direction.

What was the reason not to aerate in tall fescue? Its one tough grass and they have only gotten better over the last several years.

Not really sure of his reasoning but he had suggested that core aerating was intended more for grass with runners. I am inclined to agree with you and will plan on buying a core aerator. What do you use to pulverize the cores left on the ground?

 

[LHS Inc]

You'll be aerating within the grass cutting season so your mower blades will breakup and disperse the plugs. The mower blades will more than likely lose thier sharp edge so you might want to do it when they were already dull.

I've cut a few yards where the landowner had someone other than myself aerate and when I got done cutting the plugs were gone.

General rule of thumb when you do anything to your lawn do it two days before you cut or two days after. Gives the lawn time to adjust to what has been done. It doesn't appy to everything you do but its always worked for me.

I'm getting a 3 pt 60 inch core aerator for the 2011 season so I'll be doing a lot more than I have in the past.

 

[alivan]

Not an expert, but researched this extensively and got the nerve up to do it on an 8 acre area. Was alfalfa. Sprayed it to kill it in Aug with round up (hired someone to do it). Then one of my neighbours came and used a "drill seeder" to plant the grass. It worked, but left a bunch of rows of grass with bare patches between. Crabgrass grew in some of the spaces in summer then died off late August. Then mowed short (about 1-2 inches). Then used a dethatcher attached to my JD 455 on the front set low to scarify the ground and loosen and a pull behind plug aerator and went over it all. Then used a broadcast seed towed behind while scarifying again from the front. In retrospect, dragging a plank of wood or something to stir the loose soil my have been a good idea, but was getting tired. Then used a lawn roller to pack it for good seed contact (apparently only needs good contact on 3 sides of seed). I used a ecoturf mixture of fine fescue and creeping fescue - good for cool regions with sandy type soilds. It was a large area so I didn't water, but I did it in early Sept just prior to a couple of weeks of forecast rain. Was very nerve wracking considering cost of seed and need to rely on a bit of rain each day to water. Sept here is generally cool (Southern Ont) so even with a bit of rain every second day or so the ground stayed moist. Took about 3 weeks to see the grass (I was sweating), but it was successful in filling in the gaps. Blades seem big enough that the roots will hopefully survive the winter. I may have just gotten lucky. In retrospect, I wonder if I would have been better off doing the ground prep and broadcast right off the bat rather then drill seeding for the first go.

Mark