Best bet for a lawn aerator?

[jeffinsgf]

Forgot your last question.

RE: forums and sites for lawn maintenance. This one is not DIY, it is 95% professionals discussing the business and lawn care. Most of them handle "Harry Homeowner" questions very patiently. There is even one forum dedicated to that, but it is poorly monitored and rarely used. The "Lawn Maintenance" forum has some excellent threads on turf building. The "Irrigation" forum is frequented by some very knowledgeable guys who helped me quite a bit when I built my sprinkler system last year.

LawnSite

 

[Garrabo]

HGM, Adding compost is a good thing, The only reason I said not to was the core aeration depth at 2 inchs does not get the benificial compost down to the level that will aid in deep rooting.
Just placing the compost on top of the existing dirt will not change the structure of the soil. As for core aerators they are great tools for releaving compacted soil and controlling thatch, as well as mechanically removing plugs so you can fill them in with the mushroom compost. A cheap core aerator will achieve great results(if you have tilthysoil) but even some of the heaver more expensive aerators are worthless in hard compacted soil.
(core aeration is worthless if you have very hard or very wet soil) Core aerators are not a cure for rock hard soil. Till in the proper amendments to a depth of 8 inchs before establishing your lawn that way when you need to core aerate(which will be needed less if you have good soil) you will achieve benificial depths with the unit.
hope this helps. (quote jeffinsgf) and pretty soon you'll have a healthy top soil layer and a healthy lawn.

(Garrabo),quality soil at 8 inchs or better builds quality turf, not a good top 3 inch layer. attached is my fescue currently in 90 degree weather.

 

[HGM]

Nice yard.. Thats what I'm aiming for... After reading up a bit on the link that Jeff provided and what you guys have said, I'm coming to the conclusion that for a long term plan I should probably aerate a couple more times a year and add compost and sand in the spring... For quicker results, I'd be better off tilling compost and sand into it.. Either way, what I read last night tels me that the springtime is when the compost should be added when the reall growing begins,it sounds like doing much more than aerating and fertilizing this time of year will hurt the grass leaves or promote weed growth... Sound right guys? Do you know if anyone rents a compost spreader??

For the original question, I still have a problem justifying the purchase of an aerator for my own needs.. The storage, borrowing and maintenance needs required by owning such an implement kills it for me, even at $75-100yr it would be worth it for me to let someone else own it... Check into rentals in your area and see how they work for you.. The rental company I use has a prety decent quality, 5'x 12", water filled, core aerator that I can tow behind my 4wheeler(2wd 250cc) fairly easily.. When I tow it up a medium grade it gets prety heavy.. Anyhow, it does a good job in my mind..

 

[Garrabo]

Thats correct, You should aerate a cool season lawn when it can repair itself, same with a warm season lawn. Spring and fall are good times to aerate fescue. You can skip the sand applications, If you dont add enough it will turn the clay to concrete. Turface is a much better agregate, It increases the CEC of the soil. Organic amendments to the clay do more than sand. Your soil, when optimally ammended should have the porosity to contain 50% air and 50% water. Organic matter creates the air movement and water retention the soil needs for optimal root depth. Fescue must be able to achieve deep roots to perform.
The walk behind rental aerators will beat you to death,(at least the ones I rented did so). It may be worth it for you to hire it out, Just ask up front how deep they think they can go. I usually have to spreasd the compost by hand unless you have a manure spreader. I have never seen a residential unit for spreading compost. If you till the lawn up see if there is a local dirt purveyor that sells a landscape or flower mix to ammend your soil with. I replaced all of my soil with an organic soil now I have 8 to 10 inch root depth. You probobly only (currently) have
whats known as the B horizon which is the subsoil which will not sustain a grade A stand of fescue. Usually all of the A horizon has been washed away in alot of areas. The A horizon is the top soil. If you do rehab your yard wait until the end of september.

 

[jeffinsgf]

It boils down to your type of grass. If you have turf type tall fescue, blue grass or some other cool season grass, aeration, top dressing and overseeding can be done either Spring or Fall. On warm season grasses -- zoysia, bermuda, etc. -- it should be done in the very late Spring or early Summer. The idea is to work when the grass is actively growing.

Garrabo, I understand your point, but it is not realistic to till under an already established yard just to get organic matter into the deep root zone. My point is that 3 or 4 inches of healthy, organically rich topsoil is better than none. Also, the simple fact is that top dressing makes your yard "move up" by the thickness of the dressing. That is why you don't want to put too much on at once. If you can pull a 3 inch core out of a clay heavy turf, and then you top dress with organic material about a quarter of an inch, your organic matter will work down into the cores and the grass will stretch up through the quarter inch. Now as the organic matter works its magic, the next time you core aerate, you may pull a 3-1/2 to 4 inch plug, and add another quarter inch to the top. After a while, you'll have a nice healthy root zone. I don't think it is realistic to suggest that "the only way to go" is to till up the yard and start over, mixing organic material into the top 8 inches. I think a good majority of the pros on lawnsite.com would back me up on this. A consistent approach of aerating, top dressing and overseeding can bring about miraculous improvement without the cost and time necessary to start over.

 

[TenZero]

I'm not sure what the soil is like, it seems to be some type of topsoil over (most likely) clay. Heck, i'm not even sure what type of grass I have!

Thanks for the links and info! Hopefully with a little reading and research i'll be a little better armed for the task at hand.

 

[Garrabo]

Coring

Jeffinsgf: I do not totally denounce coring and topdressing, for some that is the only way, especially if you have a huge yard. not everyone is blessed with a 3120 TLB. Although, I will challenge anyone to produce a stand of fescue that holds up in the heat with a minimal (less than favorable) root zone of less than 6 inchs though. complete Understanding creates results. I know this statement does not pertain to all landscapers but I havent met one yet that has my education or understanding.