Land Pride Aerator

bigpete · Jan 13, 2003

All six property owners went in on a couple of skids of starter fertilizer and almost 2,000 pounds of tall fescue. The work was done during the fourth week of August. Keep in mind this is on drought-stricken fescue:

1) De-thatch while running mulching deck. The dead grass and thatch mulched easily and dropped to the soil for decomposition. Real dusty work. I kept the compressor running and went through a couple of air filter pre-cleaners.

2) Aerate. Two passes minimum on each lot. We were pulling 4" plugs

3) Run detahtcher over lawn to break up plugs and incorporate mulched thatch

4) Broadcast fertilizer

5) Brodcast seed

6) Run dethatcher again with tines lowered to soil level to ensure seed-to-soil contact

7) Pray for rain, which we had in spades

Except for a few chronic problem areas, and for the two neighbors who didn't want that final step #6, the germination rate was very high

Everybody paid me something. One of the property owner is a Chef and we routinely receive goodies at the front door and a couple botttles of wine that I think you are supposed to lay flat and look at, rather than drink. Another neighbor is a contractor who will be writing a bid on a three-car shop I want to build. A third is a retired master mechanic who used to build stock cars and colects antique cars. There's always a couple of cheapskates in every neighborhood, but I guess they have to live with themselves day in and day out. I'll still offer to help in the future but I won't ask twice if they they hymn and haw about costs.

Anonymous Poster · Jan 13, 2003

Thanks Pete!

I may use this as my plan of attack this spring and fall.

bigpete · Jan 13, 2003

You could do #1 and #2, skip #3, wait for a week or two, or just a hard rain, then put down your fertilizer and seed. It just depends on your timing. It would be nice to have a big 30HP cut and a $5,000 overseeder that does almost all of those things in one pass, but that isn't in my future.

Anonymous Poster · Jan 13, 2003

Pete,
I have a neighbor who is in the business. He has an overseeder and charges $100.00 an hour ! Of course You have to furnish the seed and anything else when he uses it.

According to him, the thing cost somewhere around $10,000.00
and the minimum horsepower rating for the tractor is like 30hp.

This is why I am going to equip myself to do all this myself.

Gfranklin · Jan 13, 2003

bigpete, just curious..do you really think taking on a side job for cash causes some undue or unfair problems for those guys that are in the business? I'm thinking to myself that my plate needs food on it too so why not. I have done something similiar to TresCrows and never thought about morality.

I did however make a guestimate copy of a rooter bucket and then posted the pictures here with an eye for conveying the geometry. I read a comment from a respected member on another board about someone making their own implement and the moral issue of doing that. It made me think about patent infringement issues (assuming it's patented) even though it was for personal use with no intent for profit . Yet in reflection, I realized that my intent was to disseminate specific information not necessarily in the best interest of the owners of the design.

As far as doing the neighbors yard, just a curiosity. I fully agree with you that the local contractors won't like it but do they have any justifiable/reasonable moral ground for being miffed or in other words, should I feel a twinge of guilt when I see them in the grocery store?

I can vouch for the importance of seed-to-soil contact!

Greg

Anonymous Poster · Jan 13, 2003

Pete,
Do You have any trouble lifting this aerator with it at it's maximum weight?

bigpete · Jan 13, 2003

With my JD445 with Cat 0 pins turned inward and 210 pounds of front ballast weight, I can lift a little less than 500 pounds safely. I usually fill the two middle jugs (of the six) about half full and it's pretty solid, but that's my limit. The fully ballasted unit is a bit too much for my trade-in. The fact that I was starting with a big GT and going to a sub-compact or compact within the year made the Turfco very attractive to me.

With your BX and with my soon-to-be delivered 2210, it should be a great fit. I guess your front counterweight on the BX is your loader, and your lift capacity is probably 150-200 pounds more than my 445 (I think the BX is 680# 24" behind the pins--don't quote me).

The nice thing about the unit is the ability to adjust the weight by dumping a little water out or stopping by the spiggot. I mentioned in an earlier post that you can run the aerator at a lighter weight when soil conditions are perfect for aerating, which is easier on the tractor and will speed things up incredibly.

Also, I think J mentioned earlier in the thread that the 3-PH aerators must be picked up at the end of each pass and dropped again at the beginning of the next. You'll get really good at this. The ability to adjust the weight on the unit so that you still get the depth you want, up to 4", but you are putting less strain on the tractor and keeping productivity high is a real selling point to professionals who have sized out a job by the hour. Every minute counts to those guys.

Anonymous Poster · Jan 14, 2003

bigpete, where did you purchase your aerator? I have been trying to find a phone number for Turfco with no luck. If you have one plase let me know. Thabks Bigguy

bigpete · Jan 14, 2003

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.turfco.com/turfcodirect/>Turfco Direct</A>

I bought directly from the company and had it shipped to my workplace where I had access to a forklift. Very good customer service....