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What to add to lawn after aeration?

16 years ago

I had my lawn aerated yesterday (tall fescue) and I am wondering what would be good (if anything) to add to my lawn at this time. I have had compaction issues in the past, but my lawn is doing better every year following the advice on this forum (mulch mowing, proper watering, etc.) So my question is, should I take advantage of the aeration and spread out some chicken manure, mushroom compost, or any of the other options? I am always trying to prevent the compaction from returning because our soil in this area is rock hard clay. Thanks!

Comments (9)

morpheuspa (6B/7A, E. PA)
16 years ago
Compost or a nice heavy load of organics (or both) would be a good thing. It can penetrate a lot deeper than it could without the aeration.
waterman_ca
Original Author
16 years ago
What sort of compost do you recommend, or are they all about the same? I have heard chicken manure is very helpful to help beakup compacted soils.
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adam said: Golf courses would not do it all the time if it did not do anything. They have carts driving on them and constant foot traffic, so they are more prone to compaction and need it. The bigger question is do you NEED it? That's up to you. It won't hurt at all if you do. and newtolawncare said: Golf course have golf carts driving on them all the time. Tires create massive compaction on 4 very small points (tires). All of the weight is compressed onto 4 small points. Very effective for when you want brick solid dirt in certain locations (new roads etc). I believe that is called mechanical compaction. I would aerate for that, if you don't want it. Golf courses are very different from home lawns and you can't say that since a golf course superintendent does it, that you should also do it at home. They aerate not just for compaction, but for organic build up over their sand base. Here's an interesting short article on a guy backing away from aeration at golf courses: http://www.turfhacker.com/2015/04/core-aeration-thing-of-past.html I found this passage from the article particularly interesting given our discussion here: I have never core aerated our fairways, they are on native soil/rock and see a lot of cart traffic. I just let the worms do the work for me. A fairway is a heck of a lot closer to a home lawn than a green is. "Some people" in this forum look down their noses at worms as little aerators. I don't know why but would love to learn how it is that worms are not effective. I actually mean that sincerely. I'm not a worm expert but I think they do travel through soil and roots and poke up through the surface. How is that not aerating? A little googling shows an amazing number of benefits to having lots of worms (ie, feed organically). I trimmed the edge of my lawn today and probably saw one worm every couple of square inches, and that's at the edge up against the curb. If one square foot equals 144 inches, I could have conservatively 25 to 50 per square foot, or 25,000 to 50,000 worms in 1000 sf!
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Your soil looks fine to me, no need to add more on top. You need to cut lower, as low as your mower will allow - aka scalping. The current grass will happily take advantage of the water and starter fertilizer you put down for the seed and grow quickly smothering the seedlings. You will also find the grass will be so tall you will need to mow in about a week, which means trampling all over the seedlings when they've just germinated.
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decklap
16 years ago
I wouldn't use mushroom compost simply because
its much more expensive and has no nutrient
value to speak of. As for manure based composts
I think its all going to be of equal value with
regards to compaction. Chicken manure compost is
"hotter" than other types of poo but you don't
need relatively high N to address heavy clay soil.
You just need organic matter and bacteria in the
soil to get those earthworms and other beasties
going. They'll churn that soil for you for free.
dalirahma
16 years ago
I would use some Natural Guard Soil Activator.

http://www.evergreenofjohnsoncity.com/Natural%20Guard%20Soil%20Activator.htm

Maybe somewhere near you sells it.
waterman_ca
Original Author
16 years ago
I fertilize with soybean meal and mulch mow. Do you think I also need a soil activator? Thanks again for all of the help!
whip1 Zone 5 NE Ohio
16 years ago
If you're already using soybean meal effectivly, you shouldn't need a soil activator.
lawndivot12
16 years ago
Waterman
One of the best things you can do for your lawn at this time is just plain top dress with some good top soil. Spread it thinly so as not to smother your grass. There are many benefits to top dressing but most people don't seem to bother. Good soil top dressing gets all the little critters going to work for the benefit of your lawn. Don't even think of rakeing up the cores, they do the same thing. If it were me I would lightly reseed also. I know all the dumb arguements about reseeding in the spring and they are just that. Dumb Mix some seed in with the dirt and some of it will fall in the holes and with some moisture it will germinate. I reseed every season in the year and also aerate. Try it a couple times, your going to like it. Lawndivot
waterman_ca
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for all of the advice. Yesterday I put down some compost and then went over it with soybean meal. I feel I am now ready for summer!
morpheuspa (6B/7A, E. PA)
16 years ago
Perfect! Post photos of your lawn when it's lush and green--and your neighbors are not. :-)

Ah, grass envy. I love it.

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