core aerating

15 years ago

Ok new to having a nice lawn..Always had weeds and some grass..I hae tifton bermuda laid down in Sept last year..yard looks pretty good right now..After learning I am watering to much it has really green up and looking alot better..Every 5 weeks I am aplling Scott's summerguard fert..And mowing weekly about 1" high..When would be the best time to aerate my yard? And if so the proocess of doing..Please post or lonks on how to..Thanks Patrick

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Comments (8)

lawncareexpert
15 years ago
Retro,
It is possible to plug anytime of the year, as long as the machine can pull a good plug. I personally like to do it in spring, early summer, or fall; If I'm really serious, I'll aerate in both spring and fall to decompress the soil and punch holes in the thatch. Make sure to seed after aerating to adjust any lawn areas stressed from extreme temperatures.

You should use a professional machine, not aerating shoes or any other contraptions. The whole point is to remove a dime-width, 2-3 inch long plug to reduce compaction and let water, fertilizer, seeds, etc into the ground. Also, leave the plugs, they will go away by themselves.

Hope this helps!

LCE
metal
15 years ago
Aerate any time that the lawn is actively growing, and be sure to aerate before applying pre-emergent (if you aerate after you will poke holes in the "shield" the pre-emergent provides). Either wait until after a good rain or water a day or two before aerating. I try to water enough so I can push a screwdriver into the soil about 3-4". If you have a watering system, flag the heads before starting so you don't run over them.
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It sounds like you are getting information from all over the place. The big hint was applying gypsum. Unless you know from a soil test that your soil is acidic, then you should not be thinking of adding gypsum. Generally Texas soils are already too alkaline. Why do you want to aerate? Do you think the soil is compacted? Does it feel hard when you walk on it? Does it feel soft(er) when it is wet from rain or irrigation? If the soil feels hard when dry and softer when wet, that is perfect. If it feels hard when wet, then you could aerate it and that might help. If you do go ahead and aerate, then it sounds like you have done your homework. Aerate a lot more than you think you should. While you are at it, if you have high spots that you would like to lower and low spots you would like to raise, then hit the high spots harder and sweep the cores into the low spots to melt back into the surface. Generally you should keep the St Aug tall but if it is 4 inches high, that makes sweeping cores more difficult. A really good alternative to core aerating is to spray liquid soap on the lawn. I hang out in other forums (which Gardenweb does not allow links to, for understandable reasons). In one of those forums they have developed a tonic (shades of Jerry Baker) that really does help soften your lawn. I tried it last year and it worked great for me. In fact it is still working for me. The idea is to break the surface tension in the irrigation water and allow it to soak down farther into the soil. Then that moisture down low holds the moisture content up higher for a longer time. The explanation drags on much longer but the bottom line is the soil is a lot softer. Okay, the mix is just soap. Their tonic is a mix of aloe vera juice and a special soap, but they make that stuff by the 5-gallon pot. I just sprayed generic baby shampoo through my hose end sprayer. Adjust the spray so the stuff coming out looks slightly foamy. Then spray. Following the spray you can irrigate. If you do this right before a rain, then you don't have to irrigate. Repeat in 2 weeks and again 2 weeks after that. That's all there is to it. I believe the soapy spray will save you the expense and hassle of the core aerator. The key to choking out bermuda is to make the St Aug as dense as possible. For that to happen it needs water once a week in the heat of summer, tall mowing (highest setting), and fertilizer. I use organic fertilizer (corn meal specifically) so I don't have to worry about when I fertilize. With synthetic chemical ferts, you should not fertilize after Memorial Day. In Houston even Memorial Day is pushing it for the heat. If you decide to really go for it and want to make it as dense as possible, you can apply any organic fertilizer at a rate of 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet every month. 10 pounds is the lowest amount that makes any sense. If you really wanted to make an impression, go to 30 pounds per 1,000 every month, but that is almost asking for lawn mower problems. Pushing a lawn mower through very dense St Aug can be a chore. If you want to apply compost, the application rate is 1 cubic yard per 1,000 square feet. NO MORE! Even that can smother your grass if you don't sweep it in with a push broom. Any grass that remains buried after you finish with the sweeping will not return, so get all those blades up and all the compost under the grass blades. Compost is the most expensive thing you can apply to a lawn. While it is good, I think it is over hyped. I would MUCH prefer to spend that money on organic fertilizer rather than compost. The bang for the buck is about 100x better with fertilizer. You did very well in giving enough info. Thanks for doing your homework.
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The other thing(s) that make it hard are rocks and roots. I have both. I did the job once and felt like I had been riding a bucking bronco for 4 hours. When Weed describes it as heavy, he ain't a kiddin'. The one I rented weighed about 100 pounds and came with 150 pounds of additional weights to put on it after it was off the trailer. How deep it goes depends on the weight of the machine and how hard your soil is. If the reason you want to irrigate is that you have hard soil, then I would suggest doing something simple first. Spray the lawn with baby shampoo at 3 ounces per 1,000 square feet, once a week, right before you irrigate. Do that for 2 months and your soil should soften up. The reason it is hard is the soil has become too dry for too long at some time in the past. When that happens the beneficial fungi in the soil that normally keep it soft (after irrigation) have died. The baby shampoo will allow the water to penetrate deeper into the soil which will keep the deep soil moist longer and provide a good environment for the fungi to come back. Spraying soap is a lot easier and less expensive than core aerating. If you are going to core aerate anyway, run it in 8 directions of the compass; spray the soap spray afterwards; then irrigate like you were trying to flood all the holes. Again the idea is to get deep penetration of water into the soil. The holes give you a 3-4 inch head start. Hopefully they will not fill up quickly.
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This topic is over a year old but what the heck...nobody is going to read for these comments, anyway. If deep and infrequent watering does not work, then you have the wrong grass. Fescue is the wrong grass for the Mojave desert. Yes, I realize it is an extremely popular grass, but when trying to grow it in the desert, it will consume all the water you can give it. If water was prevalent, it would not be a desert. It would be much better to select a variety of grass that is strongly adapted to your area. bpgreen can help steer you in the right direction but you will have to do some ground work with your county extension agent. Despite what the previous poster suggests, you will NEVER need a rototiller to prepare your soil. There is no six-inch 'usual depth' for preparing soil for turf at the homeowner level. After reading comments and complaints on this forum and others for 10 years, I'm convinced a rototiller will destroy your soil structure. In three years, when the structure finally reestablishes itself, it would leave you with a bumpy surface. You can create a deeply organic soil by working entirely at the surface without aerators or tillers. Look in the Organic Garden forum and find the FAQs. At the bottom of the list is the Organic Lawn Care FAQ. It will get you started. In the case of organics, more is better until you get up to about 80 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Beyond that point you have to start thinking about whether you might be smothering the grass. If you want to get your organic numbers up fast, apply alfalfa, soy bean meal, or whatever you can get, at 20 pound per 1,000 square feet every week all summer long. It will cost you a little more but it has been shown to work. If you are going to that extreme, then before you put all those organics down, you might want to invest in a good soil test from Logan Labs, not your local extension service. Again, this is after reading for 10 years. Logan Labs has an excellent reputation. Local extension service has, at best, a reputation for having poorly motivated/educated personnel and too often incorrect test results. The Logan Labs test will enable you to tune up your micro nutrients better than any extension service test.
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I'm not sure what area you are in, but if it's cool season grasses territory, then this is not good. You should have mowed short (2 - 2.5 in), bagged clippings, dethatched, seeded, fertilize (or fertilize first then seed as some will debate), water, hope you don't get a down pour, mow after 3-4 weeks (later the better). If you're in zone 4 like me, I'd be getting nervous about putting seed down now. It sounds like you didn't dethatch, so that new seed is likely going to sit on top of the thatch and grow at different times as it works it way down to the soil. Even growing is best. If some fescue seed hits soil immediately it will start germinating after a few days assuming conditions are correct. But when it's time to make the first mow, you might have a little over half the seed ready to be mowed over or walked on, so you could be wasting some seed by walking over the "grasslings" that aren't quite mature enough to handle traffic. It also sounds like the guy doing the aeration is in it for the buck and not the quality. After a heavy rain the soil is too moist, it's likely the aeration pushed and compacted areas down as much as it pulled plugs. which is going to make some areas great while others will look average after seeding and into next year. I wouldn't use that company again. They should know to wait a bit before aerating after a big rain. If you're in a cold zone, fertilize and seed(or just seed) ASAP, water a little to keep the soil moist and allow seed to try to pass through the thatch, but don't over water so that you're making puddles or streams in your yard.
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buy_25
15 years ago
For me, in the summer you are nuts. When you plug you explose the roots. In summer it will stress the roots (bad move).
retro55
Original Author
15 years ago
Ok got it done today...The plugs are about 2" long..It has rained her for a few days dropping lots of water so the ground was soft..buy 25 it goes from cold to hot here in Alabama..It has been in the 90's for 3 months now and will still have 90 degree weather until the middle of Oct..The aerating machine will wear you out..I then muched my lawn to break up the plugs..tomorrow I will aplly some more N..I want to overseed in the back yard, but I can not find any Princess 77 seed and with the Tifton 419 bermuda I do not what else to overseed with..any suggestions..I am want to apply some lime when would be a good time to do that? Thanks for all the help and suggetions...Patrick
wrager
15 years ago
I too have 419 Bermuda. I aerate when the turf is growing vigorously to repair itself. I just did mine this weekend after 3 days of rain. Ithen applied lime and some lesco 39-0-0. In two weeks it will look incredible.
You should not have to overseed your 419. Give it some nitrogen and it will spread like crazy. Bermuda should be fertilized every 30-45 days. Just straight N in the summer.
neil64
15 years ago
I would be careful with lime. The purpose of lime is to change the Ph of your soil. You should have your soil analyzed for the best information. If you work through the local Extension agent, they will show you how to collect soil samples and instructions on mailing and cost (usually nominal). The results will not only tell you if you need to use lime, but how much and when to apply it. It will also tell you the best time and mixture of fertilizer to use. In Tenn. it usually takes about 2 weeks to get results back from U.T. and it costs $7.00.
retro55
Original Author
15 years ago
I wanted to overseed because i have several spots that turned brown and grass died..The aeras are about 4'x4' and there are 2 of them..I limed it last year before I put the sod down so I believe I am fine..I do need to do a soil test..I just put down some more fertilizer 29-2-13 with 2% Iron..I do hope grass will grow in the died spots..If not I can patch sod next year..I hope by aerating them areas well it will help..Thanks again for all the advice and info..
tak2w
15 years ago
Do NOT overseed. Princess, or any other seeded varitey will not match your Tif. If you can't wait for the area to fill back in (and it will), you can take some plugs of grass from other areas of your yard and plant in the bare spots.

Also, not sure what is in Scotts Summerguard, but all you really need is straight Nitrogen...something like 34-0-0, and you need to put down 1 pound of N every 30-45 days (would equate to 3 pounds of 34-0-0) for every thousand square feet. If you give it enough nitrogen and water, it will spread and fill in.

core aerating

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lawncareexpert

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core aerating

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metal

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