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Core Aerate questions

14 years ago

I'm thinking of just paying a service to core aerate may lawn (about 5k sq ft) for me in a couple weeks. Then I'll put down fertilizer, compost, and reseed myself. Are there any other questions I should ask such as depth of cores or if they do 2 passes?

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Comments (11)

eriocaulon
14 years ago
I would ask them if they wouldn't mind doing 4 passes because you are overseeding and your lawn is relatively small. Over here, there is a standard rate for "up to 12,000 sqft". For overseeding, you could stand do have a lot more cores.
bpgreen
14 years ago
It may be worthwhile to let them know that you're more interested in the best job than in the lowest rate. I heard somebody with a radio show who said that there's a tank that should be at least partially filled with water to get good penetration, but that some places will leave it empty because it makes it easier to load the truck. Make sure they fill it with water to get good cores taken out.
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From Purdue Turf: In theory, a barrier of preemergene herbicide is created in the soil and limites emergence of crabgrass. Any gap in this barrier could allow crabgrass to germinate. This is why a uniform application of preemergence herbicide is required and practices like power raking or aerification are usually not recommended after application. However, research consistently shows that aerification does not reduce effectiveness of the herbicide. When aerification plugs are returned to soil, the herbicide may be simply redistributed in soil and not actually removed. The size of an aerification hole is only 0.5 to 0.75 inche in diameter and even though a crabgrass plant may germinate in a hole, its roots will explore well outside that hole and come into contact with the herbicide. Our recommendation is to not tempt fate and limit aerification following preemergence herbicide application if possible. But if turf areas will benefit long-term from aerification, aerify whenever you can regardless if a preemergence herbicide has been applied. Here is a link that might be useful: Purdue Turf Tip
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Hi Neal, Great questions, Ideally, Bermuda and other warm season turf grasses should be core aerated during the spring or early summer, and after the grasses have broken dormancy. The reason for this is that the grass will benefit from the aeration throughout the primary growing season, which is May through October. Core aeration will typically benefit turfgrass by improving air movement through the roots system, enhancing water and nutrient utilization, and reducing thatch. If you aerate in the fall, the Bermuda will not enjoy the maximum benefit of the core aeration, as the turfgrass will begin to enter a state of dormancy in the fall. Additional problems could occur if water freezes in the core holes around the roots and crown of the grasses. This could promote winter injury. I highly suggest waiting until late spring to perform this cultural practice. Thanks for your Question,and enjoy a great fall season !
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It doesn't work that way, a preventive fungus regimen means you have to apply fungicide about every 30 days through summer. Keep the big guns for when you get an outbreak. A granular fungicide like Headway G is perfectly safe for your family, you water it in and it goes straight into the soil without anyone getting in contact with it (unless you dig into the dirt I guess). But I understand your concern. For now, there's a number of things you can do to significantly reduce the chance of fungus: Get the watering right - deep and infrequent is key. Here's my take on watering : http://lawniac.com/lawn-watering Do not water in the evening. Limit spring fertilizer applications - do not fertilize until late May and even then use a slow release or organic fertilizer. The key is to not create a flush of young tender growth that the fungus can easily attack. Mow often enough that you only remove 1/3 of the blade in any one session. This reduces stress on the grass. Keep your mower blades sharp so as to not tear up the grass and make it susceptible to fungus infection. Try Serenade. Keep a bag of Headway G on hand to have if things go sour. If you see patches of grass dying act swiftly, none of that "maybe it will get better on its own, let's wait and see".
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Where I live (Central VA, outside Richmond) shrink/swell soil is common. When wet, the soil will expand... and when dry, the soil will contract. During the summer, any type of compaction will become exacerbated if there is not a ground cover protecting the surface from the sunlight. It's quite amazing, really. My wife and I have a large dog, and for about a month, we also had her boss' dog as our houseguest. The two dogs would do dog stuff... running, playing, and generally putting stress on the turf in the summer heat. Some thin areas developed as a result, exposing some of the soil surface to the sunlight. Once this occurred, it was game over for those areas. Within a few weeks... those areas became harder than cement. I now have islands of concrete. The soil has compacted and become so tight that the roots of the remaining grass in the thin spots have been squeezed to death. All life is dead in those areas. It's not that compaction caused the issues... it's that the soil was exposed to sun, which caused constriction. Just a few inches away, the areas that didn't thin out from the dog activity are lush and thick; I can easily drive a screwdriver down as deep as it will go into the soil without exerting any pressure. The very fact that the ground cover (aka turf canopy) protects the surface from sunlight is a MAJOR component to a healthy lawn. To Ridgerunner's point... it's about knowing what tool to use. It's also about knowing IF a tool even should be used. In this case, a surfactant will not help me. Neither will core aeration. The direct sunlight has baked the soil into hard pan. No roots will take there. Without a ground cover, there is no hope. Now, I could try to cover the spot with a mulch, which certainly would protect the soil from the summer sunlight and retain moisture... but then I'd have mulch in the middle of my lawn. The only other thing I can do, really, is wait until the summer is over, loosen those spots with a cultivator, add some compost, and then reseed.
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hortsense
14 years ago
Be home when the work is done. Make arrangements with the guy doing the job. It's impossible to over aerate, especially when overseeding. Funny how far a $20 tip can go.
maine_lawn_nut
14 years ago
Do you have access to a pickup? If so, you can usually rent the core aerator for 1/2 or full day for around $65. For that size yard around where I live, a landscape company would charge at least $250. You then get to control how many passes get made and will probably do a better job in the "corners" of the lawn. If you just don't want the hassle of DIY, then I would be upfront and tell them you want it too look like swiss cheese.

If you water for 2-3 days before aerating the machine will have good penetration. If you have really hard soil, it's almost essential to water or the machine will bounce along the ground and just make small divets, rather than cores.
dchall_san_antonio
14 years ago
EIGHT passes.
mike9
14 years ago
18 passes.
reelfanatic
14 years ago
Aerate until there is more hole than turf. Kind of like having a "negative space" lawn......You know it's right when the whole soil structure collapses when walked on.
mike9
14 years ago
Invite all the supermodels to a Luau on your Lawn. They like high heels.
scape
Original Author
14 years ago
I like this idea but unfortunately only the plus sized models could aerate properly
coastalnc
14 years ago
I have the same size lawn and rent a core aerator myself, takes just a couple hours. I run over the lawn many times in all different directions I can imagine. I aerate twice a year.
drugrep
14 years ago
I wish I could find a rental place that has piston driven aerators instead of drum types. I'm thinking they'd be much easier to move.

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