Hard Compaction

[Mike75]

I have a new project, and I believe my biggest problem is the severe compaction of the dirt. It is in Oklahoma, and the grass is Bermuda, but it is very, very sparse due to the intense wear/traffic. It is around a school and is walked on hundreds of times each and every day. It is so rock hard, that I am not sure an aerator would even work. The ground is also very unlevel. What are my best options? Thank you for your time.

[EagleLandscape]

Aeration. Bermuda grows on sports fields, that gets alot of compacted. But they aerate.

[LB1234]

put a walkway in

[LindblomRJ]

Aeration. Good idea to water it before you aerate.

[lawnpro724]

Wait until you get a good rain, couple inches then wait a day and aerate then overseed the lawn to fill in bare spots. If there is a lot of traffic over the area rope it off for a month so the new grass has a chance to get established.

[PSUturf]

Inform the customer that as long as the foot traffic continues the compaction problem will come back even after you aerate. If you don't educate them about the cause of the problem they will say that you didn't fix it right and won't hire you again.

[ICT Bill]

PSUturf makes a good point
Compaction causes nice soil to turn to dirt and you will have a difficult time growing anything on it. Water runs off and so does any fertilizer, eventually nothing can get down in the soil, result dead turf

The only long term solution is a walkway or major renovation where you have to go down 12 or 16 inches and revitalize the soil with ammendments