aerate before or after pre-emergent

[Outtabounds]

Plant on doing some core aerating this spring. Is it best to do before or after putting down some broad leaf pre-emergent? Thanks.

[Smallaxe]

Sure is a lot of spring aerating going on this year.

If you think about what is happening you can figure out which way it should be.
You are pulling up untreated soil , loaded with weed seeds, and tossing it over the surface of your lawn.

I should start a thread. "What is your reason for Aerating?" :)

[turfcobob]

Aerate when you want or need to. The weeds will not grow down through a barrier any more then the will grow up. Several Universities have done studies on this in years past they all said you can aerate before or after pre-emerge treatment with no fear.

[jmoore16135]

Totally agree with Turfcobob, it has been well documented that aeration does not break the chemical barrier of the pre-emergent herbicide. Not the same for de-thatching or verti-cutting though.

[DoetschOutdoor]

I think smallaxe might be against the spring aeration, not necessarily the before or after pre em...my seed guys here always advise against doing aeration in the spring and therefor it all gets done in the fall. If the lawn needs seed, I'd rather drill it in then aerate and overseed and invite weeds in.

[weasel]

We aerate spring and fall. Our lawns are fescue only. Can't go wrong with aerating. We do pull a small core in spring though.

[kenny s]

Okay fellows let me understand this, because I really do want to underastand. For years in my spring clean ups in addition to cleaning the yard, I thatch the lawn first, clean it all up, core aerate the lawn, then appy, in granular form, the crabgrass pre/fertilizer combo, and peletized lime. If I have a lawn that needs to be seeded in spots, I do not apply the crabgrass pre in that area, so seed can be put down. In the fall I purchased a Lawn Solutions Turf Revitilizer slit seeder. I am still working on getting the slitseeding procedure down properly. I relalize I cannot slit seed a lawn and put down crabgrass pre at the same time. My ??? is, am I doing the right thing in my spring clean ups or not. I have always been under the presumtion that removing the thatch and aerating the lawn would only improve the grass growth. I am open for suggestions or advice. I do not thatch my customers lawns in the fall, because I just do not have the time to cut lawns and thatch them by myself. I am a one man operation. In addtion to the time factor, in northern NJ our leaves could start falling as early as late October and on thru the end of November. Believe it or not, the grass is still growing here October and early November, (of course not as it grows in the spring and summer), but still needs cutting. If I overseed with my Revitilizer in the fall, i still have to ride over the lawn to cut it. After I do a customers spring clean up in late March, or in April, I do not go back on that lawn again until 1st or 2nd week in May. I just purchased an electronic Ph soil tester so I now can test the soil when I do the spring clean up. I will now have a better way of knowing how much lime to put down on the lawns.

[Smallaxe]

Early spring thatching can be a problem for the the living roots you are tearing at. If I do dethatching mechanically I do it later in the season when the roots have had a chance to grow into the soil and are stronger.

If you have an old lawn with 3/4" of actual thatch then verticutting is better than thatching anyways.

However nowdays I apply molasses in the spring instead of fert and never do mechanical dethatching. Something to look into. :)

[kenny s]

Smallaxe,
What does molasses contain that it can take the place of fertilizer in spring? How does it come, in a granular form, I am assuming? In the north east, I have never heard of anyone using this procedure. Is this something new?

[kenny s]

Smallaxe, or anyone,
what actually is a verticutter, and what does it do? How does it differ from a thatcher or the slicing blades of my Turf Revitilizer? Thank you.
Kenny s