Picking up Aerating plugs?

[LawnCrafters]

I searched for other threads on this, but couldn't come up with any thing.

I've been suprised at how many times customers have asked me if I pick up the plugs after aerating. Has anyone elese been asked to do this? If so does anyone do it?

[naturescape]

I've been asked this. I tell the customers not to rake up the plugs, they will disintegrate soon. Then I tell the customer what a direct waste of their soil it would be. Never have any problem once things are explained to them.

[Twotoros]

Lost a job due to this last week. When asked, I said it will cost 4x the price of aeration and that the plugs should stay as they are top soil . Also that with water and mowing they will be unseen in a couple weeks. She just looked at me like"you're just lazy. I said you don't want to pay 200$ for the job do you. She of coarse said No!
I tried to do this once about 14 years back and vowed never again. Am I wrong????

[lawnstudent]

I've been asked but never lost a job. I have considered a pulverising option, using a verti-cutter set just above the grass. But the plugs are to moist when first pulled. This would work better after the plugs have sit for a few days and have had a chance to dry. For those that dislike the plugs, this wait may not meet their needs. Any thoughts?


Jim

[Commander]

The only time that plugs are picked up is on golf courses. Let me just tell you this... the golf courses do not use Classen aerators... they pay at least 5 times what we pay for aerators. The only reason why they pick up clippings and plugs is so that they do not interfere with ball roll.

[lawnkid]

I'm sure it's expensive but on the Ryan website they have this new thing called the plug harvester and it goes around collecting the plugs. Has anyone ever seen this?

[lawnstudent]

lawnkid,

JD has one as well. $8,000.00 and you need a gator/tracktor to pull it. These things are impracticle in most sized yards I work. But what are you going to do with the plugs once you pick them up? You going to dump them in the corner of your customer's yard? You going to haul them off? With what, a dump? Now you need a skid steer/tracktor to load the dump. Is this going to be classified as yard waste by the local communities? You going to need a permit to dump it? It's best that they stay on the yard as a top dressing, helping to eliminate thatch.

Jim

[LawnLad]

We pick up plugs on our creeping bent lawns that we maintain. You can't use a reel mower if you don't.

After aerating, which we time with an forecasted warm spell with no rain, we verti-cut to remove thatch and cut the stolen growth of the grass. As well, it does an okay job shattering the turf plugs. We usually go in two directions.

We then blow the lawn down with back pack blowers, collect the thatch and remaining pieces of plugs (usually a spring of turf with thatch attached, little soil). It goes a little quicker since the grass is under 1" tall than it would with a typical blue grass lawn. Load the debris into the dump and haul it away.

Timing with the weather is not easy or predictable. As well, it's labor intensive and customers don't like paying us by the hour to clean it up. The other option for us is to cut the lawns with push mowers for three weeks until the plugs break down.

Too expensive for us to invest in machine that collects the plugs. Customer can pay for the labor to pick up plugs or pay for the aerating from a $10,000 machine. Hmmmm, they like what they have now.

Anyone just spike their lawns and not pull plugs? What brand spiker do you use and what are it's production times?

[JimLewis]

I am with naturescape on this. We NEVER pick up the plugs. But I always explain why, along the same lines that naturescape already said above....

It's normal for people to ask this question from time to time. But I've never had an incident where my explanation of why we wouldn't pick them up didn't satisfy the customer. Part of it is your posture. I always take the posture that I know more than they do about turf. It's not an arrogant attitude. It's just an attitude of confidence.

I know for a fact I know more about turf maintenance than any of my customers. So I don't let them push me around with questions like this. I'll entertain the question and answer it. But I won't let them make me feel like I am being lazy or don't know what I am talking about.

[KLawn]

Let them dry for a couple of hours then go over the yard with a drag to break them up and fill in low spots.

[GarPA]

I make it clear right in the proposal that the plugs will remain on the turf...I make the point that the decomposing of the plugs is actually good for the grass. They give me a dazed look and say "ok whatever" and slink back into the house.
As Said earlier, the only place to pick them up is on a golf course. I did a fair amount of research on aerators b4 i bought a Ryan...saw in a number of research articles that the "hole pokers" do more harm than good in that they actually cause the soil to become more compact, not less compact.

[65hoss]

Top soil is a very important thing. Over time most lawns have lost much of it already. The last thing you want to do is take more away. Its your job to educate them. I tell people up front that have never had it before it will look like pig turds for 1 to 2 weeks.

[jrblawncare]

Always leave them lay...sell the benifits of this to your clients.On sports fields...I have used chain link fence for a drag and this brakes'em up fairly well .

[LawnCrafters]

Well I guess I'm not the only one. Sounds like almost everyone has been asked about this. It also sounds like we're all pretty much on the same page about this one.
I always just explained why they should stay on the lawn and everyone seems to understand. Just wanted to see what everyone eles thoughts were on this.
Thanks.

[LawnLad]

Pardon me while I digress for a moment onto a slightly different topic....

When TGCL (when they were just Chem Lawn) was selling aerating big time 15 - 20 yrs ago (I think, before my time), I know they were pushing that aerating was good for thatch control. Almost implying, if not directly saying, that aerating did control thatch. Since you bring soil plugs to the surface, the micro organisms in the soil would work at decomposing the thatch.

Thatch being defined as the layer of dead bio mass that accumulates (between soil and turf plant) at a faster rate than it can break down from microbial activity.

As a result of TGCL marketing efforts to sell aerating, many lawns have thatch problems because people falsely believe that aerating will take care of everything for them. Aerating will help to reduce thatch to some degree, but the few micro organisms it does pull up will not control your thatch problem.

Pull a soil plug in front of your customer and how them the thatch layer... you'll sell more verti-cutting/thatching then you can shake a stick at.

[2 man crew]

This is one of the reasons you aerate in the fall. This gives plenty of time for The plugs to break down during the winter.

[RON66106]

This is the reason we have a SPADE aerator on hand if someone will not tollerate the plugs on their lawn simply use a SPADE aerator.

[LawnCrafters]

Spade aerator?

[RON66106]

Yes there are more than one style of aerators on the market!

[LawnCrafters]

Thanks Ron, I understand that.....
I was just asking you what a spade aerator is, whats different about it? Sorry I haven't seen one that I know of.

[Twotoros]

It doesn't pull a plug,only forces a hole by pushing. better than nothing but not as good as plugs i would think.

[Bob Minney]

I don't pick them up but I have several that pay to have them busted up with my lawn comber.

[LawnCrafters]

Oh, I gotcha....
A spade aerator is just another name fore a spike aerator.
Right?

[RON66106]

Sorry for the delay LC
I had jury duty yesterday:mad: Here is a web site that has some good pictures of what a spade aerator looks like hope it answers your question. Ron http://www.7315.com/gpc99.htm

[LawnCrafters]

Thanks. That is what I was picturing, I'd just never heard it called a spade aerator. Thought there might be another type yet.:)