Lawn Gurus, need advice ASAP-Thanks

[Craftybigdog]

Alright heres the deal I live in a brand new neighborhood, and the yards are **** brand new yards and all weeds. I did a soil sample on 3 yards and I am waiting for the results. I know the soil needed to be limed because I put down 3 bags of seed and nothing grew. So my question is when I seed these yards should I use my spike aerator and aerate the heck out of them and use my broadcast spreader to overseed or should I rent a seeder that gets it into the ground can I get away with the first option, what do you think Ive got to move on this because we are getting alot of rain now in the NE thanks so much for the help guys!

[Richard Martin]

The first thing I would do is get rid of the spike aerator. They tend to compact the soil more than anything. Go rent the slit seeder.

[KenH]

You will probably be surprised by the test results. A lot of builders take as much topsoil as they can and leave the owner with ****. If this is the case, you might have to bring some material in in order to get anything to grow.

If this is not the case, I would slit seed the areas, making sure you get good coverage. You might wish to apply some weed control first, depending on the severity of the problem.

[Craftybigdog]

I hope they didnt take the topsoil before it was developed it was just a cow field so now its a handful with the weeds!

[turfdog21]

Did you just tell him to get rid of the spike aerator?........................Hey, burn all your books too!

Mr Martin.......................Let me come across just like Cuba Gooding jr.......as I scream towards the sky...

"Show me the data"......."Show meeeeeeeeee the data"

One of THE biggest problems this industry is facing is its ambivalence toward soil aeration.

I'm sure the thought was there........................I guess.

[AGG Lawn Maintenance]

Your on the right track now. Wait for your soil tests to come back and go from there. You know some of those builders. The topsoil might now be the sub soil or might not be at all. They also may have compacted the ground alot from all the heavy equiptment. You may have to aerate also. But wait for the tests to come back. Good luck and keep us posted. Travis

[Floridalandcare]

Wish I could help you man, here in Florida we dont over-seed ,as a matter of fact Ive never even heard of it until I found this site , Sorry Man

[gravedigger5]

it was just a cow field so now its a handful with the weeds! I built my new house couple of years ago in the middle of a cow pasture. The only place I had to seed was where we backfilled. the rest of the grass in the yard/pasture was some sort of TF and I've been mowing it all along. The stuff looks great even when it gets hot and dry. I'd wait for the samples. Something is missing. Probably the builders had something to do with it. Marc




Are We Having Fun Yet???:eek:

[Richard Martin]

turfdog21 wrote:

"Show me the data"......."Show meeeeeeeeee the data"

Show me where the soil went. You don't need data to figure out that if you have a hole in the ground and the soil is nowhere to be seen that the soil that was in the hole was compacted into the surrounding soil. If you want to aerate use a core/plugger aerator. I have one.

[65hoss]

Richard is correct. Spike aerators help to increase compaction. Yes they make little holes, but how do they make those holes? By pushing the soil tighter together. Core aerator or aeravate will be the best.

Builders strip and grade the land for housing. Then usually it sits for a while and the rain takes even more topsoil off. Then they build and regrade again. Leaving nothing but clay and subsoil. We have done a lot of soil testing this year with homes built within the last 5-10 yrs. All of them have been the same. Pure clay. No organic matter. Aeration helps relieve some of the compaction of the clay and all the trucks driving on it during construction, but the only way to get the long term correction is to topdress with organic matter.

[GarPA]

well I really hate to bring this up but......my fatherilaw was visiting this weekend and passed on some interesting news about spiking versus core aerating. I own a core aerator and love the results so dont take this as me not believing in core aeartion. He's retired and works as a grunt worker on his country club golf course in St Louis....he said his greenskeeper boss showed him some interesting info last week on spiking versus aerating. After allot of testing the USGA (united states golf assoc) is recommending going to spiking insstead of aerating.After much testing they say it is just as effective as core aeration, does not make the mess on the fairways and greens, and allows the putting greens to heal within days. His boss now does only spiking...no core aertion. Not saying I agree with this....but we do need to keep our eyes and ears open for new trends and info...take it for what its worth...I'm not sold on the concept but I didn't do the testing either

[KenH]

Hi Kitzy-- Golf course maintenance is a whole different ballgame. On a course, the plugs arent allowed to stay----which is one of the beneficial aspects of core aerating. Also, on a course, plain old spiking is quicker, less labor intensive (dont have to pick up the plugs), and is done more often. Be careful comparing golf courses to residential lawns.

On the topsoil note...there is a high end (650 and up) development being put in on a 120 year old cornfield. Before the farmer sold the land, he sold the topsoil. The builder came in and sold some more. Now the homeowners are left with clay and rock. You cant even get a shovel in the ground. They have these beautiful homes with garbage lots. So dont be surprised what the soil tests return.

[Brickman]

Would "head stuck where the sun don't shine" describe these development designers? What where they thinking? Man I feel for ya.

[Ax Man]

As long as it's not your own prop, what's the prob?
Sell them some soil from the next developers lot.