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How often can I aerate?

5K views 21 replies 8 participants last post by  Smallaxe 
#1 ·
I'm ashamed to say I've let my own lawn get as hard-packed as I think it can get. I only started my company last fall, and it's turned into a lot more LCO type work than I first envisioned (which is OK!). It's the part I enjoy, most.

Anyways, my personal lawn's a mess. I'm spraying next weekend (broadleafs) and aerating and over-seeding around 9/15. I plan to aerate again in the spring, just to loosen things up, more. My question is.....would it do any good to aerate again, before then? I have no idea.

I don't have irrigation. And, watering is out of the question. I plan to over-seed again in the spring and hope for the best.

I have a LOT of bermuda in my lawn, currently. And, keeping it out would be like peein' in the wind (IMO). I've never had problems growing a full stand of "something". With some more correct (and prudent) cultural practices, I'd like to have a nice lawn in a few years. I think it's gonna take a while, though. It's hard as a rock, currently.

I applied lime about a month ago.....and milorganite at the same time.

I also have some uneven spots I'd like to fill in with topsoil.My timing isn't gonna be perfect. So, some of this may occur over my aerate/over-seed. I don't have the equipment or the time to do this in the next few weeks.

Just bouncin' stuff off you guys.

Thanks.
 
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#6 ·
A public garden in TX, that has thousands of visitors throughot the season, maintained their turf by aerating every 2 weeks and irrigating everyday...

I would say that once the holes are closed up from one aeration, it would be safe to do another, but again, not dry and not over 85 degrees...
 
#8 ·
I can't irrigate, at all. And, my main question is.....how soon after my fall aeration can I aerate again, without damging the new plants?

Thanks.
There is a benefit loss when one aerates. To pull good plugs you need decent moisture in the soil. The typical rolling tine aerator only pulls a limited amount of plugs in a single pass anyhow. Unless you are making 2 passes with a plugr 800, 850, 855 or with a Ryan 28 reciprocating aerator it will not do that much damage. Your biggest hurdle is irrigation or lack of it.
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#9 ·
Like it was said before, as fast as the holes fill up. The new growth wont be hurt by the aeration but the running of the machine over the lawn will stress it. It would recover in a few days from that.

I would also recommend sweeping up the cores and applying some compost to help with the soil composition if its lacking in organics.

If it is dry soil the aeration won't do much for it. Why isn't irrigation an option?
 
#10 ·
If irrigation is out of the question, why bother putting seed down? Are you just hoping for light daily rains? I tell my customers, if you can't water daily, don't bother overseeding your lawn.

I would not core aerate after seeded until next spring. Before seeding, sure.
 
#14 ·
I have very little crabgrass. I have probably every other weed known to NC. But, CG isn't a big deal.

Even though I don't have irrigation, I can't see just giving up and letting my yard run its' natural course. I've seeded areas of my lawn that I've leveled with some success.

But, I know I'm at the mercy of ma nature.
 
#15 ·
What kind of aerator do you have ? Whats the hole pattern look like ? Hollow or solid tines ? How deep doe's that thing go ?
Since you are not going to irrigate that seed, i would aerify in 3-4 different directions now and not do it again until spring. Maybe aerify for a 3rd time around June 1. Maybe. You are going to hurt that grass in the heat of the year but the benefit to the soil outweighs that. This grass will be under stress from day 1 and you need to baby it for the first year. Do everything you can to encourage it. Top quality seed and a low seeding rate are important here. I hope you get lucky with the rain, but the weather rarely cooperates. You can do everything right but you still might lose a lot of grass next summer, but you might not. Plan on seeding again next fall anyway.
 
#16 ·
If irrigation is out of the question, why bother putting seed down? Are you just hoping for light daily rains? I tell my customers, if you can't water daily, don't bother overseeding your lawn. ...
This is a perfect example of what I commonly refer too, when it comes to understanding how the life of a grass plants work...

The conventional wisdom says: "This is how you get grass to grow." period... end of discussion...

I'm not trying to be unkind to you Mike, it is just something that embarrasses the industry and your business personally. Lawncare folks should understand the circumstances that make up the cycle of turf... :)
 
#17 ·
I'm on a well.

Irrigation is out of the question.
Up here most all my clients are on a well... some dig shallow well for the purpose of irrigation, therefor have 2 wells...

Why does "a well" preclude you from irrigating???
 
#18 ·
It precludes me because....I don't have a back-up plan for water. And, having a lush lawn isn't worth risking not having it (water).

I don't have a 2nd well, and I don't plan on installing one.

We've never run out of water. But, I'm not ready to roll those dice.
 
#20 ·
It precludes me because....I don't have a back-up plan for water. And, having a lush lawn isn't worth risking not having it (water).

I don't have a 2nd well, and I don't plan on installing one.

We've never run out of water. But, I'm not ready to roll those dice.
You're afraid of running out of water... I see... In that case, a 2nd well wouldn't do a thing for you...

Our resevior is an underground granite basin that supposedly cover a huge part of the state, but I'll bet, one day, they discover it also is connected to the Great Lakes... The huge irrigation systems we use in the area really dry up a number of small ponds and swamps for the summer, but the water typically recharges the surface every winter...

If you water in he morning most of the water would make it into the well overtime... How deep are you?
 
#22 ·
I'm ashamed to say I don't know how deep. My father in law did some work on the well, before we bought the house. I'll check.

We've never run out of water. But, how do you know how much is "too much"?....lol
If everyone else who uses that resevior runs out of water you might too, but you are not in that well alone... the biggest loss of water from the local reseviors is the city that pumps it out of the ground and ultimately sends it down the river...
Typically the evaporation rate and rainfall keep the underground water supply at an equalibrium... at least it has for the past few thousand years...

Here we know that we're i the same underground river as the potato farmers 30 miles away, because their nitrate/nitrite problem has reached here in recent years... soon we'll all be able to fertilize our gardens with well water... :)
 
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