New to Lawn Care/Aeration

Kentucky bluegrass, Fescue, Rye and Bent, etc
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dmykins

New to Lawn Care/Aeration

Post by dmykins » March 30th, 2016, 2:48 pm

I live in Western NY (Rochester) I would like to core aerate my lawn this coming month. I keep reading it's best to overseed in fall, so will aerating without overseeding be beneficial? Thanks everyone.

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andy10917
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Re: New to Lawn Care/Aeration

Post by andy10917 » March 30th, 2016, 3:06 pm

Why do you need to aerate? Do you have trucks driving across your lawn, or a herd of cattle?

dmykins

Re: New to Lawn Care/Aeration

Post by dmykins » March 30th, 2016, 5:10 pm

We moved in a couple years ago and the whole yard is really hard and compact.

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Kmartel
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Re: New to Lawn Care/Aeration

Post by Kmartel » March 30th, 2016, 5:43 pm

Compaction is something that is uncommon in residential lawns. If there is compaction is is usually due to heavy vehicle/equipment traffic from some type of construction or building event. There is definitely a time and place for aerating but typically not needed and specially over entire yard.

Why do you think soil is compacted?? Poor turf quality, water ponding, indicator plants??? Pics may help us.


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ENVY23
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Re: New to Lawn Care/Aeration

Post by ENVY23 » March 30th, 2016, 5:59 pm

Not to mention aerating brings all those weed seeds buried in your soil to the surface, where they will germinate and provide you with countless hours of enjoyment trying to eradicate them. I would suggest using a soil conditioner, http://aroundtheyard.com/articles/154-s ... mates.html , as well as a soil test from Logan Labs. Your soil may be lacking a nutrient that makes it hard/tight, and without a soil test you won't know what it is. Post the results in the soil forum and the members of Soil Team 6 will translate it for you and devise a plan to get your soil into shape. Without a soil test, you could be wasting money on products you don't need, or even applying things that will make your conditions worse.


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Re: New to Lawn Care/Aeration

Post by northeastlawn » March 30th, 2016, 6:03 pm

Do you have any puddles of standing water when it rains very hard?

dmykins

Re: New to Lawn Care/Aeration

Post by dmykins » March 30th, 2016, 7:09 pm

I believe there might be a couple spots when it rains, its hard to remember now since it's been winter. My grass is just very thin and the dirt looks abused if that makes sense.

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Re: New to Lawn Care/Aeration

Post by northeastlawn » March 30th, 2016, 7:47 pm

I thought I had compacted soil when I first started lurking here. It turns out my existing grass wasn't very good and I needed a reno or an over-seed. After following the excellent advice offered here my lawn is in great shape, my soil was not the problem.

x2 to what others have said; get a soil test via logan labs, keep the weeds out best you can until August, and then plan on an over-seed or a reno. It takes time and can be a lot of work, but with the help of this site you can do wonders.

The only downside is once your lawn is good, you really want it to be great, I think that is when the obsession kicks in :-)

ligrass
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Re: New to Lawn Care/Aeration

Post by ligrass » March 30th, 2016, 8:11 pm

The first rule of Lawn Club is: You do not disturb the soil.

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probasesteal
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Re: New to Lawn Care/Aeration

Post by probasesteal » March 30th, 2016, 9:42 pm

Don't feel bad, almost every landscaper and extension pounds fall aeration into our heads.
Don't do it. Just look at all the threads on Poa annua and Poa triv, leave the soil undisturbed.

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turf_toes
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Re: New to Lawn Care/Aeration

Post by turf_toes » March 30th, 2016, 9:45 pm

ligrass wrote:The first rule of Lawn Club is: You do not disturb the soil.
I think this is the best post ever.


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Green
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Re: New to Lawn Care/Aeration

Post by Green » March 30th, 2016, 9:47 pm

I might be at odds with every one else on here, but...If it's truly mechanical compaction (been there, had that issue) I'd core aerate. How do you know? If you've had vehicles driving over it, etc. *But* I would wait until at least mid August to do it, because it tends to bring up weed seeds.

If it's not mechanical compaction, there are better solutions that you can start now.

dmykins

Re: New to Lawn Care/Aeration

Post by dmykins » March 30th, 2016, 10:06 pm

Ok. And the climate i live in, if i was to overseed should i wait until fall?

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Green
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Re: New to Lawn Care/Aeration

Post by Green » March 30th, 2016, 10:14 pm

dmykins wrote:Ok. And the climate i live in, if i was to overseed should i wait until fall?

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Yes. Without a doubt Fall (late Summer) is the best time to overseed in the Northeast. And if you find you still need to aerate by that time (having tried other things in the meantime and learned lots of things from this site) you can do so between mid August and early September, and overseed then, too. Or, you might find you no longer have to core aerate. You might find that your issue might get taken care of by other things you can start doing very soon.

I did aerate...didn't listen to everyone on here...but then again, I had legit mechanical compaction. I saw the trucks driving over it and packing it down for weeks (and years) on end.

So, the question really becomes: "What can you do now?" Well, depends how serious you're planning to get. If you're on this site, you're probably getting serious!

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GeorgeH
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Re: New to Lawn Care/Aeration

Post by GeorgeH » March 30th, 2016, 11:12 pm

In spite of the ideology prevalent on most any lawn forum, there is a time and place for aeration. You just won't get a balanced response here; you will need to find alternative resources. I don't have the time or energy to swim up the current though.

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Re: New to Lawn Care/Aeration

Post by LoneRanger » March 31st, 2016, 12:35 pm

^ +1

Tony alony
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Re: New to Lawn Care/Aeration

Post by Tony alony » April 1st, 2016, 9:41 am

No one has mentioned it yet, so here's a suggestion to use: http://www.aroundtheyard.com/articles/1 ... mates.html
Another pre made soil conditioner that I have used is Revive. http://www.revive.com/
If you can get your hands on Revive, give it a try, you can apply with a hose end sprayer.
Give it a thorough watering after applying then on the next day or two, do a screwdriver test.
You may be surprised. Another product I've used is Natural Guard Soil Activator, from Fertilome which also helps to loosen the soil.

Good Luck!

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andy10917
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Re: New to Lawn Care/Aeration

Post by andy10917 » April 1st, 2016, 3:43 pm

Tony, have you tried all of these products, or are you trying to become the Googler that gets the first "Truckie" award?

Green
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Re: New to Lawn Care/Aeration

Post by Green » April 1st, 2016, 8:36 pm

I'm not him, but Tony said he has used both Revive and Natural Guard.

And...This thread is turning into an advertisement for BLSC, et. al.

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oze
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Re: New to Lawn Care/Aeration

Post by oze » April 1st, 2016, 11:22 pm

Speaking of BLSC...Andy, I think I recall that you were working on a new formula, right? Or maybe I just dreamed that over the cold winter nights.

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