Aeration and top dress before Sod

Bermuda, St. Augustine, Zoysia, Centipede, Bahia, Paspalum, etc
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tellycoleman
Posts: 48
Joined: August 31st, 2016, 11:37 pm
Location: Smyrna TN
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Aeration and top dress before Sod

Post by tellycoleman » October 19th, 2016, 1:20 pm

So a door to door lawn company came to my house today with a "deal".
They could aerate my lawn.

My lawn needs it bad. Its mostly clay and hard as a rock. A screwdriver can be pushed 1 inch into it without heavy resistance.

However im getting sod in the spring.
So do i need Aeration now.
Dont most companies do soil prep prior to Sod?

Newbie question sorry

Billy
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Re: Aeration and top dress before Sod

Post by Billy » October 19th, 2016, 2:13 pm

Is your bio line right -- you have bermudagrass? If so, skip the aeration. Warm season turf is aerated in late spring or summer, not in the fall. Save your money for something more fun than aeration :)

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tigertailbell
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Re: Aeration and top dress before Sod

Post by tigertailbell » October 19th, 2016, 7:38 pm

You're right with your assumption; No reason to aerate now if you're installing sod in the spring.

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Southernguy311
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Re: Aeration and top dress before Sod

Post by Southernguy311 » October 19th, 2016, 7:55 pm

As info, I just aerated Monday in South GA. My number one motivating factor is getting the ground open so I can continue working gypsum down into the root zone. Still have at least another month or more of growing temps before things slow way down here. I agree in TN it's too late.

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Billy
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Re: Aeration and top dress before Sod

Post by Billy » October 19th, 2016, 8:13 pm

Gypsum, eh? What's your target for that app? Are you in a coastal area?

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killerv
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Re: Aeration and top dress before Sod

Post by killerv » October 20th, 2016, 1:10 pm

don't bother with aeration before sod, just have the yard tilled to a depth of 4-6inches. It should be tilled reguardless, aeration would be a waste of time and money before laying sod

tellycoleman
Posts: 48
Joined: August 31st, 2016, 11:37 pm
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Re: Aeration and top dress before Sod

Post by tellycoleman » October 20th, 2016, 8:00 pm

Thanks guys I guess ill tell them to work in some compost when they till..
you guys rock

Southernguy311
Posts: 1577
Joined: April 12th, 2015, 10:56 pm
Location: Southern Georgia
Grass Type: Platinum TE Paspalum up front and Bermuda in the rear
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Re: Aeration and top dress before Sod

Post by Southernguy311 » October 20th, 2016, 11:39 pm

Billy wrote:Gypsum, eh? What's your target for that app? Are you in a coastal area?

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Coastal no, sandy yes and a near ideal ph

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Southernguy311
Posts: 1577
Joined: April 12th, 2015, 10:56 pm
Location: Southern Georgia
Grass Type: Platinum TE Paspalum up front and Bermuda in the rear
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Re: Aeration and top dress before Sod

Post by Southernguy311 » October 20th, 2016, 11:39 pm

Billy wrote:Gypsum, eh? What's your target for that app? Are you in a coastal area?

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Coastal no, sandy yes and a near ideal ph

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Dchall_San_Antonio
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Re: Aeration and top dress before Sod

Post by Dchall_San_Antonio » December 11th, 2016, 6:34 pm

I'm a little late to the thread but not for a spring reno.

Truly professional landscapers will not rototill first. Rototilling leads to a surface which becomes bumpy immediately and continues to get bumpier for the next several years. If your soil is all sand, then this will not apply, but sandy soil needs no tilling anyway. Leveling is what you want them to do and that is done at the surface. Since bermuda is mowed low, a bumpy surface is much more of an issue than say, St Augustine, which is mowed high. If they do anything to the surface it will be right at the surface and not more than an inch deep.

Adding compost during tilling would be a further mistake. Compost is made of depleted organic material. It is depleted in that it has had microbes digesting all the immediately available protein, carbohydrates, and other nutrients. What is left is the carbohydrates which are more difficult to digest. Wood chips, for example, take longer to digest and must be exposed to the air for the decomposing fungi to be effective. Burying compost with wood chips in it would create another mess underground as the wood rot fungus struggles to obtain nitrogen. What happens is the fungus "steals" the nitrogen from all sources. Thus if you fertilize, the nitrogen goes to the decomposition of the wood instead of to the roots of your grass. The best way to apply compost is to the surface once the sod is established with roots into soil.

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