TURF DETHATCHING IMPLEMENTS; Three Point Hitch Mounted

[jeff9366]

I have moderate to heavy thatch buildup in my St. Augustine lawn, in North-Central Florida. (St. Augustine grass was bred from Florida native grasses.)

Soil under turf is perfectly drained, rock free, high pH, sandy-loam. It is hot and very humid during seven months of the year.


I am seeking advice on a Three Point Hitch implement to remove thatch. (Core aeration is my preference, at this moment in time.)

I am considering (Temporarily blocked due to reports of company closure) core aerator. Two downsides: 1. $2000 cost, a lot of money relative to my yard size; however, the front runner. 2. I would want to store core aerator in my humidity controlled garage but I am out of space. I would need to sell my Wallenstein chipper to make room for ETA's core aerator. ( I have an ETA Landscape Rake with gauge wheels, which will consolidate the cores.)

Xtreme Duty Lawn Aerator With Hollow Coring Tines

Dirt Dog has a 60" core aerator for $2300 plus shipping.

Dirt Dog Model MPG-60, 60" Heavy Duty Lawn Plugger (Aerator)


Today, searching the T-B-N archive, I found limited information on Jrco aerators, whose Hooker Aerator looks interesting but does not mount on a Three Point Hitch.

Jrco Inc. - Hooker Aerator 60" Tow-behind


I have considered a Pine Straw Rake. Cheaper, can be stored outside, but probably a little rough for delicate, spreads-by-runners, St. Augustine turf.

Pine Needle Rakes | Pine Straw Rakes | Prepare Pine Needles For Baling with the Everything Attachments Pine Needle Rake 72" Length


I am willing to pay for quality.

Suggestions? Recommendations? Experiences?

 

[Rocky Hoffler]

I have a pine straw rake that works great for pine straw and I have a home made roller wit 3/4 round cold roll steel for aeration. if you want pm me for better info

 

[Gittyup]

Aerator's don't remove thatch, Dethatchers do. Pine straw rakes work, as do other dethatchers. I have the CMP 50" unit: CMP 3-Point Dethatcher. Works great. And I have the Feldmann turfvent aerator. Both are perfect for 1-3 acres. First you dethatch, then vacuum, then aerator. Good time to lime/fertilize/spread is after aeration.

 

[jeff9366]

Aerator's don't remove thatch, Dethatchers do. Pine straw rakes work, as do other dethatchers. I have the CMP 50" unit: CMP 3-Point Dethatcher and I have the Feldmann [Three Point Hitch] turfvent aerator.

http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?t=413186

TurfVent Lawn Aerators by Feldmann | CoreCaster 3-Point Hitch Mounted CTV 52

Both venders interesting. The CMP-60" De-thatcher has two rows of tines, one in front of the other. Pine Straw Rakes have only one row of tines. Certainly cheap enough @ $269 including UPS shipping to Florida. I like that CMP is made in USA and that repair parts are available on CMP's web site.

Do you have both interchangeable turf fittings for Feldman? Is it worth having both? Is 200 pounds really enough weight? What is the price?

How do you vacuum?

No liming here. Sub-soil is loaded with soft lime-rock, which is quarried nearby for road base and crushed for ag use.

 

[jenkinsph]

Jeff,
The pine straw rake works well enough for your grass. EA has the best one I have seen so far as I like the replaceable tines. If any thing you might need to weave a couple of the twisted fence staves through the tines if it isn't stiff enough.

I need an aerator and like the EA model on your short list.

I vacuum with an MC 519 cart and blower on my Deere 749. I don't think I would pickup the cores as this is 90% dirt, better to run the pine straw rake over it again and bust them up.

 

[Gittyup]

http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?t=413186

TurfVent Lawn Aerators by Feldmann | CoreCaster 3-Point Hitch Mounted CTV 52

Both venders interesting. The CMP-60" De-thatcher has two rows of tines, one in front of the other. Pine Straw Rakes have only one row of tines. Certainly cheap enough @ $269 including UPS shipping to Florida.

Do you have both interchangeable turf fittings for Feldman? Is it worth having both? Is 200 pounds really enough weight? What is the price?

How do you vacuum?

No liming here. Sub-soil is loaded with soft lime-rock, which is quarried nearby for road base and crushed for ag use.

I'm pleased with the CMP. The corecaster is pricey (price posted on their site), but the 48" 3pt hitch version isn't. It's about $600. I use 5 40-lb JD weights on it. Cuts about a 3" plug in medium moist clay soil. If you have the money and room to navigate bigger implements, I'd consider going the way of EA straw rake and plug aerator. I'm in for about $900 for thatcher/plugger combined. Most of the bigger solutions will cost you about $2.5K-$5K for rake and plugger. I can't justify it for my two acres of lawn. The smaller implements are actually a better fit for my tight spaces and highly technical lawn.

My vacuum is an old sears fixed hitch dollie type, recently renovated with a new motor and placed on a carry-all. See this post for my home-made simple and cheap, near-zero grass stressing rig. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/319605-3pt-vacuum-rig.html?highlight=vacuum

 

[jeff9366]

Is there a manufacturer for a PTO powered dethatcher with tines?

Something like a light-weight PTO powered tiller, but with de-thatching spring tines?

I have Googled this search without satisfaction, but may not have right nomenclature for a match.

 

[jeff9366]

I'm pleased with the CMP.

If you have the money and room to navigate bigger implements, I'd consider going the way of EA straw rake and plug aerator. I can't justify it for my two acres of lawn. The smaller implements are actually a better fit for my tight spaces and highly technical lawn.

Do you think the two rows of tines on the CMP dethatcher offer improved performance over single row of tines on ETA Pine Straw Rake?

It seems the CMP might be a little gentler on St. Augustine runner lawn than a Pine Straw Rake.

Anything you do not like about the CMP dethatcher?



LATER ADDITIONS:

GITTYUP 3/17/2014
Re: CMP 3-PT Dethatcher
I used CMP Dethatcher on Sunday for the first time. Width is a perfect match for my 49" GT. Though ground still a little wet, it worked great. I used it to gather most of the twigs scattered about after the storm. Did pretty good considering it wasn't designed for that. The piles were not too much that closeness to the back of the tractor was not a problem. Rake empty itself pretty good when raised.

Pulled up thatch nicely. Some gathering in the tines, but came off when lifted. At times on uneven ground one side or other would not reach the ground. Combination of factors: ground unevenness, X739 3pt hitch doesn't drop to ground zero (~6" above ground level is as low as it will go). I think dethatching twice, at 90 degree angles to one another is the trick. I did not use any weight. Not sure it would really make a difference. Maybe in the fall when the ground might be harder and thatch fresher.

I only had time to go over lawn one time (one direction). I gathered 24 30-gallon containers of thatch (12 loads with my vacuum)! I have a huge pile that I meant to take photos of, but didn't get time and now it's snow covered (again ) That says two things: my yard really really needed it, and the CMP dethatcher was very effective. Yard looked so nice and clean before it snowed yet again.
Last edited by Gittyup; 03-17-2014 at 10:00 PM.


LINK: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/291333-cmp-3pt-dethacther.html

 

[jenkinsph]

Jeff, you need to recognize that the long flexible tines on a pine straw rake are more gentle on the grass than a dethatcher by a long shot.

The double row of tines that are stiff will work a little better than the pine straw rake but the rake is handy for so many things,

 

[Thomabear]

Since you are willing to pay for quality here you go. With a simple change of cutters this machine will cut brush and finish cut or dethatch lawns.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nvTvdzh2TO0