Using an Aerator

[RedHawkRidge]

Purchased a JD CA-2060 aerator this spring. I have 6 acres of grass that I have mowed for 20 years, and the ground had become compacted. The grass was getting thin and weedy. The hard ground had some positives -- my property is between two hillsides, and heavy rains cause problems with erosion -- the packed earth is less prone to wash away.
So this year I decided to work on improving the grass, and trust the flooding won't be too bad this year.
I've now gone over the ground with the aerator, using 100 lbs of added weight to each of the machine's two decks. The penetration was significant -- averaging 3", throwing plugs everywhere. Then I spread almost 50# of fescue grass seed over the worked-up land.
I'd appreciate comments on what I can expect from the above effort. And when should I repeat the aeration this growing season, or not?
Also, I think the added weight sorta contributed to some degree of ripping large holes, as a consequence of wanting deep penetration -- is this the right priority?
Thanks for any thoughts.
Jim

 

[jeff9366]

An alternative implement for pasture aerating would be a <$850 Field Cultivator. I have a Dirt Dog, five shank, which Dirt Dog terms an All-Purpose-Plow. Field Cultivators are available with many, many, shanks. Fred Cain is another producer of Field Cultivators.

I have pulled the Field Cultivator through mature Bahia grass pasture. The tines are 1/2" wide and the chisel points, which are oriented pretty much horizontally in use, are 2" X 10". I have typical Florida sandy-loam soil. This 287 pound implement penetrates 7" - 8". The parabolic shaped shanks draw tines into the ground.

The Bahia likes aeration. It springs back vigorously.

I do not have a picture of the FC in Bahia. Here is a photo, taken today, of FC tearing out wild grape vines by the roots.

 

[DuckSlayer1017]

I aerate every spring about then fertilize and spray 2-4-D weed killer. I also over seed any areas that are not growing well. This year I took a soil sample and found I needed some extra nitrogen, so I just got that put down. I don't think aerating more than once a year is necessary but others may say different.

 

[Sprinklerman]

I have great results when I aerate 2 or 3 times overseeding each time .

 

[Eric C]

I aerate every spring about then fertilize and spray 2-4-D weed killer. I also over seed any areas that are not growing well. This year I took a soil sample and found I needed some extra nitrogen, so I just got that put down. I don't think aerating more than once a year is necessary but others may say different.

I do the same as Duckslayer and that keeps my grass growing about as fast as we can mow. I think a lot will depend on how much the aerator tears into the ground. As you mentioned, you don't want to tear up the ground so much you have problems with washing.

 

[swines]

You need to break up the compaction. Your core aerator may or may not do that -you'll have to try it for several years to find out. I have an area that has a hard clay pan, and core aerators did nothing to it to help with the compaction.

The problem is with water penetration. Weeds have shallow roots while grass has deep roots. Water will only penetrate minimally on compacted ground allowing the weeds to grow because water cannot reach the grass's roots.

To solve the compaction problem, I use an Aerway aerator. They are costly, but work wonders for pasture renovation.

When I started using the Aerway six years ago, I had to add nearly 400 lbs of weight to the implement's 1360 pound weight to get it to penetrate 3-4 inches. After aerating 2x per year (spring / late fall) for the past six years, the hard clay pan stays broken up, the Aerway tines will penetrate to full depth, and the grass is thick with no weeds.

You might want to aerate 2x per year. The late fall aeration helps because it allows water to get into the soil, and if you're in a location with cold winter temperatures, the water will freeze and help fracture the soil.