Manual aeration

dinosaur1

I use this to manually aerate my small lawn every September. I look like a fool, but it helps! My question is is this as effective as hiring a Pro?

handy man88

I have something similar, as I have a small yard, but mine does not have two spikes, but instead, two hollow tips. These tips serve to remove a core of dirt from the ground. I think this is better because it does not compact the soil like your tip aerator.

http://www.amazon.com/Hound-Dog-Prod.../dp/B00023S156

dinosaur1

Actually that is the one that I have. I can see the core of dirt and it goes through the holes.

What's the best way to do it? Every 1 foot or more?

handy man88

I would say that would suffice.

You have to do it when the ground is somewhat moist, to make the plugs come out easier.

Then, you can overseed if you wish.

dinosaur1

Our lawn was very dry lately. Yesterday we had an all day rain, but nothing heavy. Should I wait a day before aerating?

handy man88

I would go ahead and try it. It probably will work. Look for plugs coming out of the aerator. If it's too mushy, I would stop. Throw some seed and starter fertilizer over it afterwards.

It will also work better if your lawn is not too high.

The only thing is that your shoes may get muddy.

dinosaur1

Our lawn still looks yellow so I was even thinking of waiting until it rains a few more times. Not sure if that matters at this point.

handy man88

I'm not sure it matters. Where in the US are you located?

dinosaur1

Milwaukee

handy man88

LOL! In that case, I would core aerate now before the ground freezes.

dinosaur1

Oct its still in the 60's. Original owner put in sod 10 yrs ago by the way.

dinosaur1

Ground is still too dry

handy man88

I assume you're saying this b/c the cores aren't getting pushed out easily?

If your lawn is small enough, you could always run the sprinkler and then core aerate if you want to get it done during a weekend.

Or, you can rent a power core aerator from a place like HD for ~$60 and split with a neighbor.

If you have such brown grass, you might want to dethatch, core aerate, and then overseed.

handy man88

I also have this green device for my dethatching duties

http://www.cleanairgardening.com/dethatcher.html

dinosaur1

Pretty nice. I'll just wait for a few more rains. Were still going to be in the 70's for a few more weeks.