Posted: 5/30/2010 5:35:44 PM EDT
| I'm curious, is it too late to aerate my lawn? Most of what I am reading is that I should wait until October now, but my soil is so compacted I think it needs to be done. There are parts that are actually starting to crack like a sidewalk would. |
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Quoted: I'm curious, is it too late to aerate my lawn? Most of what I am reading is that I should wait until October now, but my soil is so compacted I think it needs to be done. There are parts that are actually starting to crack like a sidewalk would. Go for it. You sound like you have a heavy clay soil. Clean up the plugs and top dress with a sand (80%) and peat moss (20%) mix. Fertilize with something gentle (low burn potential) like milorganite (human pooooo). Water it all in, and keep it moist for a week. It can dry out quick when aerified. You'll be good to go. |
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Quoted:
I wouldnt aerate now as the weed and crab grass seeds are in the air. Keep it watered and fertilized since a solid root system helps the soil retain water. Aerate in fall and do a heavy re-seed. If the lawn is full spray pre-emergent to stop the weeds from starting. |
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Quoted: I wouldnt aerate now as the weed and crab grass seeds are in the air. Keep it watered and fertilized since a solid root system helps the soil retain water. Aerate in fall and do a heavy re-seed. Phooey. There are millions if not billions of weed seed in the soil already. The benefit of an aerification far outweigh the small risk of seed in the air. And if you get some new weeds that pop up, kill em. Easy as pie. |
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Quoted:
I'm curious, is it too late to aerate my lawn? Most of what I am reading is that I should wait until October now, but my soil is so compacted I think it needs to be done. There are parts that are actually starting to crack like a sidewalk would. do what i do. when you push mow use golf shoes with metal spikes. aerate as you go for you haters... i have to push mow the side of a hill and can slip very easy.. you have a better idea im all ears |
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Quoted: Quoted: I'm curious, is it too late to aerate my lawn? Most of what I am reading is that I should wait until October now, but my soil is so compacted I think it needs to be done. There are parts that are actually starting to crack like a sidewalk would. do what i do. when you push mow use golf shoes with metal spikes. aerate as you go for you haters... i have to push mow the side of a hill and can slip very easy.. you have a better idea im all ears For the OP, solid tine aeration would help, but he would do MUCH better by renting a machine with hollow tines to pull some of that compacted clay out of the ground, and replace with a mix of sand and peat moss (80/20). Also you can use wetting agents to drive the water into the soil (dawn dish soap is a really simple surfactant). Do you have salt problems? Gypsum might help your soil structure and water percolation. |