You manually aerated 5,000 sq. ft.? Someone get this man a trophy.

 

Did the same last year. Two prong. Never again

 

I would fill with sand. Certainly helps with drainage. Not drastically, but it helps. Clay vs. Sand... I don't see how filling would negate aeration benefits. You'll get far more down to the root zone with sand than you would clay.

 

Go ahead with the sand, I don't know what you heard exactly but the sand will let air and water get down to the roots and should help drainage if you have any issues.

 

I agree with @Mightyquinn, after all if you take your lawn ques from top golf courses, they aerate their greens frequently and fill (top-dress) with sand. A well aerated green looks amazing.

 

I have been told that golf courses “fill” the aeration holes to allow a quicker / smoother recovery of the greens and that it is actually more beneficial for the plant to not fill the holes. That being said, the area that is being aerated is a high quality green base with drainage and already has a high concentration of sand in it. In a clay soil, I believe that filling the holes prevents the clay from collapsing and will make the beneficial aspects of aeration last much longer.

 

I would have thought that filling with sand in a clay soil would help serve as a "clay breaker" as the roots would naturally till the clay and sand together and help prevent future compaction.

 

Anyone had any luck with the Classen aerator rental from Home Depot?
I'm looking to aerate my 6500 sq ft tifway 419 lawn and level w/ masonry sand.

Do y'all just mark your sprinkler heads with those little flags before aerating?

 

Anyone had any luck with the Classen aerator rental from Home Depot?
I'm looking to aerate my 6500 sq ft tifway 419 lawn and level w/ masonry sand.

Do y'all just mark your sprinkler heads with those little flags before aerating?

Rented it last year for my lawn. It's a heavy beast so either have a trailer or 2 people to load & unload it from a truck/SUV. It worked pretty good but the particular machine I got had the depth adjustment mechanism seized in the 2" depth position. I really would've preferred it to go 3"+ but that just wasn't going to happen and I didn't feel like messing with it in the short time I rented it for. Also, because it's so heavy, it was very difficult to turn so plan out your route to make the least amount of turns as possible. Irrigate the day before (or let it rain) to help soften the soil making it easier to pull plugs. I don't have in-ground irrigation but if I did then yes, I would mark the sprinkler heads with flags, wooden stakes, or anything else that I had laying around the house.

 

Hit the lawn with a tonne of soil wetter and liquid kelp while the holes are still open.

Fore The Golfer: Golf Course Aeration

 

to your question about filling with sand, this is directly from Lawnpecker's site.

"It doesn't stop after the piercing of the holes. In order for the roots to develop optimally, you should sweep washed sand into the resulting holes. By this method of processing, the soil gets permanent drainage so that the rainwater can penetrate faster and deeper into the soil. You will therefore prevent further waterlogging and the drying, sandy lawn surface protects the underlying topsoil from rapid dehydration. It's advisable to add lawn seeds and fertilizer to the sand, then you'll get excellent results after a short recovery time. :

 

What if I mixed a 50lb bag of gypsum in with my sand for top dressing on top of aeration?

 

do you have an issue with Na (sodic soil)? If not, gypsum won't be of much help.

 

Why don't I just add sand before aeration? Would this work?

 

I did a sand level project on part of my backyard this summer. Afterwards, I realized I forgot to aerate first, so I did it after the fact. I found myself leveling and sweeping again to fill the holes. Probably could have saved myself this step had I aerated first.

 

I have lawn service that has a ride on aerator do the work on my 7700 square feet. They charge me $135.00 to do it. Considering I just turned 52, and I've had back surgery about 10 years ago. That's well worth the money to me instead of wrestling that pig around the yard (and pick up and return) and I don't think the results are as good with the rental units. I do rent a walk behind blower to blow all the cores (red clay) into piles to make the clean up easier. I would most definitely throw the sand top-dress down to fill the holes first, and then applying more to level.

 

When I rented an aerator from HD, the machine (a Classen I think) relied on the weight of the machine to push the tines into the soil. If the soil isn't entirely soft, this can limit how deep the cores get. Better aerators use some sort of mechanized system for pushing the tines into the soil, which seems like it would be much better.

This year I didn't get around to renting an aerator, but part of my lawn on a slope was really compacted in places. I went the poor man's route and bought a cheap 1/2" drill bit (12" long) and went at it in the places where compaction was really bad, going down 6-7" inches. I put sand in some, but left others empty. I can't tell if this alone did it, but the lawn did start to improve along the slope afterwards.

 

Golf courses do this. It’s called a drill and fill. They actually have a special machine for it.

 

What kind of sand should be used to fill the holes?

 

Masonry sand if your getting from a yard. Play sand if you’re getting it from big box

 

Sorry I missed this reply. I am located in the Pacific Northwest. Specifically near Vancouver Washington. I have mostly perennial rye grass. Not sure how I’m gonna get the sand spread yet so I might have to hire somebody. it’s about a half acre.

and just to clarify, as long as the grass is growing, I can aerate in the fall? Or do you suggest I wait till the spring?