I've never aerated a lawn before but I suspect there are parts of my lawn that are compacted. I plan on doing some tests and doing some light aeration (manual foot operated core type) if need be. My question is, what do you do about the holes? I get you are removing material to help alleviate the compaction but I don't want a bunch of holes all over the place. It will look weird and also no grass will grow where holes are. I have a thicker clay soil so I doubt it will quickly and automatically fill in the hole quickly or anything, but I guess overtime it might. Is topdressing after an aeration a good strategy? That would sorta fill in the holes with a much looser material than what was removed right? Or is leaving the holes just plain the best bet? Will the clay soil expand over time just close up the holes and thus be less dense?
Zaqwert
You have some options.
1. You can just leave the cores on the lawn and let them dry out and the next mow they will get distributed over the lawn and back into the holes. This is the easiest option as the soil you remove will break down and be looser then what was in the hole previously.
2. You can backfill the holes with sand to help drainage or you can add compost to add OM to the lawn. You will want to remove the core before doing either of these. I think sand is the best option here as it will give space for the water and roots to go and grow and will really relieve compaction the best.
According to your info, you have a lawn service so I assume they are mowing it relatively high so any core aeration you do will not be seen visually. I have aerated my low cut lawn before and didn't do anything to it except remove the plugs and it took forever for the holes to fill back in and close up, just FYI.
1. You can just leave the cores on the lawn and let them dry out and the next mow they will get distributed over the lawn and back into the holes. This is the easiest option as the soil you remove will break down and be looser then what was in the hole previously.
2. You can backfill the holes with sand to help drainage or you can add compost to add OM to the lawn. You will want to remove the core before doing either of these. I think sand is the best option here as it will give space for the water and roots to go and grow and will really relieve compaction the best.
According to your info, you have a lawn service so I assume they are mowing it relatively high so any core aeration you do will not be seen visually. I have aerated my low cut lawn before and didn't do anything to it except remove the plugs and it took forever for the holes to fill back in and close up, just FYI.
Yeah I plan on picking up the plugs, I'll just rake them up. I'm doing a heavy fertilization cycle this spring/summer so I'm not worried about loss of nutrients via the plug.
As for the holes, I guess I'll just see how it looks and go from there. If the grass is high enough for htem to not be noticable maybe I'll wait for them to juts fill in on their own.
If it looks bad I'll probably just rake in some fresh topsoil and/or sand.
As for the holes, I guess I'll just see how it looks and go from there. If the grass is high enough for htem to not be noticable maybe I'll wait for them to juts fill in on their own.
If it looks bad I'll probably just rake in some fresh topsoil and/or sand.
If you are not reel mowing or cutting "really" low with a rotary, then you will not be able to the see the holes in a short time. If your Bermuda is not low and tight, then you will not likely be able to rake up the plugs easily without pulling runners and making a mess of things. I would cut as low as possible at the start of the season until the grass is growing rigorously, Aerate and let them sit a few warm days, then chop them up after they dry is usually the best solution for rotary cut Bermuda. Be prepared for the dust storm while chopping them up. It can get messy!
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