# Are there any studies showing the efficacy (or not) of aerating?



## ryeguy (Sep 28, 2017)

Title kind of sums it up. There are people in both camps. Some do it yearly while others never do it. Are there any controlled studies discussing this topic?


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## HoosierLawnGnome (Sep 28, 2017)

I don't think there need to be "camps" on mechanical aeration.

The efficacy of aeration in trying to accomplish what? In what context?

It's a handy tool in the right scenario, can be bad in others. It's not some sort of lawn legalism.

I have an area that gets flooded 2-3 times a year with lots of roots and little water under a tree canopy adjacent to a creek. The stand thins out a lot in that area. I mow it every 2-3 days, and the kids play back there - lots of foot traffic. The soil is a clay heavy loam. I don't have weed pressure back there. Plus, I want to level it out over time.

All that adds up to a compressed soil which is thin in part due to lack of space in the soil where roots can grow into. Roots are constantly being suppressed due to water and compaction.

So, I'm thinking of starting a program of moderate core aeration and dragging / top dressing this spring. The idea is to loosen the soil up so the roots don't get drowned. Studies show that a few days of standing water can damage the turf. I get that a few times a year in those spots.

Good article in Sports Turf Magazine on that this spring. One way to help flooded turf areas is to core aerate.

I can deal with a few extra weeds.

ETA: Spring not fall


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

+1


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

I have some folks in the neighborhood who core aerate and I've never seen a weed explosion from that. And even if there was don't we all an arsenal of herbicides to control that anyway?

Disclosure: I don't core aerate.


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## HoosierLawnGnome (Sep 28, 2017)

Core aeration does a lot of things. It breaks up thatch on the surface. It creates space in the root zone, so roots can grow. It mixes up soil, so if you're top dressing, it can mix in new material on top in order to avoid creating soil horizons. It helps water drain. But it also brings up weed seeds that have been laying dormant underneath the soil, disrupts the root system that is there (which can be bad if done too heavily), and potentially damages tree roots or sprinkler systems.

Add it all up - is core aeration helpful in achieving your goal or fixing your problem? Is it a net positive? Are there other ways to accomplish the goal without the negative consequences?

There's no single answer or situation in my opinion, but every time people tell me they are getting their lawn aerated I ask "Why?" and they most often don't know.

I have heard thatch as a reason several times. In my opinion, thatch is normally created over time due to poor mowing practices. Sometimes it is the result of a fungus, grubs, irrigation, or some other problem that caused the turf to die in spots.

I *may* know a guy that accidentally dumped urea in a spot that killed the grass and created some thatch this spring.  :roll: :mrgreen:

------

My plan right now this spring (subject to change on a whim!), is to core aerate right as we come out of dormancy, maybe top dress if I have budget in areas, drag out the dried cores, let it settle, then apply prodiamine at half annual rate. My goal is to level and increase turf density in flood-prone areas with a clay-based structure.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Below are some links I had saved in my bookmarks. One key thing that I recommend (it is in the clemson article), apply a PreM after the aeration. The aeration will break any barriers there plus the dissolved cores provide soil for weeds to grow.



pennstater2005 said:


> I have some folks in the neighborhood who core aerate and I've never seen a weed explosion from that. And even if there


^Most folks in my neighborhood dont irrigate or apply the amount of nitrogen the lawn needs. Most of us maintain moisture charts and fertilizer logs, therefore we create an environment that promotes growth. In my opinion, we have a higher risk of weeds after aeration than most folks.

This report from Purdue has info on the reasons to do aeration and how (tine diameter, spacing). https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/AY/AY-8-W.pdf and this old tip. https://turf.purdue.edu/tips/2004/aerif910.htm

And this one from clemson. http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/plants/landscape/lawns/hgic1200.html


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## GrassDaddy (Mar 21, 2017)

I've wondered the same. I've aerated our church lawn and 2 weeks later the holes all settled in. Seemed like a pointless endeavor. Most of the articles seem to be just repeating the same info but I've never seen a study.


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## gatormac2112 (Sep 14, 2017)

I don't have the answers, all I know is golf courses do it, sooooo


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

GrassDaddy said:


> I've wondered the same. I've aerated our church lawn and 2 weeks later the holes all settled in. Seemed like a pointless endeavor. Most of the articles seem to be just repeating the same info but I've never seen a study.


A study of what, to wit:



HoosierLawnGnome said:


> The efficacy of aeration in trying to accomplish what? In what context?


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## j4c11 (Apr 30, 2017)

gatormac2112 said:


> I don't have the answers, all I know is golf courses do it, sooooo


Golf courses do it to control organic matter. They need firm surfaces to play on so if the soil is soaking up a lot of water, that's not good. They basically remove the plugs and backfill with pure sand. In a home lawn situation, we want as much organic matter as possible.

This turfnet article seems to have some information on the efficiency of core aeration, based on a Clemson study(which can be found but is probably paywalled): https://www.turfnet.com/news.html/_/necessary-evil-r83


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

I liked this article.  It lists a few reasons you may want to aerate and a few reasons why not to aerate.

https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/content/dam/pubs_ext_vt_edu/430/430-002/430-002_pdf.pdf


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

j4c11 said:


> gatormac2112 said:
> 
> 
> > I don't have the answers, all I know is golf courses do it, sooooo
> ...


Nice find. I hadn't seen that one before and actually based on a study. :thumbup:


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## Pete1313 (May 3, 2017)

GrassDaddy said:


> I've aerated our church lawn and 2 weeks later the holes all settled in. Seemed like a pointless endeavor.


The holes will fill in but I don't believe what you did was a pointless endeavor. I'm assuming you core aerated, in which the cores will be brought to the surface to break down. The holes "settled in" not from being filled in from the top, but rather expanding from the sides. Because of those open holes, the same amount of soil can occupy a larger volume reducing its bulk density, which in your situation is what I believe you were trying to accomplish. Relieve compaction? If the holes stayed open and didn't close, the soil would still be compacted. It would just be compacted with a bunch of holes in it.


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## GrassDaddy (Mar 21, 2017)

Pete1313 said:


> GrassDaddy said:
> 
> 
> > I've aerated our church lawn and 2 weeks later the holes all settled in. Seemed like a pointless endeavor.
> ...


Interesting thought!


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## GrassDaddy (Mar 21, 2017)

Ridgerunner said:


> GrassDaddy said:
> 
> 
> > I've wondered the same. I've aerated our church lawn and 2 weeks later the holes all settled in. Seemed like a pointless endeavor. Most of the articles seem to be just repeating the same info but I've never seen a study.
> ...


I haven't seen any in any context. Mulching leaves got what a decade long study so I'm surprised there isn't any on aeration.


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

> I haven't seen any in any context. Mulching leaves got what a decade long study so I'm surprised there isn't any on aeration.


j4c11 has posted reference to one study that addresses a number of areas of turf and soil structure where aeration can be advantageous.
But, to clarify, regarding context: there have been studies regarding thatch where different methods where employed to reduce/cure thatch and their effectiveness measured and compared. So although not a study about aeration per say, the effectiveness of aeration in reducing thatch was studied, measured and reported.


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## BXMurphy (Aug 5, 2017)

I think that before somebody studies the benefits of core aeration, the definition of "compaction" must be had.


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## osuturfman (Aug 12, 2017)

BXMurphy said:


> I think that before somebody studies the benefits of core aeration, the definition of "compaction" must be had.


Great thought!

Here's a great primer on the definition and ways to measure compaction from Dr. Beth Guertal of Auburn.

http://archive.lib.msu.edu/tic/updat/article/2013spr13.pdf

Bulk density is fairly true measure of compaction but, as noted in the piece, one sample won't produce a consistent number for the entire area.


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## GrassDaddy (Mar 21, 2017)

It's not pushed just for compaction though, they also say the holes give the roots air, water, nutrients.


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

Actual studies are a bit hard to come across as j4c mentioned they quickly find their way behind paywalls.
Here are some articles I had bookmarked that are still active that discuss aeration (no studies) and some of those other factors GD.

https://u.osu.edu/athleticfieldmanagement/2016/07/20/managing-sports-fields-during-summer-heat-drought-stress/
https://ipm.missouri.edu/MEG/2012/3/Spring-Lawn-Care-Aeration-Fertility-and-Crabgrass-Control/
Edit: Link removed as duplicate of one posted by OSUturfman
http://sturf.lib.msu.edu/article/2000aug12.pdf


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## osuturfman (Aug 12, 2017)

Just an FYI, if you have a library card most academic journals can be accessed via the database section on your local library's website.

Roch Gaussoin at University of Nebraska at Lincoln has done quite a bit of work on aerification on both native and sand-based rootzones. I'll see what I can dig up.


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## Sinclair (Jul 25, 2017)

osuturfman said:


> I'll see what I can dig up.


Pun appreciated. :thumbup:


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## BXMurphy (Aug 5, 2017)

I was thinking about this last night...

What if you cleared a few square-foot patches in you backyard and dropped one seed in the middle of each?

One patch was undisturbed. Another was aerated with a soil test probe. Another was top-dressed with something. Would the seed still grow? Which patch was most cost-effective?

Next, Mark out a square-foot patch in the grass right behind the bare patches. Apply same treatments. Which grass needs cutting first? Was there a noticeable difference? How long did it take to see results? Was it worth the effort?


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## BXMurphy (Aug 5, 2017)

GrassDaddy said:


> It's not pushed just for compaction though, they also say the holes give the roots air, water, nutrients.


They say... what did the roots do to you that deserved such rough treatment? 

You know, I'll tell ya... I see so many "magic bullets" for what ails you that I sometimes wonder if it's being pushed just to drive sales of Bright and Shiny Things.

Take, for instance, your average homeowner's lawn... like yours, GrassDaddy. Yes, you obsess but... I'd be willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that your lawn would STILL look STUNNING even without core aeration. Would you agree?

I mean, look, you're doing SOLID cultural practices. One of your recent vids had you even mulching leaves. Good job! A guy like you... doing what ANYBODY can do with a little thought and effort, wouldn't necessarily need aeration.

It would be NICE... it would make you feel good on so many different levels... but, in the end, I think a blanket statement from a lawn care company saying that you must spend $100 buck(?) on aeration each season is a bit much, isn't it?


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## thegrassfactor (Apr 12, 2017)

BXMurphy said:


> GrassDaddy said:
> 
> 
> > It's not pushed just for compaction though, they also say the holes give the roots air, water, nutrients.
> ...


aeration is one those things that I have a hard time with. If you take a test plot, aerate every 8 weeks, and the other not once, you will see a dramatic difference. In fact, over a few years, the soil structure will have changed so drastically you wouldn't even recognize the before/after. Root depth, OM, CECs, moisture retention, carbon levels, micronutrient balances, ALL improve in the aerated plot. Why? aeration legitimately improves root mass beyond that of even the highest quality fertility program. The greater the root mass, the greater the root cycling effect, the faster the soil becomes self sustaining. The problem I have with aeration stems from guys like us performing an aeration and calling it "good." Pulling a half inch plug or less over 30% of the lawn in a single pass is garbage. I know it, they know it. That being said, a true double pass aeration from a rolling tine or a single pass from a reciprocating tine is invaluable for improving soil.

In the south, we deal with hydrophobic soil conditions after periods of prolonged drought. Soils become so hydrophobic, wetting agents offer only temporary relief. Core aeration is one of the few true solutions. I've seen people spend thousands and thousands of dollars having their soil stripped and replaced because "nothing would grow on this damn dirt" when all they needed was a core aeration and a slit seeding to re-establish it.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

I think some of us have had the "core aeration is bad/unecessary" beaten into our heads from certain sources with always the same reason of "unwanted weed seeds". I guess I just sort of accepted that at face value because I was very new into lawn care. I'll be re-evaluating this for myself, reading some of the linked articles, although unsure if I'll ever actually do it.


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## BXMurphy (Aug 5, 2017)

Yep! I agree... if it needs it, it needs it... Grassfactor reports on soil that is afraid of a little water...  you might have to punch some holes into that mess to bring it to its senses.

Me? I can grow grass on my driveway. It's EVERYWHERE! My problem is keeping it out of the flower and vegetable gardens.

I'm not worried about bringing weed seeds to the surface. I can deal with that later. But I think that before someone suggests that aeration is a solution, I would hope to meet a guy like grassfactor who knows when it is necessary (and to what degree!) and when there are other, more important issues to deal with first.

The OP asked about studies on the efficacy... a realistic answer might be, "it depends."

Just a thought... don't mean to offend anyone...


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## Sinclair (Jul 25, 2017)

Rich Imlay says if you can't push your index finger into your soil up to the middle knuckle, you need to core aerate.

Not a screwdriver, your index finger! That is seriously fluffy soil.

Comment around 4 minutes in.

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6_-sazh0cI[/media]


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## thegrassfactor (Apr 12, 2017)

BXMurphy said:


> Yep! I agree... if it needs it, it needs it... Grassfactor reports on soil that is afraid of a little water...  you might have to punch some holes into that mess to bring it to its senses.
> 
> Me? I can grow grass on my driveway. It's EVERYWHERE! My problem is keeping it out of the flower and vegetable gardens.
> 
> ...


clearly if there's a grub issue in a lawn full of dallisgrass, the aeration will offer no hope. :lol:

What really rocks my berries are the lawn care companies that sell lime applications because "we have acidic soils in our area" - please don't get me started there. efficacy of aeration...


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## BXMurphy (Aug 5, 2017)

thegrassfactor said:


> What really rocks my berries are the lawn care companies that sell lime applications because "we have acidic soils in our area"


A PERFECT example!

In my area, lime is _de rigueur_. A yearly ritual. The Lawn Forum suggested a soil test. After MONTHS of deep-diving the forums. I got one... I am pH 7.0. No lime needed!

I would have put lime down without guidance from grassfactor and everyone else here.

I guess I just wouldn't get hung up on studies on aeration as if it applied always and everywhere. Look at your grass... Look at your soil... ask some questions right here... and put the sharp objects down and step away from the gasoline before you put an eye out. 

I'm glad we have *professionals* here because I would be making a million mistakes otherwise!


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## BXMurphy (Aug 5, 2017)

Sinclair said:


> Rich Imlay says if you can't push your index finger into your soil up to the middle knuckle, you need to core aerate.
> 
> Not a screwdriver, your index finger! That is seriously fluffy soil.


That's potting soil... with perlite and... NO GRASS!


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## Pete1313 (May 3, 2017)

thegrassfactor said:


> aeration legitimately improves root mass...The problem I have with aeration stems from guys like us performing an aeration and calling it "good." Pulling a half inch plug or less over 30% of the lawn in a single pass is garbage. I know it, they know it. That being said, a true double pass aeration from a rolling tine or a single pass from a reciprocating tine is invaluable for improving soil.


This is a really important point that thegrassfactor made. Not all aerators are the same and doing a pass with one aerator will not give you the same results as another. It is about affected surface area. Example, a rolling aerator with a 1/2" tine and 4" x 8" tine spacing will have an affected surface area of 0.61% after one pass. Now take a reciprocating type like the Ryan lawnaire 28. It has a 3/4" tine with 3.5" x 5" tine spacing and an affected surface area of 2.52% in one pass. It would take over 4 passes with the rolling tine example to equal what the lawnaire 28 could do in one pass. It is worth it to do the math to figure out the affected surface area of the machine you are using. If you do a single pass with a small diameter tine and large tine spacing aerator, you will never get the results you are hoping for.


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## ryeguy (Sep 28, 2017)

Sinclair said:


> Rich Imlay says if you can't push your index finger into your soil up to the middle knuckle, you need to core aerate.
> 
> Not a screwdriver, your index finger! That is seriously fluffy soil.
> 
> ...


Wow that whole talk was great, thanks for the link.


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## HoosierLawnGnome (Sep 28, 2017)

GrassDaddy said:


> It's not pushed just for compaction though, they also say the holes give the roots air, water, nutrients.


Yes, this is why I'm planning to do it this spring, at least in some high traffic areas that get standing water for several days in a row 2-3 times a year.


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## ken-n-nancy (Jul 25, 2017)

The "to aerate or not" topic is one that I've been considering for a number of years. I know that conventional wisdom, particularly for management of commercial / professional turfgrass is to aerate regularly. However, there are some significant factors that are very different between my lawn and a golf course fairway, golf course putting green, and athletic field.

A number of the reasons in favor of aeration have already been discussed in this thread. I'm going to mention a few reasons to consider that aeration may not be needed or may even be contra-indicated.

One of the biggest differences is the amount of traffic on the lawn which can cause physical compaction. Unlike a golf course fairway, I don't drive golf carts on my lawn (they weigh about 1000-1400 pounds when carrying two adult men and two sets of clubs). Unlike a putting green, I don't have over 100 people a day walking on the grass around the cup. Unlike an athletic field, I don't have teams of 10-20 people running around on the grass during practice for a few hours nearly every weekday. Yes, our family regularly walks / plays on the grass, but that is at least one or two orders of magnitude less wear than the above typical uses of golf course and athletic field turf -- which is where most of the research for management practices is focused. Without the physical compaction from significant traffic, the need for aeration is greatly reduced in my lawn.

Since changing my cultural practices a bit, I have a veritable army of mini-aerators working in my lawn every day from spring through fall! I've noticed this fall when moving some sod patches, that I have at least _*2-3 earthworms per square foot*_ in my lawn. I've been stunned to see how many there are. Seriously, I can't cut out a 12"x12" piece of sod without cutting a few earthworms in half. These little guys are constantly at work making "aeration holes" in the soil all the way from the surface down to the bottom of the root zone. What more, they "process" the soil and eat up all kinds of decaying biomatter, including grass clippings, mulched leaves, and the otherwise-slow-decaying grass parts that would otherwise develop thatch. Seriously, I have basically zero thatch in my lawn, which I believe is largely a result of a thriving earthworm population. (For articles on this topic, check out Earthworms: Thatch-Busters and Earthworms, Thatch, and Pesticides.) Earthworms are often considered a pest on golf courses, as their castings are an issue on close-mown turf. At my cutting height of around 3" castings are only a minor nuisance and not a major problem.

I think the earthworms provide ample access for air, water, and nutrients into the root zone without needing to also core aerate. By the way, the practices we have followed which I believe have promoted a thriving earthworm population are mulch-mowing all grass clippings back into the lawn, mulch-mowing all leaves in the fall (and this is a LOT for our tree-surrounded lawn), providing most of our "N" via Bay State Fertilizer (similar to Milorganite) which the earthworms seem to love, and switching away from imidacloprid to chlorantraniliprole as a grub preventative. Since taking these steps, the earthworm population in our lawn has exploded.

Additionally, one of the primary problems I have in my lawn is the ongoing presence of _poa trivialis_. I still don't have a good way to deal with it. The best I've come up with so far is identification of _poa trivialis_ patches while they are still smaller than a dinner plate via a combination of a careful eye and using mesotrione to aid identification, then spraying glyphosate on the _poa trivialis_ and surrounding good grass at least 6" all the way around the patch, and also physically removing the now-dead sod from the lawn and replacing with good grass. Hollow-tine aeration is regularly implicated as a factor which spreads _poa trivialis_. (For example, see Controlling Poa trivialis in sports fields.) The _triv_ in my lawn surely doesn't need any help spreading from aeration -- it's doing just fine spreading all on it's own even without the help of aeration!

I should note that I do use hollow tine core aeration where I have physical compaction of the lawn. I have a manual core aerator that I use where I've had a dump truck or backhoe drive across the lawn in order to reduce the compaction in those areas. I've had good success in doing so, without having major issues from spreading of weeds.

Personally, I think one of the reasons that lawn care providers often recommend core aeration is that they have the equipment to do it, homeowners generally do not, and it is a service they can recommend and provide to help stay in business. Golf courses and athletic fields have different usage which causes more physical compaction which tips the scales towards core aeration. For my lawn, however, I think that the pro/con tips away from core aeration as a regular practice.


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## HoosierLawnGnome (Sep 28, 2017)

BXMurphy said:


> Sinclair said:
> 
> 
> > Rich Imlay says if you can't push your index finger into your soil up to the middle knuckle, you need to core aerate.
> ...


Agreed - and if you have a silt or clay based loam like many in the midwest do, ain't nothing you can do short of digging it up and putting new soil on top to change it.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

Nice write up K&N. Good things to consider all around in this thread.


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## BXMurphy (Aug 5, 2017)

ken-n-nancy said:


> ... For my lawn, however,...


Key takeaway.

Nicely written. Fascinating insight on earthworms. Often overlooked.

I love stressing basic cultural practices because they will solve 87% of all problems growing a stunning lawn. Math included.

Beyond that, you are into renovations, cultivars, and months of reading The Lawn Forum.


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## thegrassfactor (Apr 12, 2017)

BXMurphy said:


> ken-n-nancy said:
> 
> 
> > ... For my lawn, however,...
> ...


 :lol:

There are multiple reasons to consider aeration - compaction is only one of them. The addition of air flow can help alleviate disease pressure, the pores allow for better h2o percolation, in the need to supplement with P it delivers the P where it can be utilized (the root zone), it will improve root mass (which in turn improves soil class), etc.

My primary reason for aerating is all about root mass. The cultural practices I can employ to deliver a better root mass will in turn deliver my customer a better product. The healthier the root zone, the healthier the top growth. Aeration is a fantastic tool to improve root health. That being said, aeration alone isn't the answer, but it is a phenomenal tool.

Before we get too down and dirty on applicators like myself, and though it is a revenue generator, aeration is a relatively "risk-less" guaranteed performance enhancing tool from a business perspective. If the cost to reward ratio were equal to that of fertility, soil tests, and weed controls, our business would be easy. But when maintaining 100 acres across 300 different homeowners, 500 different personalities (owner and significant other), even the most basic of fertilizers (ie Milorganite) become extremely high risk high reward. If you only knew the number of complaints I get in a given year because "my entire neighborhood smells like chicken shit, chicken shit!" or the homeowner that calls the plant board because the Class A biosolids I used may contain pharmaceuticals and my business may be playing a part in the feminization of American boys (all of these have happened and cost unbelievable amounts of money to remediate.) Aeration on the other hand, rarely causes an expensive mishap on the scale general weed control and fertilizers do.

While organic or natural practices are great and wonderful, they're not flawless. The first principle of organics is right plant right place. In the transition zone (middle tennessee to coastal carolina, south to north georgia and north alabama), we are off on the wrong foot right out of the door - wrong plant wrong place (fescue in a native bermuda market). So at that point, I'm extremely confident in not selling, but requiring aeration. Coupled with soil compositions of dense clay to clay loam (a rare gift), I couldn't imagine handling lawns any other way.

Realistically, I would feel comfortable not aerating less than .5 out of 100 acres I maintain. But then again, if my properties decline, it's my family that suffers. and that's not a risk I'm willing to take.


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## 2xjtn (Nov 29, 2017)

New here to TLF. Finally found some threads to do with aeration! I absolutely believe in core aeration, and will explain why. 
A good friend of mine who owns a liquid turf products and soil amendments business says all the time, "If I could figure out a way to bottle oxygen, sell it, and tell my customers how to get it into the rootzone, I would truly be a rich man." 
We've all read about the benefits of aeration, even the college kids pushing aerators down the sidewalk in the spring know a bit about it. But the number one reason we should do it is to get O2 into the rootzone, thereby increasing microbial activity, and allowing the soil to break down all the fertilizer and amendments we apply. Its about making more nutrition available to the plant. 
As far as a study...we dont need a study, just go back to good 'ol agronomy..If any of you have taken a soil test recently (one with detailed results), pay attention to the amount of Hydrogen in the Base Saturation percentages. If that number is even 5-10%, you have a problem. Unused or bound up nutrients just sitting there. 
Performing core aeration, along with liming materials (again, only use what is needed based on the soil test) be it gypsum, Calcium based or Cal/Mag based...., will breathe O2 into the rootzone, and allow the soil to break down and flush the H out. This will make Ca, Mg, K, Na, and all the other micronutrients more available. 
I cannot tell you how many times Ive started a consult for a new customer with a tired old lawn. We take a soil test and see 27%, 42%(!) even higher H base saturation percentages and I'll simply say lets do a double pass aeration and make swiss cheese of the lawn and see what happens before we go applying anything. BOOM! The lawn goes nuts, and often stays green for a long time while all that bound up nutrition gets used up. Now we can begin to make adjustments to the chemistry and get things in balance and top certain nutrients off as needed. We can test again in as little as 3 or 4 months, and that H% has gone to ZERO! 
Yes, core aeration is hard work, takes time, makes a bit of a mess, but soooo worth it. As far as "liquid aeration"..I dont buy it.


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## MsTin (Sep 5, 2017)

This is a great thread!


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## jessehurlburt (Oct 18, 2017)

Great thread indeed.

I bought a house last spring and core aerated last fall and again this fall. I rented a Ryan Lawaire IV from Home Depot, their "pro" model both times. Last fall I got measly plugs only an inch or so. This year I thoroughly watered the lawn before aerating and I still only got 1-1.5" plugs at best. It felt the like the aerator was rolling on top of the soil instead of digging in to it.

For the expense, hassle and results I got, I think I will hire this out in the future. What are good questions to ask guys bidding on this work?


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## gene_stl (Oct 29, 2017)

Were you by chance, letting the roller pull the aerator. I think you need to push down on the handle/bail and let the weight of the whole maschine ride on the tines. These machines ARE murder.


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## Pete1313 (May 3, 2017)

jessehurlburt said:


> For the expense, hassle and results I got, I think I will hire this out in the future. What are good questions to ask guys bidding on this work?


The few things you will want to know are how deep the aeration will go(your main concern), the affected surface area %, how much it will cost and the type of equipment used.

Few will know affected surface area, but it can be calculated by knowing the tine spacing and the diameter of the core pulled. It is an important number to know as it will tell you how well the lawn is being aerated. For example, a pull behind with 4"x8" tine spacing and a .5" tine diameter will have an affected surface area % of 0.6% in a single pass and will do little for the soil. You will need to drive it around 4-5 times, and if truly compacted even more. The Ryan lawnaire IV has an affected surface area of 2.0%, the lawnaire 28 is 2.5%, and a JD Aercore 800 with 5/8" tines is at 5.0% in a single pass.

There are 2 main types of aerators. The drum type, and the reciprocating type. The reciprocating type generally has closer tine spacing and will pull a deeper core and leave a cleaner hole. The lawnaire IV is a drum type. The lawnaire 28 is a reciprocating type and is what I suggest you look for at rental stores. I don't believe they will have it at home depot. I have used the lawnaire 28 in the past and it did a good job pulling lots of deep cores.

As far as how much to aerate? 2.5% affected surface area I believe would be fine for most lawns(single pass with a lawnaire 28). If you have soil that is really compacted you could do a double pass and hit 5%(there will be alot of cores).


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## jessehurlburt (Oct 18, 2017)

gene_stl said:


> Were you by chance, letting the roller pull the aerator. I think you need to push down on the handle/bail and let the weight of the whole maschine ride on the tines. These machines ARE murder.


No, I was familiar with how to operate it.



Pete1313 said:


> jessehurlburt said:
> 
> 
> > For the expense, hassle and results I got, I think I will hire this out in the future. What are good questions to ask guys bidding on this work?
> ...


Thanks! The Lawnaire 28 looks pretty bad ***. I just pulled up a youtube of it in action. I wonder how common it is for landscaping companies to have a reciprocating vs. drum style? I checked a few other rental places in my area and wasn't able to find any reciprocating options.


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