# Aerate, sand, and Bull Tallow soil



## Chicken Man (Jul 28, 2018)

Ok guys,
I seeded Maya Bermuda last July, got a good stand, it came back slow this spring.
I have several bare spots, hardpan. The soil is bull tallow, a type of clay, sloppy when wet, hard as concrete when dry.

I've looked back on some threads about clay and sand, I didn't find a consensus on aeration and filling the holes with sand. I think leveling with sand is good, but I'm wondering about filling aeration holes.

I have runners everywhere but they have nowhere to tack because of the hard soil.

Thoughts?


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## viva_oldtrafford (Apr 4, 2018)

Sand with om is what you'll want to fill with.


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## Batsonbe (May 9, 2019)

Can you actually plug your soil? I have similar soil and haven't been able to take any really good plugs. I read recently that you couldn't take enough plugs and fill with sand to have an impact. I read that on here yesterday somewhere


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## Chicken Man (Jul 28, 2018)

viva_oldtrafford said:


> Sand with om is what you'll want to fill with.


Peat moss?
I have an unlimited supply of chicken manure, would that work?


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## Chicken Man (Jul 28, 2018)

Batsonbe said:


> Can you actually plug your soil? I have similar soil and haven't been able to take any really good plugs. I read recently that you couldn't take enough plugs and fill with sand to have an impact. I read that on here yesterday somewhere


I don't know, but with all the rain we are having I was going to rent an aerator and give it a try.


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## viva_oldtrafford (Apr 4, 2018)

We renovated our entire range facility in 2011. We used scrapers to move soil from existing areas to areas that we wanted to build up....basically just used what we had on site at the time. After the first few days, we started to find areas that were almost concrete-like in their structure. And of course, since we were using the on site material, this concrete-like stuff would soon be our actual teebox. The project was finished, and we sent samples to the lab. It confirmed what we thought - it was basically suitable for a full-time helicopter landing pad. With the data we now had, we embarked on a very aggressive aerification plan. 2-3 times a year we would aerify, remove cores, and backfill with a sand + OM mix. It's been 8 years, and the tee never holds water (82" rain last year), the roots are phenomenal, and the turf quality is what we expected.

The report below is an in depth textural analysis of our teebox as of 2011. Notice the rates on saturated hydraulic conductivity....take note of the "lower" rate of clay.


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## Batsonbe (May 9, 2019)

Chicken Man said:


> Batsonbe said:
> 
> 
> > Can you actually plug your soil? I have similar soil and haven't been able to take any really good plugs. I read recently that you couldn't take enough plugs and fill with sand to have an impact. I read that on here yesterday somewhere
> ...


I've tried to plug mine 2x in the past 2 weeks because I have been watering and my turf was showing heat stress. I was getting 1/4 - 1/2 for the most parts but certain areas I was getting 1-1.25. I was throwing around the idea of aerating again as well since we've gotten approx 8" in the past 2 days with more to come.


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## Batsonbe (May 9, 2019)

viva_oldtrafford said:


> We renovated our entire range facility in 2011. We used scrapers to move soil from existing areas to areas that we wanted to build up....basically just used what we had on site at the time. After the first few days, we started to find areas that were almost concrete-like in their structure. And of course, since we were using the on site material, this concrete-like stuff would soon be our actual teebox. The project was finished, and we sent samples to the lab. It confirmed what we thought - it was basically suitable for a full-time helicopter landing pad. With the data we now had, we embarked on a very aggressive aerification plan. 2-3 times a year we would aerify, remove cores, and backfill with a sand + OM mix. It's been 8 years, and the tee never holds water (82" rain last year), the roots are phenomenal, and the turf quality is what we expected.
> 
> The report below is an in depth textural analysis of our teebox as of 2011. Notice the rates on saturated hydraulic conductivity....take note of the "lower" rate of clay.


Glad to know that improving hard clay soil can be done. I don't know if any of the alternatives provide a faster equally long term result. 8 years just seems like an incredibly long time to get the desired results you're looking for.


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## viva_oldtrafford (Apr 4, 2018)

Batsonbe said:


> viva_oldtrafford said:
> 
> 
> > We renovated our entire range facility in 2011. We used scrapers to move soil from existing areas to areas that we wanted to build up....basically just used what we had on site at the time. After the first few days, we started to find areas that were almost concrete-like in their structure. And of course, since we were using the on site material, this concrete-like stuff would soon be our actual teebox. The project was finished, and we sent samples to the lab. It confirmed what we thought - it was basically suitable for a full-time helicopter landing pad. With the data we now had, we embarked on a very aggressive aerification plan. 2-3 times a year we would aerify, remove cores, and backfill with a sand + OM mix. It's been 8 years, and the tee never holds water (82" rain last year), the roots are phenomenal, and the turf quality is what we expected.
> ...


I'd say we made drastic improvements in the first year, and that after 3-4 years we were in a similar situation to the one we're currently in - we do move more water now, though (8 years vs 4). Celebration range tee @ .500"


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## Batsonbe (May 9, 2019)

I'm interested in giving it a go at my house. I just don't have the funds right now to make it happen.


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