After a good soaking of 1.5 inches of rain, its perfect timing to get our aerators rolling! There are several kinds of aeration techniques. Here we are using two walk behind core aerators. These are great machines to get into smaller areas where we can’t get in with our bigger equipment. With the hollow tines, we are pulling cores out which leads to several benefits. We are relieving soil compaction, removing thatch, improving air circulation within the soil, and improving water infiltration and drainage in the soil. This will help with root development essentially making the plant stronger and healthier with a deeper root system and a better ability to uptake nutrients. The soil also becomes a better growing medium for essential microorganisms that help break down organic matter that accumulates throughout the season.
Here we are using our solid deep tine Wiedenmann aerator on a recreation field. The actual playing fields are synthetic but the sidelines are natural grass. These sidelines take a beating with foot traffic throughout the academic year. The solid tines do not pull cores and we’ll eventually go back through one more time with our core aerator for that. With the deep tine we are getting down to a 5”-6” depth thus relieving deep compaction.
As always, when we’re finished, we’ll go back and broadcast seed and slit-seed these areas to help the strength and density of our established turf.
