Aerating a lawn

I do mine with a fork, and my lawn is half an acre, as they say Rome wasn't build in a day

 

Listening to you guys with a fork think I might do the same but how far do you push it down in

 

In a normal lawn a fork will go in about 3". Just wiggle it back and forth at this depth will be fine.

 

My lawn get a pounding through the winter, so, my the fork goes all the way in, wiggle it, pull it out about an inch and then lever the soil up to you see the soil crack and then leave it, but my lawn is not a bowling green, i only do it once a year but i do one half in spring then the other half in autum and then other way around next year

 

The advice I was given was to push as far as possible. If not then one may as well use one of the roller ones mentioned above.
I watched Monty Don doing it on the telly (Not to the telly but on it)

He was pushing the tines in as far as possible and levering back and forth to move the soil around and loosen it..

It was old Monty that inspired me to do the job so I did it how both he and the Lawn bloke advised..

Now I'm no expert far from it. But its an arduous job so for me doing it right was important or half the required effort could have delivered little or zero results. That bit extra effort might mean 100% success.

It really is advisable to wear a good pair of gloves ! Old dopey here had some cracking blisters for not doing so ! This of course meant tea and medals from the wife But it didden arf urt !

 

And dont forget decent footwear as could hurt when standing on the fork to push in

 

As far as you can, no point wasting all that effort to only get 2" down and the hole closes back up. Does anyone fill these holes with sand afterwards?

 

If you're on clay then it's a good idea to brush in some sand. I have sandy soil so wouldn't bother with this.

 

I have one of those old Qualcast cheapo electric mowers which I converted to a scarifier after a friend gave me the wire tines to fit on the blades. A simple click and the job was done. Works a treat if a little shallow but I have the lone of a pucker scarifier if needed. I cut my little patch with a Qualcsat E1 or a Panther witch roller. Both old, solidly built and do a grand job.

 

Just finished aerating my little patch out front with a garden fork. It was hard work and I hope it will be worth it later. First time I have done it for years.

 

Any chance of a picture of your home made scarifier please Capney?

 

I use a scarifier I got years ago from Lidl which happens to be on offer this week again with a 3 year warranty.Good bit of kit. My lawns in heavy shade /poorly drained so the moss war never end s. So I iron feed ,scarify,overseed,feed with cheapest nitrogen based feed available. Must try some seaweed this year too. Heavy foot traffick areas are given the old wiggly fork treatment.

 

Can do.. Three pictures of my decades old Qualcast Concorde converted. You can see the tinnes attached to the centre shaft of the cutting blades.
Does the job but with the adjustment at it,s lowest I reckon it could go a bit lower.
Cost: new Concorde many, many years ago. Tinnes were a gift and are still available I understand but a tad expensive. Looking at those pictures strikes me It needs a good going over and clean up!

 

That's one mean machine you've got there Capney! It obviously serves it's purpose.

 

Sure need a good service. Added to the list of must does.