Best tool to aereate my lawn?

hiya,

I aereated my lawn last week with a garden fork, it took me ages as the soil was very dry. Im pretty clueless so after doing a bit of research it seems as though I shouldnt have done it then. Is this the best tool to use, it seems to be pretty random & I was just wondering if I should buy some aerator shoes instead to do this properly? Can I aereate my lawn more than once?

My lawn is a bit of a mess really as its been left untreated for so long & not much sunlight gets to it! So I have used evergreen complete & im trying to get rid of all the dead moss etc before putting some grass seed down(not really sure which part to aereate!

Thanks for reading
Dave.

 

Sounds fine to me, and I don't think the time of year matters too much.

I doubt aerating shoes will be any use. They won't go in far enough to make a difference.

You could help your lawn by now filling the holes you made using the fork with some sharp horticultural sand. Move it back & forth (e.g. with a stiff brush) so that it goes into the holes. That will stop them closing up again, and will help the drainage.

Its easier at a time when the soil is softer :thumb:, or you could hire an aerating machine. I have a hollow-tined gadget that removes cores from the lawn, but I don't reckon it is much different to using a fork (and a fork is cheaper if you already have one in the shed :thumb

Covering the grass in Autumn with a thin layer of top dressing (soil + sand + peat mix) to even it out, and then over-seeding with a suitable grass seed mixture will help. If its shady use a shade-mix, and then the grass plants that grow will have predominantly more shade-loving varieties, which will help. Deal with the moss with a "lawn sand" type moss killer (probably next Spring would be best), and by aerating in the Autumn to improve drainage during the Winter (when the moss tries to take over) so that the moss doesn't get the wet conditions it loves.

 

I think Kristens advice is all good. But...if your lawn is in a lot of shade, it might just not be the best use of the area. Lawns in shade are usually pretty poor and sometimes it's best to either remove the shade or go for shade plants or an alternative hard landscape material.

 

Castle rock , I have used an Aerator from Wilkos - £10 , on my lawn. This takes little cores out of the compacted bits of the lawn . I then brush in a mix of soil and sharp sand and seed into the holes . Its worked well on my lawn , although it would be hard work to do a full lawn with this device. Golf courses have a coring machine they use on the putting greens every autumn to reduce compaction and aerates the greens.
But as Julie said , getting rid of moss on a shady lawn is hard work . Also a bit of moss looks OK ! Its green and does not need mowing

 

I did my whole lawn with one of these PROFESSIONAL HOLLOW TINE LAWN AERATOR Made in UK | eBay UK

My lawn was pretty bad in some places with even glass and bricks coming out in the cores! I don't think the cheaper option would have lasted at all, but the one I bought is solid as a rock.

My advice is wear gloves and work backwards so you can see what you've done. Rake all the cores up afterwards as well and at the same time you are scarifying your lawn. Oh and give your lawn a good watering the day before as if too dry, you won't get cores.

 

I have one that is similar, but the cores push up into a "container" so you don't have to rake up afterwards. Mine doesn't have fancy springs like this (couldn't find an exactly matching photo), so is basically the same as the ones above but with a "catch-box" on top of the hollow tines.

 

Kristen , you could Pogo around your lawn with the springs fitted :D get the job done in half the time !

 

I will recommend you rent a mechanical aerator from a tool rental, its cheap quick and easy If you could get someone to share the aerator with you then you'll save more. What I do is rent an aerator+over-seeder from my local tool rental shop at home depot and me any my neigbour share it for the four min hours we rent it for, love the results.... I think its a little over $100 for four hours now...

 

electric lawn rake and scarifier .... £85 brand new off ebay
NEW GARDEN GEAR RAKE SCARIFIER LAWN 1300W RRP £149 | eBay

and a video showing the machine working

Lawn Rake

 

Bosmere Lawn Aerating Aerator Sandals N645 | eBay

there, maybe?

 

and ... people who bought that .... also bought this:
Adult Morris Dancer Costume - Standard

 

My sisters used to do that.. I still feel tormented by having to go to random places for tournaments..