Danny Lipford

Adventures in Aeration

Wed, 07 May 2008 20:45:08 +0000

I tend to be the type of homeowner who’s willing to try just about anything. Fortunately, it didn’t take me long to learn the location of the main power switch in my home and the water cut-off valve at the street. If my home improvement activities get too dire, I turn off one or the other and wait patiently for back-up to arrive.

I live in a 50-year-old house that I’ve owned for four years, with a yard that’s never seen much TLC. So I decided to aerate my lawn this spring as a prelude to its gradual rehabilitation. I rented an aerator from a local rental store for the bargain price of $60 for the weekend. When my male colleagues laughed at this prospect, I made sure to ask the man at the rental place if a 130-pound woman could handle the machine. While he insisted it would be no problem, I suspect he chuckled when I drove away with it.

I should have suspected trouble when it took two men to load the bright blue machine in the back of my Honda Element. In fact, the BlueBird aerator weighs in at nearly 300 pounds – and that’s without the two 36 lb. removable weights that it comes with for extra traction. Fortunately, a friend who found out about my weekend project cut two pieces of lumber to make a ramp to help get the machine in and out of my car.

Photo Courtesy of BlueBird

What is Lawn Aeration

To the initiated, an aerator resembles a lawn mower only a little wider, squatter, and heavier. The undercarriage looks like a medieval torture device, with a spinning cylinder of rotating coring spikes, much like a round hair brush on steroids. The idea behind aerating your yard is to break up the compacted soil which in turn:

Enhances the transfer of water, oxygen, and nutrients into the soil.
Promotes microorganisms that help breakdown thatch.
Reduces the runoff of fertilizer and pesticides.
Encourages root system growth.

It would have been helpful if the rental center could have located the operator’s manual. Instead, I was given a short verbal course, with particular emphasis on how to stop the machine.

Once in my yard, the BlueBird behaved more like a Brahma bull than its feathery namesake. Pushing it wasn’t a problem, since it happily propelled itself around the yard with little assistance while I trotted along behind trying my best to keep up. But when you actually had to turn the Bird is when things got tricky. Hairpin turns are not its specialty and the wide turning radius made for some unexpected detours and startled animals. And you better hope you don’t get it mired in a soft spot, because the next thing you know, the Bird is on its way to China.

Because the machine is so powerful, it only took about 15 minutes to aerate the entire yard. But my aerating activity made so much racket that my neighbor came out to see what was going on. That was his misfortune because he then got roped into helping me load the BlueBird back into my car.

That said, I’m sure a professional lawn service could have done a better job, but I wasn’t about to pay a couple of hundred dollars for what I could do for less than half that amount plus a bottle of Advil. And I did inform the man at the rental place that an aerator was better suited for someone more substantial, which I suspect he knew anyway.

But the good news is, a few weeks have passed, and I can already see the difference in my yard. At last my grass can breathe and is on its way down the road to recovery.

Patching a Bare Spot

Sat, 17 Feb 2007 16:27:15 +0000

A bare spot in the lawn can be unsightly and annoying. You can pamper the area and wait for the surrounding grass to fill in, but this takes time and patience. You can sow in some new seed to fill the area, but this is best done when the temperatures are not too hot so the tender plants don’t get scorched. The quickest solution is definitely to purchase sod that matches the lawn, dig out the bare spot to match the shape of the sod pieces and patch the lawn. Add plenty of water and your lawn should be as good as new.

Watering Lawns

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 16:12:54 +0000

We all know our lawns need water. But “how much”, “how often” and “when” are the questions. Turf expert Dr. Trey Rogers explains that early morning is the best time to water (between 4am and 9am) because the rising sun will dry off grass leaves. This is important because keeping the leaves wet overnight increases the risk of turf diseases. As far as volume, Rogers recommends one inch of water per week whether from rainfall or irrigation. An ordinary rain gauge will work for measuring rainfall, but for irrigation you can create your own gauge. Set out several small containers on the lawn (tuna can size is ideal) and let the sprinklers run for 30 minutes. Measure the depth of water in the container, multiply by two and you know how much water your irrigation system delivers in an hour.

Sprinklers

Sun, 28 Jan 2007 15:45:07 +0000

Keeping your lawn and garden watered is a chore that can be greatly benefited by sprinklers. Unfortunately, the options have been dragging around a portable sprinkler and guessing at the right location, or spending large amounts of money on an in-ground irrigation system. The Naan Undercover Sprinkler may be the compromise you’re looking for. This unit sets into the soil much like an individual sprinkler in an in-ground irrigation system. The locking cap on the unit inverts to mount the sprinkler in just the right spot. Hoses can be connected and disconnected quickly. And when the unit is not in use, you simply invert it into the underground housing and mow right over it. You can find out more about this product by calling Naan Sprinklers and Irrigation Systems at (509) 545-2019.

Proper Mowing Techniques

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 15:39:29 +0000

Turf expert Dr. Trey Rogers tells us the best way to insure good lawn health is to mow properly. That begins with a sharp mower blade and mowing more often. Trey says we should cut off no more that 1/3 of the blade’s length at one time to prevent shocking the plant. He also recommends allowing the grass clippings to fall back onto the lawn instead of bagging them. These clippings provide important nutrients, and contrary to conventional thought, do not promote thatch.

Establishing a Lawn

Sat, 05 Aug 2006 16:08:28 +0000

Dr. Trey Rogers has a few tips for establishing a lawn from seed. Trimming is crucial for planting. Plant in late fall or early spring for cool season grasses. Warm season grasses should be planted in late spring or early summer. For new construction homes consider a soil test to determine if the soil is sub-soil instead of topsoil. When adding amendments avoid adding sand if possible because it can have the effect of creating concrete. Choose seed that is of high quality (usually costs a bit more too). Avoid any seed that contains more than .01% of weed seed.

Low Maintenance Lawn

Wed, 02 Aug 2006 15:32:40 +0000

Lawns by nature require some work, but you can reduce the amount of work and time spent by following a few simple guidelines. Good soil is the start, so aerate the lawn. This process removes three inch plugs of soil which allow water, air, and nutrients to go straight to the plant’s root zone. Mulching the clippings when you mow not only saves the work of bagging, but also feeds the lawn with nitrogen from decomposing clippings. Finally, don’t mow too closely. Let the grass grow to 2″ to 3″ before you cut the top third off of the grass blades.

Controlling Groundcover

Sun, 23 Jul 2006 16:22:10 +0000

Groundcovers are a great solution for hard-to-grow areas of the yard, but they are often hard to contain once they take off. Many of these plants spread by runners and roots, so you have to create a barrier both above and below the soil to adequately control them. The solution is garden edging and there are a number of materials and products that can be used to do the job. There are a number of plastic edging products available that you either dig or press into the soil at the borders of the beds. The plastics are inexpensive, flexible and available in a number of styles and sizes. Another more permanent and more classic approach is to use solid brick pavers for this chore. The bricks can be dug in horizontally or vertically to create the barrier you need to control your groundcovers.

Planting Groundcover

Sun, 07 May 2006 15:28:27 +0000

Shady, hilly areas are great for groundcover plants because they hold and protect the soil without the benefit of lots of sun. Plants like adjuga and jasmine are ideal, but the important thing is to space them properly. Check with nurseries or garden centers to find out their size at maturity. This is important because some groundcover, like juniper, can spread to as much as six feet across.