Dethatchers and core aerators

 


I just recently got a lawn tractor and was going to buy a core aerator
attachment, since it's been years that the lawn was aerated.  But is it
also necessary to dethatch first?

Recently on Ask This Old House Roger Cooke rennoavted a lawn by first
dethatching, then core aerating, then sweeeping compost over the site
and reseeding.  I thought that aeration was intended to take care of
thatch to a degree.

 

FDR said:


How thick is the thatch layer?
--

Eggs

-It ain't the jeans that make your butt look fat.

 


Aeration will help reduce thatch, but won't help as much as
dethatching.   As per Eggs question, key here is how much thatch you
have and if it's enough that it's an actual problem.

I would disagree with Roger Cooke on doing both dethatching and
aerating at the same time.   Both of these tear up the turf to some
degree, dethatching more than aerating.   So, I would do one in
Spring, other in Fall, to give the turf time to recover.

Don't know what kind of aerator you're looking at, but I'd get one
that is really a core aerator, ie it takes out actual plugs, as
opposed to solid tine type.   I think for most people, it makes more
sense to just rent one every couple years.

 

trader4@optonline.net wrote:

It would be a core aerator that pulls behind the tractor.

 


Like this one?
http://www.landpride.com/products/prod_ca/prod_ca25.html
If so, that will get it done very well.
Many of the "pull behinds" are only solid spikes, which don't do much good.


 >FDR wrote: