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Aeration and Dethatching

The TVClubHouse: General Discussions ARCHIVES: Apr. 2007 ~ Jun. 2007: Home and Garden (ARCHIVES): Aeration and Dethatching users admin

Author Message
Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Friday, April 13, 2007 - 1:50 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Julieboo a private message Print Post    
Anyone have opinions on these? Should they be done every year?

Wargod
Moderator

07-16-2001

Friday, April 13, 2007 - 1:56 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Wargod a private message Print Post    
Aeration like poking holes in your yard? What is dethatching?

If aeration is what I'm thinking, we're about to do it, but we're also planting new grass this year. I've noticed though several of my neighbors doing it this year and that it's been a few years since they have done it (these are folks with goregous yards, not like mine all tore up right now with a bunch of damn trenches!)

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Friday, April 13, 2007 - 2:27 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Texannie a private message Print Post    
we have aerated our yard in the past. i honestly don't know if it made a difference or not. i know my yard looks lousy now, but don't know if it's cause we haven't in a while. if you do decide to do it, know that your yard will look like crap for a while before it gets better.

Wargod
Moderator

07-16-2001

Friday, April 13, 2007 - 2:33 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Wargod a private message Print Post    
Yep, Annie. It's been such a shock lately to walk out and see two of the neighbors yards in particular looking like crap because usually they are so nice, neat and green. The only reason we are doing it (actually at this point I believe we are now going to rototil all of it instead) is because Darren decided to redo the sprinkler system. Then he decided to redo the pipes to the system and dug trenches throughout the whole front yard so now it needs to be redone from the begining. It kinda drives me nuts cuz he can only work on it on the weekends, so I've had trenches out front since last weekend!

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Friday, April 13, 2007 - 2:36 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Julieboo a private message Print Post    
Aeration is only about $40 while dethatching is $140... I just wonder of the end result is worth it... Our yard is only about 7 years old, prior to that it was prairie/farmland...

Hypermom
Member

08-13-2001

Saturday, April 14, 2007 - 10:01 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Hypermom a private message Print Post    
Dethatching is like using a heavy metal rake and pulling out all the dead grass.

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Saturday, April 14, 2007 - 4:22 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Julieboo a private message Print Post    
Thanks Hyper! We really don't have a lot of dead grass, so maybe we'll just stick with aeration this year....

Hypermom
Member

08-13-2001

Saturday, April 14, 2007 - 10:05 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Hypermom a private message Print Post    
Your welcome, Julie. We do the dethatching about every 3 years because we don't bag the cut grass when mowing.

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Sunday, April 15, 2007 - 6:46 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Julieboo a private message Print Post    
Hmmm, we don't bag either. What kind of difference does that make?

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Sunday, April 15, 2007 - 8:07 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Texannie a private message Print Post    
wow! wish our aeration was $40, we might do it more often! think we paid around $200.

Hypermom
Member

08-13-2001

Sunday, April 15, 2007 - 10:11 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Hypermom a private message Print Post    
Julie, the mulched grass, while helpful for nutrients, ends up forming a dense mat on top of the soil. After a while, it doesn't let the living grass get water. If your yard isn't huge, it's not hard to do yourself.

Sunshyne4u
Member

06-17-2003

Monday, April 16, 2007 - 1:39 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Sunshyne4u a private message Print Post    
Dethatching is like using a heavy metal rake and pulling out all the dead grass.


and MOSS!

aeration is needed supposedly to stop the ground from becoming packed solid roots. It also helps when you lay down your Weed n feed/ fertilizer as it gets right to the roots.

Be aware that Aeration and Thatching (moss removal) makes it easy to rip you off! I was quoted a SIX HOUR job to do my lawns. I rented a machine, hired a guy to push it and we did the whole yard in less than four hours. My yard is 90x200

The lawncare guys also charge a ridiculous price like 40$ a hour .....because it is 'manual labout' and they cant use their ride on lawnmowers LOL

Good old fashioned handrake is the only way. That and the drive to get the job done quickly. Someone could choose to drag it out for an 8 hr day. I know someone that it happened to.

Anyways, Good luck!!

Eeyoreslament
Member

07-20-2003

Monday, April 16, 2007 - 2:10 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Eeyoreslament a private message Print Post    
If you're going to get someone to do an hourly job, make sure they guarantee a MAXIMUM hours they can charge you, because some manual labor people drag stuff out. Happened to me when I moved last time...they dragged a 2 hour job into a 4 hour job. I was livid.

Jagger
Member

08-07-2002

Monday, April 23, 2007 - 9:41 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jagger a private message Print Post    
I've been wanting to arigate my year for years now, but it does get pretty spendy. My neighbor has some one do his yard about every 3 years and his grass is much fuller, but that may be because he also fertalizes more than I do.
I kind of do the dethathing myself, I just tie a 5 or 10 pound sand bag to my rake and go at it. It sucks big time but does get down in there and gets most of the loose dead grass.
You can also arigate your own yard if you feel like working a bit. Just take a pitch fork, the ones with the wider blades and walk around the yard stabbing it, good way to let off some pent up steam.LOL

Escapee
Member

06-15-2004

Monday, April 23, 2007 - 10:00 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Escapee a private message Print Post    
Take a jog around the yard a few dozen times in golf shoes.

Sunshyne4u
Member

06-17-2003

Wednesday, April 25, 2007 - 3:23 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Sunshyne4u a private message Print Post    
hey you can buy a spikey sole to tie onto your shoes....

but the easiest thing is to get those spikey tires for your lawn mower.