Aeration Question

[drumd8on]

Hello! I am about to rent a core aerator to use on my home lawn. I have a seeded backyard of tall fescue, and a sodded front lawn of Kentucky Bluegrass.

A couple things I was wondering:

- How many times should I run the aerator over the area of the lawn (once, or is 2 or 3 times better to more efficiently prepare the yard for seed)?

- Should I treat the front yard differently than the back yard since it was sodded?

- Should I apply anything in addition to the seed after aerating the yard? I did have the fertilizer and weed killer applied around a month ago, but was wondering if there is anything additional I can add to the seeding application to perhaps better it's chances of germinating.

Thanks as always - I get better info on here than searching random sites on the web.

Cheers!

[ckcland]

Running over the lawn once is "good enough" but here in PA I like to have my guys run a second time the opposite way IE: if you run house to street on the first pass, change up and run side to side on the second. It will relieve soil compaction better. Also, I would recommend a slow release 10-10-10 (starter fertilizer) at the time of seeding.

Good luck!!

[P-Train]

A starter fertilizer like 18-24-12 is good to put down when you seed.

You say you fertilzed the yard a month ago. What did you use?

[ckcland]

There are many grades of "Starter Fertilizer". The type P_train recommended is good as long as its slow release. Anything over a nitrogen number of 18% (the first number) will burn/kill the new seed and young grass.

[drumd8on]

Thanks for all the tips guys.

Around a month ago, I had a 25-3-8 ratio applied. I generally hear that a slow release would be good for the fall seeding after I aerate. One with higher Phosphorous/Potassium levels and lower in nitrogen.

Does this sound sufficient? Thanks again!

[jwholden]

I hit my lawn with an aerovator on my Dingo about two weeks ago. I don't think I'll ever look at a core type aerator again!

You can feel how much softer the soil feels when walking over it after that aggressive of an aeration!

[TrickyDick]

Isn't it a little late to be seeding in Ohio?

[drumd8on]

Yes, technically September is the best month for fall seeding here, but we've been having a lot of rain, so the ground is nice and wet, so I want to take advantage and aerate now for the spring. What seeding I am doing this weekend is just a little leftover I had, so I figure no big loss if I am a little late.

At any rate, I will be completing it tomorrow, so hopefully the rain lets up for a few!

Thanks