TruGreen wanted to charge 780 to aeriate. Couldn’t find any local landscaping services to do it for any cheaper (or they weren’t offering plug aeration)
My back feels blown out and the my soil is super heavy clay so sometimes the plugs aren’t pulling. Pray for me 😂
by Nervous-Glass4677
18 Comments
You should be able to rent an aerator from Home Depot. Otherwise it’s good exercise. And the neighbors will have something to talk about 😆
Edit for autocorrect
Yeah this is something i’ll gladly pay my landscaper to do. just renting the equipment is a pain in the ass.
$780?? How big is your property?
Why are you putting them in a pile?
Looks like you have bermuda that hasn’t fully greened up, why are you aerating now? You aerate when it is actively growing
I wish I rented an aerator from HD. Manual aeration on killer.
And you did a better job than them too.
Don’t take the plugs let them break down into the lawn
Some people leave the plugs to dry out, then pull a length of chain link fence behind a riding mower to break them up
What did you use to aerate it?
My next door neighbour has a plug aerator that’s got to be 40 years old but still runs like a champ. Our soil is very clay heavy too. If it’s rained in the past day, it’s much easier for the plugs to eject properly.
We pooled one for the day across 8 neighbors and it ended up costing us each about $25 each
Lmao. I feel your pain. Did it like 4 times in the past two years.
You have convinced me to rent a petrol one..
Tow-behind, have an agri-fab and it works very well.
Oh I know your back is tired! Keep it up. I rented a gas powered walk behind version last year from Home Depot. Well worth the expense. This year I will do the same, and split the 24 hour rental cost with a neighbor. I’m waiting till the grass is green and growing. I want the grass to grow and fill in ASAP from the coring and leveling work.
On your next round of core aerating, water the lawn lightly each day for 3 days, pull plugs on day 4 or 5. This softens the clay much better than a single round of watering. I also am removing the plugs and adding sand / compost blend as you are doing. Hard work for sure, even with powered equipment.
When I lived with heavy clay soil I used a bulb auger to drill out holes, then filled them with sand and topsoil. It’s a long-term project but the good soil will spread. This also helps with water penetration.
Do not remove the plugs! It’s dirt. You’ll be buying expensive bags of soil to replace what you removed. Go find like 6 neighbors. Split the cost, and hire a young neighborhood high school stud to run it. And, if you know you are going to be areating, water your lawn the 2 nights before to soften the ground. I am betting that’s why your back hurts. And make sure you overseed with GOOD seed. Not something from Menards or Lowes. Look up, Ewing Supply, One Site, just find a professional landscape supply store. The costs will be more, but the quality is times 10. I have done this for 20 and have learned.