Spike or Plug style ??

[J Hayes]

What are you folks Thoughts of the difference on the spike or plug type arieator or what would be better to use on a mostly clay condition ? I like the sturdier look of the plug style , but afraid it would plug up and not get deep enough for good airiation.

[wdeturck]

Don't anybody make implements to stop the weeds from growing (my lawn is mostly weeds and it grows to fast and stays green when other peoples grass turns brown). I really would like ASTRO TURF

[Farmallgray]

Geezer,
Yes they do. It is called a sprayer and you fill it with selective herbicide that kills the weeds and doesn't hurt the grass.
If your lawn is mostly weeds, you may not have much left though.

[wdeturck]

! was thinking of spraying used anti-freeze and that will take out everything for about 10 years. I remember the car but not which kid that drained the radiator on the lawn and nothing grew on that spot for 10 years.

[jglass]

I bet that plug aerator makes the yard look like a herd of dogs went though it.

[Tom Scott]

The spike style is really just to leave a little cut for seed and fertilizer to fall into.

The plug is the only one that is truly going to help with compacted soil. If you have clay soil, you need the plug type even more. I too have heavy clay soil that can become like concrete. The directions with the aerator say if the soil can be formed into a ball it is wet enough. If the ball doesn't break when you push on it slightly, it is too wet. At any rate, as Bryan says, it works great with the correct amount of moisture in the soil.

When you are done it does look like a pack of dogs have torn the place up. Let the plugs dry, and each time you drive over them they break up and give some good topsoil distribution over the lawn. I 'aerate' my high spots more intensely to encourage the soil to run down to the low areas. As bad as it looks when you are done, the lawn heals very quickly.

It is also recommended that aerating be done in the fall; aerating in the spring gives weed seeds more opportunity to sprout.

[mmzullo]

Here's my core aerator. It's a comercial unit. I got it with a bunch of tractors. I find it's best to aerate after a rain. Maybe next day. I'm goign to do it tomorrow. If you only have a spike aerator it's better then nothing. But if you have to buy 1 get a core unit. You can find spike 1's pretty cheap on CL. I had 2 spike aerators but sold them. A lot of weight/ballast is best. Here's my thatching set up while I'm at it.

[l palma]

Isn't thatch nice...
You know they use plugs for people with a problem growing grass on their head...sorry,no I'm not!!
I use a spike aerator,I have no problem no clay here.