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Old 01-10-2010, 05:16 AM posted to rec.gardens
Brooklyn1 Brooklyn1 is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Sep 2010
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Default Coring v Spike lawn aerators + How effective is Mantis an aerator?

On Thu, 30 Sep 2010 22:00:23 -0500, Newbie wrote:

In article , Brooklyn1
wrote:

: On Thu, 30 Sep 2010 15:17:57 -0500, Newbie wrote:
:
: In article , Brooklyn1
: wrote:
:
: : Mantis has a aerating/dethatching attachment that I'd seriously
: : consider for a smallish lawn... every gardener needs a Mantis, best
: : gardening investment ever... it tills my 50' X 50' vegetable garden
: : more than 8" deep with as much effort as walking a small dog.
:
: I am seriously considering Mantis. At $500 for the tiller, dethatching,
: and aerator package, it is cheaper than other powered options, and
: would be a lot more convenient than any manual options. (Our lawn is
: small, but bodies too are not what they used to be a few decades ago!)
:
: However, my one doubt about aeration is that Mantis attachment appears
: to be "spike" variety, not "coring". IOW it just punches holes rather
: than remove cores. I keep reading that coring aeration is much better.
:
: If you have used both kinds, I would appreciate a comparison, if one is
: really better. Or, we know Mantis would be convenient, but how
: effective it is as an aerator?
:
: If all you have to garden is that small postage stamp sized lawn I
: still strongly recommend you contract a lawn service, you will never
: amortize the price of a Mantis, a lawn mower, an edger, a blower or
: any power lawn tools... won't even pay for you to fuel those... all
: you need is a leaf rake (if you have any trees nearby) and a garden
: hose (short). If you really want to do it yourself buy a bow rake and
: a reel type push mower. I'm serious... a 1,000 sq ft lawn is like a
: dozen passes with a manual push mower, less work than vacuuming your
: living room, 10 minutes tops... you can mow every day. Geeze, you're
: really milking this... fantacizing about your Ponderosa.

I have no idea why you insist on ignoring the questions asked and keep
giving advice where none is sought. For example, watering or mowing is
simply not an issue for us. Similarly, it should not be your concern
whether or how I can afford power tools or the fuel.

For a variety of reasons related to age, arthritis, etc, I am ok with
manual mowing, but less with tilling/cultivating/dethatching. IOW
pushing above ground is ok, digging not. So I am considering power
tools. That is a function of my health, my interest in gardening, and
my budget. None of that should be your concern.

However, you have indicated that you own and use Mantis aerator. If in
the interest of sharing the experiences we do possess, you (or anyone
else) feels like answering the following questions, I'd appreciate
that, otherwise please ignore me and move on:

1. If you have experience with both spike and core aerators, do you
find one to be more effective than the other?

2. Setting aside above comparison, is Mantis spike aerator effective in
itself?

3. As it does not remove cores, what aeration does it accomplish that
would not be accomplished by the cultivator function of the tiller?

I have attempted to make these questions as direct and clear as English
language allows. You'd notice that they do not mention mowing,
watering, length of hose, trimming, flushing, raking, blowing, pruning,
vacuuming, number of passes, etc., anywhere.



You were given excellent advice. Anyone querying about a 1,000 sq ft
lawn acting like they know everything is unquestionably trolling and
here for no other reason but to bust balls... bye.