Heidi wrote:
Speaking of aerating lawns (dog safe fertilizer) has anyone ever tried
those strap on aerating shoes? I have been intimidated to try them as
1) my feet are a size 6.5 and I just don't see any of the "one size
fits
most" models fitting my tiny feet and 2) last year the yard was so
hard
after the drought I thought if I was able to puncture the ground I
would
never get past the first step.

My questions: has anyone tried them? Would anyone recommend using
them? And if so, has anyone seen a model that comes in various sizes?
If not the shoes do most folks pay a company to come out and aerate
the
lawn, or rent the machine from a home improvement type store, etc...?


As David already mentioned, if you do manage to get them to poke holes
in your lawn, they'll compress the soil around the tiny, narrow, and
must too shallow hole they'll make. Don't waste your money on them.

I usually rent a core aerator myself. It punches open corers into the
ground. Those corers pull out a core of soil (sort of like a bulb
planter). When the corer reaches the top of it's path, the soil falls
out the back, and drops to the ground leaving the corer empty, and ready
to pull out another core.

The rental place a couple miles down the road charges about $35 for two
hours, which is just about what I use it for. The machine itself is
about the same size as a medium-duty roto-tiller. In addition to the
machine, there are two 50 lb weights that slide onto the machine when
you're using it, and slide out completely so two people can hoist the
machine with ease.

I've heard of some people who'll rent the machine for a day, and then go
around the neighborhood offering to aerate lawns for $20-$25 a crack.
And at the right time of the year, your weekly community newspaper ought
to have a few ads for the service. The community bulletin board at the
local mega-mart ought to have a few ads, too.

You don't want to aerate too soon if it's been a hot, dry summer. Even
with those weights on the machine, if the ground is too hard, it's
possible to just bounce on top of it. You could also squash the corers
this way, too.

The first time you do it, don't make the mistake of running the engine
too fast. Unlike a tiller which has a brake that drags, and keeps the
ground speed slow, the aerator essentially moves as fast as the cores
rotate. Slower is good until you have the confidence to handle any
corners at a higher speed. You might even want to just watch someone
else do it before you try.

--
Warren H.

==========
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Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
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