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#1
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aerating compacted soil for grass
The small garden has a very muddy, almost barren strip down the middle
from getting my bike in & out of the shed over the winter. The soil is fairly compacted & seems to have quite a bit of clay underneath. I want to grow some grass really well this year so it lasts a bit better over next winter, and I think aerating or otherwise "uncompacting" the soil may help the seed grow instead of just feeding the birds. But it's a small garden so I don't want to buy & store a big piece of rotivating equipment. Suggestions, comments? Has anyone tried those spiked sandals, for example? (The idea makes sense, but I've heard that they are bunk.) |
#2
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aerating compacted soil for grass
"Adam Funk" wrote in message ... The small garden has a very muddy, almost barren strip down the middle from getting my bike in & out of the shed over the winter. The soil is fairly compacted & seems to have quite a bit of clay underneath. I want to grow some grass really well this year so it lasts a bit better over next winter, and I think aerating or otherwise "uncompacting" the soil may help the seed grow instead of just feeding the birds. But it's a small garden so I don't want to buy & store a big piece of rotivating equipment. Suggestions, comments? Has anyone tried those spiked sandals, for example? (The idea makes sense, but I've heard that they are bunk.) If it's solid clay then nothing will be much use, but if it's really a narrow strip of a small garden you could just plunge a garden fork vigourously into it and shake it around. Do it before it dries hard. Tim W |
#3
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aerating compacted soil for grass
On Tue, 29 Mar 2011 15:37:17 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Tue, 29 Mar 2011 14:19:01 +0100, "Tim W" wrote: "Adam Funk" wrote in message ... The small garden has a very muddy, almost barren strip down the middle from getting my bike in & out of the shed over the winter. The soil is fairly compacted & seems to have quite a bit of clay underneath. I want to grow some grass really well this year so it lasts a bit better over next winter, and I think aerating or otherwise "uncompacting" the soil may help the seed grow instead of just feeding the birds. But it's a small garden so I don't want to buy & store a big piece of rotivating equipment. Suggestions, comments? Has anyone tried those spiked sandals, for example? (The idea makes sense, but I've heard that they are bunk.) If it's solid clay then nothing will be much use, but if it's really a narrow strip of a small garden you could just plunge a garden fork vigourously into it and shake it around. Do it before it dries hard. Tim W I'd second that. Get a garden fork, drive it in, wiggle it about a bit to enlarge the holes, and when you've done the whole strip, brush in some coarse sand. The OP's comment about spiked shoes being bunk is almost certainly correct. Never tried them but all they are likely to do is anchor you to the spot. Don't bother with one of those hollow tine lawn aerator jobs either, the ones that are supposed to remove a plug of soil. After a couple of insertions, the tubes just block up and have to be laboriously unblocked by hand. BTDTGTTS (and a useless aerator!). Use a fork. And then make a path along the side, stripping the turf and using it to repair the middle. Or forget that, and make the path down the middle. -- Mike. |
#4
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aerating compacted soil for grass
On 2011-03-29, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Tue, 29 Mar 2011 14:19:01 +0100, "Tim W" wrote: If it's solid clay then nothing will be much use, but if it's really a narrow strip of a small garden you could just plunge a garden fork vigourously into it and shake it around. Do it before it dries hard. I'd second that. Get a garden fork, drive it in, wiggle it about a bit to enlarge the holes, and when you've done the whole strip, brush in some coarse sand. I've tried it today --- a bit more like hard work than I'd hoped for ;-) --- and I'll see how it goes. The OP's comment about spiked shoes being bunk is almost certainly correct. Never tried them but all they are likely to do is anchor you to the spot. Don't bother with one of those hollow tine lawn aerator jobs either, the ones that are supposed to remove a plug of soil. After a couple of insertions, the tubes just block up and have to be laboriously unblocked by hand. BTDTGTTS (and a useless aerator!). Use a fork. OK. I saw those mentioned somewhere on the WWW as being better than the spiked sandals, but apparently that doesn't mean much. Thanks to everyone who replied. |
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