Aeration

Why aerate the soil?

By deep aeration specialists, Terrain Aeration

Why should we aerate? To answer this, we need to acknowledge that the roots of all plants need to respire. They do not breathe as we do, but they need to absorb oxygen and emit Carbon Dioxide.

Roots can only thrive where this exchange is possible, so where do the roots get their oxygen? The oxygen is in the air in the air spaces between the soil particles and this is why gardeners always aim to produce a soil with a crumb texture, which has air spaces between the crumbs. It follows that if these air spaces are closed the roots have little or no oxygen to draw upon and will tend to die back away from such areas.

The soil loses airspaces by compacting whether under its own weight or because it has been loaded by passing feet, vehicles or materials stored on it.

Healthy plants need healthy roots and roots that are dying back from an area that has become compacted and is without air spaces cannot thrive.

Healthy plants also need a thriving community of living things – bacteria, worms, insects, fungi or any other type of fauna and flora which all work to make soil nutrients available to the plant roots. This community needs oxygen to sustain it and without oxygen in the soil, the soil will sour and begin to stink as anaerobic bacteria which can live without oxygen take over and they produce Hydrogen Sulphide gas from their specialised respiration. Hydrogen sulphide is nasty stuff and kills plant roots rapidly.

If we want our plants to thrive, we must ensure that the air can penetrate the soil and we do this by aeration. We aerate to put air into the soil for the roots to use to respire and to keep the soil sweet.

When to aerate? Some people would have us aerate whenever the mower has passed over the turf, but that could be considered excessive. Aerate, whenever there are signs of poor grass growth or surface water accumulation, but you must be able to get the aerating instrument, be it tine, prong, knife or probe into the surface and out again without damaging the surface or the machine.

How to aerate? There are a lot of different techniques available starting with a good old garden fork pushed into a lawn, through spikes the size of smallish nails on a pedestrian pushed roller through large spikes that reach 150mm into the surface to slitting knives some of which simply slice into the turf to others that slice the turf and shake it. We then enter the world of deeper aeration where verti draining can penetrate to about 400mm with solid probes but here we are beginning to have to use rather heavy equipment with the biggest verti drain unit weighing in at well over a tonne plus a substantial tractor to tow and power it.

To go deeper, the air injection technique is used to lift and fracture the soil profile. The number of available machines reaching 450 to 500 mm is quite large, with deeper aeration to one-metre depth being available from the Terrain Aeration Terralift machine.

Terrain Aeration specialises in deep penetration aeration to a depth of one metre where a blast of compressed air fractures the soil, creating fissures that allow drainage and oxygen to the roots of the grass or trees. n www.terrainaeration.co.uk

Best aerators for a flawless finish

Billy Goat supplies a powerful and robust range of tools for commercial, outdoor and property clean-up and its range of powerful aerators can help to maintain and encourage a strong, flourishing lawn.

Billy Goat’s Plugr 25 Hydro Drive Series aerator provides a superb performance and a combination of productivity, operator comfort, variable hole density and is remarkably low maintenance. With the best-in-class controls and in ground steering, the 25 Hydro Drive Series also offers exceptional manoeuvrability and ease in operating. It also offers The Patent Pending EZ Drop tine system which comes complete with a onestep tine engagement lever. This allows tines to quickly engage when the lever is depressed, but it is also able to rapidly disengage once the lever has been released, so it can pass over any obstacles during aeration making the process smooth and uninterrupted.

For smaller lawns, the Billy Goat 18 Series aerator offers a smaller design but supplies just as much power.

The model comes equipped with reciprocating cam tines that propel the unit forward and drive cores up to 7cm deep, meaning water, air and nutrients will be able to travel a sufficient depth to the grass root. With this smaller design, it also offers a lightweight feel so it can be easily manoeuvred around lawns and can reach in smaller, more narrow spaces.

With the ability to cover up to 4 acres an hour, the Billy Goat Towable 60 Series aerator is ideal for maximising large lawn aerations - helping to save time whilst efficiently penetrating the grass root. With the addition of swivelling tine assemblies, this model operates with ease and is able to provide a quality aeration pattern of up to 4cm deep.

The Towable 60 Series can also be mounted onto a standard tow bar or category 1, 3-point hitch and can run behind any type of tow vehicle, with the ability to run up to 8 km/h – offering a powerful and timely solution for aerating larger patches of lawn. n www.billygoat.co.uk

Since 1990, Groundsman Industries have specialised in researching and developing machines and accessories that can be applied to maximum effect to implement a year round aeration programme.

An informed assessment of the condition and problems facing the green being tended is the first step. Compiling a 12 month plan of action is the second step. Thirdly and most importantly, sticking to that plan is vital. Results will not be instantaneous but vast improvements will be noticeable in a matter of a few months if not weeks, especially those carried out during the summer months when root growth is most vigorous.

The elliptical plunge action tining mechanism of the Groundsman range enabled them to penetrate the soil down to five inch depth with the minimum of surface disruption. Groundsman produce long versions of their standard tines, the depth can be adjusted down as the tine wears giving extra life.

Varying the aeration depth can help avoid creating a hard pan and if a hard pan exists, fit the machine with twin tine holders, this will increase the hole spacing to three inches but it will give the machine a better chance of punching through those stubborn hard layers.

Hollow coring is more labour intensive but generally only needs to be carried out once a year. It is a very effective way to relieve compaction, prunes the roots and enables soil exchange. Groundsman produce the Flexblade Core Collector attachment which is available to fit most aerators to core and collect in one pass saving a lot of time. The Flexblade can also be mounted on a compact tractor for follow-up collecting of core and linear aeration debris. Hollow coring should be followed by top dressing and over-seeding.

The on-going and continual development by Groundsman of new tines and holders and their effects has resulted in the most useful range of aeration accessories available.

Groundsman offer a Seeding Attachment to fit on the front of the 345 and 460 pedestrian aerators to distribute seed evenly across the swath width ahead of micro hollow cluster heads which create a dense pattern of uniform shallow holes or pockets into which the seed is encouraged by a stiff bristle bush attachment on the rear of the aerator. Top dressing may be applied before or after this operation as preferred.

The latest attachment from Groundsman is the Caster Wheel attachment, it fits onto the front support tube or bumper bar on the 345 and 460 pedestrian aerator models making light work of turning around at the end of each aeration pass.

Aeration with a Groundsman

n www.

groundsmanindustries. com

Turfco: treating turf with respect

Whenever aeration is undertaken, be it slitting, solid tining or coring, followed by topdressing, there’s sure to be a reaction from the golfers and, in all likelihood, it won’t be a positive one. However, vast improvements in aeration quality and speed of operation together with the introduction of fast, wide area spreading topdressers has ensured that turf maintenance programmes are much less disruptive to both the golfer and the playing surface.

Aeration relieves soil compaction, helps in thatch management, increases nutrient availability, promotes a thicker sward and reduces water runoff and puddling. Compacted soil can prevent air, water and fertiliser from reaching the turf’s root system, causing dead spots, patches and/or thinning. By removing cores in the aeration process, soil density is decreased, thus relieving compaction.

Generally, a freer draining substrate will be one with a high sand content and low clay/silt content. Laboratories who can run tests and provide a detailed soil profile. Low pore space soils, those that contain a higher percentage of clay/silt can sit wet for longer periods of time and these surfaces will be slow playing, soft, have a high risk of disease encroachment, and poorer turf quality.

In this instance, modifying the soil through aeration and topdressing with sand will provide a significant benefit. The aeration procedure carried out would normally be hollow coring to remove material, leaving open holes into which sand can be introduced. The sand will help to create a drier surface by increasing the total pore space. The higher percentage of air and water movement gives a higher percolation rate (the rate in which water drains through the profile).

Top dressing is a small cog in the big machine of turf maintenance. No operation has a greater immediate effect on the surface and turf health than top dressing.

Like all greenkeeping disciplines, it begins with an understanding of the existing soil structure. Choosing a compatible material is essential, whether it is a sand/ soil mix or pure sand. Removing organic matter and then topdressing stimulates microbial activity. This activity reflects the flux of carbon through biotic systems. This may sound technical, but basically the microbial biomass (bacteria and fungi) decomposes the organic matter. With thatch levels reduced, the organic matter left in the profile will hold the required moisture. A dry soil is inactive and will not stimulate microbial activity.

A reduction in thatch, produces a firmer, faster surface that recovers better, uses moisture and nutrients more effectively, and produces a healthier, stronger plant.

Ninja tines go large

Agronomic Services Ltd have the exclusive distribution for Ninja Tines throughout Europe. Following the successful launch of Ninja Tines, the response to these superior quality tines has been such a success that an additional tine size is now being offered.

“We have received terrific feedback from our clients, especially those courses who are under severe pressure to deliver the minimum disturbance to play. With Ninja Tines it is simply Tine, Blow, Roll and play,” revealed David Snowden, Managing Director.

Ninja Tines have proven invaluable for tournament preparation and especially resort golf, where there is extreme pressure on the greens team to maintain play continuously.

Renovations have been revolutionised for golf greens, these innovative tines have proven such a time saver that the additional size is now an option too.

Standard Tines measure 9.5mm mounting, 110mm length and 7mm width v XL Tines, which measure 9.5mm mounting, 110mm length and 9mm width.

Specific to Ninja Tines are their unique shape, with dual tips that wear evenly and are extremely durable. The record for number of greens currently stands at 90!

Unlike a traditional coring tine, which is driven deep to fracture the soil and create pathways for water movement, Ninja tines were designed to work in the organic layer to a maximum of 35mm depth. By removing up to 35mm, this means that greens are immediately available for play.

The advantage with a microcore aeration tine, is the minimal stress to the turf and minimal surface disruption.

You can tine like a Ninja and your golfers will never know you were there!

Tackling drought conditions

Richard Campey from Campey Turf Care Systems explains what to look for when choosing a seeder:

Drought conditions take a heavy toll on sporting facilities relying on natural turf surfaces.

The consequence is a marked increase in demand for overseeders to replace grass which, despite the best efforts of the professional ground staff, has been lost.

If you want to effectively revitalise heavy wear areas in drought conditions, you will have to aerate effectively first. Being able to aerate without shutting pitches has become increasingly important to so the renowned Air2G2 Air Inject proving industry leading aeration with no disruption or the Campey Imants ShockWave® are ideal choices. n Minimise wastage by choosing the

Seeder which places the seed directly into the soil to give the highest seed into plant conversion rates. n Look for precise seeding depths with an easy depth adjuster to main good playability with a stable of the soil structure. Precision planting will give you the flexibility of shallow planting

“light-germinating seed” such as Bent grass, Agrostis, Poa pratensis and deeper depth planting for “temperaturegerminating seed” such as English

Ryegrass which needs the greater depth to ensure germination. n Choose the lightest Seeder with a disc system to minimise compaction on the field and allow smaller tractors to be used and still achieve a good working width.

This is especially important for greens.

Vredo’s range of Compact and Super Compact double disc seeders meet all the above criteria.

Many golf courses and pitches have become very hard because of the lack of moisture in the root zone and it is here where a double disc seeder becomes most important. Vredo double disc seeders were developed during drought conditions in The Netherlands, with the principle of not wasting seed by making sure it is placed at the correct depth in the root zone.

Wastage is minimised because the seed is placed directly into the soil using high-quality self-sharpening baron steel discs to cut through dry and compacted surfaces, giving a 97% germination rate. Placing the seed where it needs to be in the soil profile prevents it from being dried out by the sun or eaten by wildlife and allows grassed surfaces to be mown with the seed perfectly placed within the slit.

Another factor working to prevent seed waste and improve germination is the precise seeding depths that Vredo seeders are known for. This is achieved by using the easy depth adjuster and gives the flexibility of shallow planting “lightgerminating seed” such as Bent grass, Agrostis, Poa pratensis and deeper depth planting for “temperature-germinating seed” such as English Ryegrass which needs the greater depth to ensure germination.

The user is able to determine the amount of seed with the help of the practically designed spindle and seed chart, which is equipped with the most common types of grass and mixtures. The seed gets regulated precisely through the cam wheel and the bottom flap, from the beginning until the end in all its movements.

The success of the machines means they are already used in football, golf, rugby, horse racing, country estates and campsites.

The main reason for this is the close 7.5cm spacing of the Compact Series and the even closer spacing of 3.5cm of the Super Compact Series. With the slits created by the machine so close together, it is easy to continue play quickly after seeding, which an important factor at most sporting facilities.

Vredo seeders are available in various working widths, with the Compact Series ranging from 1m-2.2m and the Super Compact going from 0.8m-2.20m.

Whatever your requirements are, Vredo has a seeder that will save you money on seed and guarantee a high germination in difficult conditions.

Super smooth Wiedenmann GXi8 HD

A busy Lancashire Golf Club which wants to target excess thatch on fairways and rough has chosen a Wiedenmann Terra Spike GXi8 HD deep aerator.

Preston’s Penwortham GC is a parkland course, situated on the banks of the River Ribble. The northwest club is part of the prestigious Classic Lancashire Tour. It has an active year-round membership and a full-time greenkeeping team of five.

Head Greenkeeper, Steve Hemsley, has been in post since June 2021.

“Ours is quite a clay-based site, relatively flat and reasonably wet. The recently established USGA greens are doing well. Elsewhere, fairways and roughs are just a little too thatchy, so we needed to develop a regular aeration programme. We brought contractors in last winter, but it made sense to have a machine of our own,” said Steve.

Following a successful demo with local Wiedenmann UK dealer, Balmers GM at Burnley, the club’s machine arrived at the end of April. Wiedemann’s lead demonstrator, Andy Kerr, along with Balmers’ salesperson, Ben Cooke, returned to give a thorough session of induction training.

“Its first task, early May was to spike the fairways and some choice areas of rough with 20 mm diameter tines,” said Steve.

“Our fairways aren’t huge but with a 1.8m wide machine we easily got finished in around two and a half days. When the contractor did the fairways, they went to 150mm without issue, so with the new machine we targeted around 175mm, getting more air into the profile and decompacting the surface underneath. Ideally, we’ll go again in September and, conditions allowing, during the winter again, so three times yearly.

“I had the GXi8 at my previous club, Bolton Old Links GC, so was aware how much time we would save compared to the long-serving machine we retired. The shock absorption and the speed set it apart. The spring systems mean no shock is delivered to the tractor or the operator, so it is an entirely smooth operation. Speed for me though is the biggest thing. It’s just easy to set up and go.”

Penwortham’s greens also had deep aeration in May to encourage deeper rooting. “After the fairways, we switched to 8mm needle tines to do all greens. I’ve renovations booked in for mid-August so they will be done again then, but the priority is elsewhere in the course.

“During autumn, with 20mm tines we’ll get back to the spiking the fairways to break up the surface underneath. Then we’ll target the roughs and finally the fairways again in winter.”

Wiedenmann UK’s lead demonstrator, Andy Kerr, during installation training and handover at Penwortham GC

Redexim passes the test

After delivering more than 25 years of reliable service, a Redexim Verti-Drain has been replaced by… another Redexim Verti-Drain at Rotherham Golf Club! With ever-increasing restrictions on chemical usage impacting on plant growth and root development, Course Manager Andy Unwin cites an increase in the amount of aeration work taking place as the stimulus for the purchase of their new Verti-Drain 7316.

Rotherham offers a true test for golfer and greenkeepers alike, as Andy and his team of five deal with thousands of mature trees and historic push-up greens across the 18-hole parkland course.

“A lot of work has gone into the greens over the years, lots of aeration and topdressing which now means we’re in a good position with sandy, free-draining greens” explained Andy, who took over as Course Manager last year.

“However, things are always changing and one of the biggest issues we now face is the changes in chemical legislation, making aeration more important than ever for retaining root strength and plant health.”

“With our Verti-Drain 105-145 we would traditionally have two main ‘aeration weeks’ – one in March and one in August, with spot treatments as and where required. This machine was purchased in 1994 and gave us years of trouble-free and effective aeration, but with more work on the cards, the time was right for an upgrade. Redexim’s Andy O’Neill and Tony Dodson of Cheshire Turf Machinery brought in a 7316 and it ticked every box.”

With a 1.6m working width, the 7316 is one of the most versatile models in the Redexim Verti-Drain range. Small enough to suit smaller chassis tractors, but weighty enough to handle compacted ground, it is available with a range of tine options to suit all sports turf applications and maintenance tasks throughout the calendar.

“Of course, we’re all noticing the differences between the two machines. This one is smoother, with much less vibration during operation, and it’s all really user-friendly – adjustments to speed and depth are nice and straight forward.” Andy added.

“With the Verti-Drain you know what you’re going to get and that’s reliability, which is going to be critical as we continue to undertake more aeration work around the course over the next few years.”

Bring it on, says SISIS Maxislit

Pastures Golf Club in Derby no longer need to rely on a contractor to aerate their fairways after they purchased a SISIS Maxislit.

Set in the grounds of the old Pastures Hospital, Pastures Golf Club is a wellestablished course built on meadowland.

In the 52 years the course has been open, not one golfer has ever broken par. It is for this reason that golfers come from far and wide to play and attempt to beat the record.

Therefore, it is essential that the course is kept in impeccable condition and that’s where Head Greenkeeper Paul Smith and his assistant Roger Spalton come in.

Paul and Roger explained the reasons behind purchasing a SISIS Maxislit.

“For numerous years we have had problems with drainage on the course,” said Paul. “We have had times when we have been shut for two to three months which has caused issues.

Ultimately, the members are paying a fee to play golf for 12 months and we want to make sure they get that.”

“We were also paying a lot of money to a contractor who would come out and aerate the fairways,” added Roger.

“We just thought that it would be better for us to be able to do the work when we wanted with our own manpower.

“We had a demo of the SISIS Maxislit and purchased it straight away.”

The SISIS Maxislit is a tractor mounted deep slitting aerator for maintenance and amenities, with deep, clean penetration. Suitable for football, rugby and cricket pitches and golf courses, it can also be used for lawns and formal garden areas.

Aeration is needed to improve drainage, reduce turf compacting, thatch build up and boost the health of turf.

The Maxislit produces outstanding underground cultivation due to the angle of the tines and spiral design of tine shaft assist penetration and its simple design requires little maintenance.

“As a minimum, our aim is to use the Maxislit twice a year in spring – to help get the grass ready to grow and also in autumn – to open it up ready for when it needs to hold moisture,” said Paul.

“We’ve had great results. It is very easy to use, very efficient, and it doesn’t take any pulling – a small tractor doesn’t struggle with it. Long-term, we are confident that the Maxislit will improve soil condition and help root growth which will improve our drainage at surface level. It is very flexible, and we can adjust the length of the tines and go even deeper if we want to,” said Roger.

“It has been a good investment for us.” n www.sisis.com