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PostPosted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 10:41 am 
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I am looking for an aeration company that will aerate this fall in Frisco. All of the companies I have been able to contact do not aerate until Spring.

Any recommendations?



Thanks


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 4:36 pm 
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I'm going to suggest you do not go to the trouble of aerating. Instead, use shampoo to soften your soil. Healthy soil is like a sponge. When it is dry it is very hard. When the first drop of moisture hits, it does not soak right in. It takes a few seconds before it soaks in. Once it soaks in, the soil becomes very soft. Shampoo can help create this process.

Use cheap, generic, shampoo. Apply from a hose end sprayer at a rate of 3 ounces per 1,000 square feet. Apply right before you irrigate (1 inch). Next month spray it again. That should be all you need for the rest of the season. Then sit back and wonder at the amazing soil as it softens during rain and after irrigation and hardens up again a few days later. But when watering, do not go by the soil. Go by the grass. Grass can grow very nicely in hard soil.

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PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 9:51 am 
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I have been organic for 5 years, live in Plano. I used to aerate every 3 to 5 years. It has been 8 years and am thinking of a adding compost topping versus aeration as a way to strengthen grass and over come the thin areas. This is more expensive and hopefully will lead to the results I want.
WTP


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PostPosted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:08 pm 
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WTP, thin areas? What kind of grass do you have and is shade a factor?

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PostPosted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 11:09 pm 
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Go buy a pair of aerater shoes at a lawn store and walk all over your yard.It's much cheaper,only about $15 a pair. :D


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PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 2:14 pm 
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Can you explain a little more how generic shampoo can help the lawn. And if you don't buy organic ------ meal to add to your lawn is it still considered organic. rj


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PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 2:54 pm 
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You get as close as you can to organic. For example, if you choose the available corn gluten meal over Scott's whatever-chemical fertilizer, you're still way ahead as far as healthy non-chemical gardening.

Take a look through the Products and Places directory and you should find someone who can work with you on aeration.

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PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 7:59 pm 
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Thanx again, it was the moderator Dchall_San_Antonio on Jan. 21 2012 that mentioned using shampoo for aerating the lawn. Wondered if you knew more about that if not I will keep researching. rj


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PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 8:24 pm 
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He comes back every so often - you may yet get an answer from him. Or you can send him a direct message through the system.

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PostPosted: Wed Feb 06, 2013 9:32 pm 
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thank you again. rj


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PostPosted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 10:33 pm 
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Sure. Sorry I do disappear time and again.

Shampoo works by reducing the surface tension of the water you irrigate with. Reduced surface tension allows the water to penetrate much deeper into the soil. When you have moist soil at deep levels, the soil structure changes. The cooler temperatures just a few inches below the soil help retain the moisture longer because it is not evaporating like it does at the warmer surface. When the moisture levels in the deeper soil can be held fairly constant, that is the perfect breeding ground for beneficial microbes. Those microbes are the ones that soften your soil. When those microbe become moist, they swell up and push the soil particles apart. When they dry out, they shrink back leaving air gaps for water to penetrate once again when it rains or you irrigate again. The looser soil also allows the grass roots to penetrate more easily sending them down where the deeper moisture is. Deep roots give your lawn much more drought resistance because they are getting moisture that shallow, surface roots do not have access to. And all this benefit begins with simple shampoo.

Back in the 90s there was a guy on TV, Jerry Baker, America's Master Gardener. Those of us who thought we knew everything thought he was a crackpot. Funny how time is proving him right. He was the first to put soap in his concoctions.

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