Aeration

Q. How often do you spike the greens and why is it necessary?

A. More often than you might think as some types of spiking will be virtually invisible after the greens have been cut. Through autumn and spring once fortnightly weather permitting with slit tines penetrating about 150mm. The one that produces the most disruption is when we Vertidrain. This makes 300mm deep holes as well as lifting the whole surface shattering the soil underneath. This is usually done once a year, in the autumn.

Timing is critical, as the soil has to be firm but not too hard. If done whilst the grass is growing well the greens will have settled down in a few days. The operation where the holes remain open the most is hollow tining where a core of soil is removed approx 100mm deep. This operation is used to allow the exchange of soil and remove thatch.

And the reason for doing all this? The roots of the grass live in the spaces between the soil particles. Your feet plus maintenance equipment squashes those spaces together stopping not only healthy growth of the grass but reducing the drainage as well. Aeration comes at a cost, particularly when the conditions are dry as tines wear much faster.

Here is a picture of the Vertidrain working. As it can be seen the ground is raised behind by the lifting action of the tines. It is this lifting action that breaks up the compacted ground beneath.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a recently purchased machine. It spikes down to about 5 inches and injects air at very high pressure from an on board compressor. The tines are tungsten tipped and have a hollow center. When they reach full depth a blast of compressed air is released further shattering the soil. It is also regularly used during the summer months to pencil tine with very thin tines.