The Benefits
- Relieves soil compaction – compaction occurs due to golfer and equipment traffic especially when the greens are being rolled four times a week to maintain speed.
- Controls Thatch – thatch forms an impermeable layer that water and nutrients will not penetrate and this is also the area where disease spores and insects live.
- Improves water infiltration – by decreasing thatch and providing room for air to start penetrating into the soil.
- Increases soil oxygen levels – by improving infiltration of water – water pulls the oxygen into the soil.
- Vent Greens - during the summer methane gas builds up in the soil and aerifying vents these gasses.
- Enhances fertilizer and pesticide applications – by making them easier for the roots to uptake the products.
- Provides a site for new grass plants to grow.
- Disease Control - enhanced disease control on recently aerated areas due to the increased overall health of the plant reducing the number of pesticide applications needed.
- Dilute soil - removing aeration cores on greens and applying sand topdressing to fill the aeration holes helps to dilute the soil based greens and keeps the column open extending the ability of air and water to penetrate.
- The greens are aerated and the cores removed.
- The greens are brushed and remaining debris is blown off.
- Topdress the greens with sand.
- Bentgrass seed is spread over the green and brushed into the holes.
- Cut the green to remove excess material.
- Roll the green to smooth the surface.
Cores being removedThe grass plant is actively growing so will recover within days.
The sand dries faster in the drier weather.
This is the perfect time of year to over seed, with cool nights and warm days germination will happen quickly, the poa annua is weak from summer stress so new seedlings have time to strengthen before the winter.
The students are back to school by Labor Day leaving us with a smaller crew, the cleanup will be quick and less disruptive in August.
