AERATORS do they actually work

lancerwall

Was just planning to buy an aerator and was wondering has many people used them. in theory they should be a good buy, was told you need the right type of land for it to work right, is this right?

leg wax

what are you hopeing it will do for you and your land/grass

lancerwall

Mainly want better growth from the land with better quality grass. was told it will also help get slurry and fertilizer into the ground more effectivley, also want better soakage from land as some of the land is boggy and it needs all the help it can get

Fallen Buckshot

should help as long as you get the right "tine" pattern for your ground type and make sure its not cheap/light as you will need it to be heavy to work well

leg wax

from my own perspective i thought the exact same for a 6 acre field 3 years ago.i got a lone of a aerator from a neigbour and when i was putting it on the tractor he asked me if i wanted too buy it,basically he said it was a waste of money and time in useing it.i gave it a go it looks a great job when doing it did i see any improvment in drainage/soakage not one bit,in my books from now on to achieve what you want is to plough and reseed . lossens up the soil gets new grass.i think they are really only for sports fields and golf courses

lancerwall

leg wax wrote: »

from my own perspective i thought the exact same for a 6 acre field 3 years ago.i got a lone of a aerator from a neigbour and when i was putting it on the tractor he asked me if i wanted too buy it,basically he said it was a waste of money and time in useing it.i gave it a go it looks a great job when doing it did i see any improvment in drainage/soakage not one bit,in my books from now on to achieve what you want is to plough and reseed . lossens up the soil gets new grass.i think they are really only for sports fields and golf courses

thanks for the advise leg wax was thinking i might get away without having to plough and buy the aerator instead. had you much drainage under your land, as my main problem is the slurry is cloging up the land and not allowing the water to soak through

leg wax

my land would have very good drainage but still cuts up in very heavy rain,compaction was my problem. i dont think slurry can clog up your land i may be wrong, but its a product taken from the land as in grass-silage-hay broken down in cows stomach put back onto the land,in the right amounts its going to encourage worms and otherbugs and creatures into your soil.ever notice if you roll a field and the field was a little too soft the patch you miss with the roller has a lot more grass a few weeks later reason compaction

lakill Farm

I have an aerator. your wasting your time going out with it unless you have ballast on it. Mine holds 3 x 220litre barrells whichh would be filled to the maximum when on there side (so 3 x180l attrox ) is well over 0.5ton. The aerator itself is 800kg so is approx 1.3ton.

I get approx 4 acres an hour done (10ft wide) I find i get better utilization of fert and slurry. My contractor said i had a better crop of grass last year and neightbour a farmer said the same.

My tines go approx 12-14inchs into the ground. Its hard enough pulled

Swinefluproof

lakill Farm wrote: »

I have an aerator. your wasting your time going out with it unless you have ballast on it. Mine holds 3 x 220litre barrells whichh would be filled to the maximum when on there side (so 3 x180l attrox ) is well over 0.5ton. The aerator itself is 800kg so is approx 1.3ton.

I get approx 4 acres an hour done (10ft wide) I find i get better utilization of fert and slurry. My contractor said i had a better crop of grass last year and neightbour a farmer said the same.

My tines go approx 12-14inchs into the ground. Its hard enough pulled

What make is yours Lakill? Any I've seen lately only going 6 to 9 inches deep. Yours sounds like a much better job

lakill Farm

Swinefluproof wrote: »

What make is yours Lakill? Any I've seen lately only going 6 to 9 inches deep. Yours sounds like a much better job

Id have to check it. I bought off a one man engineering firm the other side of newry.

brownswiss

Have any of you seen the Alstrong. It is a land roller with blades.
www.alstrong.ie..... Thinking of booking a guy who has bought one....

would any of you have any idea if it will actually allow to ground to dry out quicker..

Thanks

Tipp Man

If we get a good summer and maybe a few more weeks of this kind of weather it will do a whole lot more for the soil than any machine

bbam

Tipp Man wrote: »

If we get a good summer and maybe a few more weeks of this kind of weather it will do a whole lot more for the soil than any machine

Yes but badly compacted ground will just dry through like concrete. So when it rains again the water sits in the top and you end up with a two inch layer of slop.

We're trying to bust up any bad areas hoping they will better cope with bad weather when it does return.

Tipp Man

bbam wrote: »

Yes but badly compacted ground will just dry through like concrete. So when it rains again the water sits in the top and you end up with a two inch layer of slop.

We're trying to bust up any bad areas hoping they will better cope with bad weather when it does return.

If it stays dry enough then the ground will crack naturaly

restive

lakill Farm wrote: »

I have an aerator. your wasting your time going out with it unless you have ballast on it. Mine holds 3 x 220litre barrells whichh would be filled to the maximum when on there side (so 3 x180l attrox ) is well over 0.5ton. The aerator itself is 800kg so is approx 1.3ton.

I get approx 4 acres an hour done (10ft wide) I find i get better utilization of fert and slurry. My contractor said i had a better crop of grass last year and neightbour a farmer said the same.

My tines go approx 12-14inchs into the ground. Its hard enough pulled

Lakill,

What make is your aerator? Where did you buy it?

lakill Farm

restive wrote: »

Lakill,

What make is your aerator? Where did you buy it?

sorry. AQ engineering in the north.

hugo29

i subsoiled 10 acres last march and the difference in the ground is unbelievable
grass quality and drainage

Dstock

They are really brilliant, had a field that you couldn't drive in in a 4 wheel drive tractor and it is dry as a bone now. What happens is that a seal is created below the ground that will not let the water through, but if you set the Aerator at about 16-18 inches it will break the seal and let the water peculate through. The only down side is that it can pull up a lot of stones so ideally the field needs to be grazed pretty tight or recently mowed or topped.

Bicki85

Any updates on aerators lads ? Think its the way forward for me. Chattin few different firms. Big variation in price and quality i guess. One question wondering though is it better to go for roller/aerator or just aerator.?

lakill Farm

Bicki85 wrote: »

Any updates on aerators lads ? Think its the way forward for me. Chattin few different firms. Big variation in price and quality i guess. One question wondering though is it better to go for roller/aerator or just aerator.?

I have a seperate roller and aerator here. The big roller/aerator in one are a big weight

Reggie.

lakill Farm wrote: »

I have a seperate roller and aerator here. The big roller/aerator in one are a big weight

No they ain't

lakill Farm

Reggie. wrote: »

No they ain't

Any of them for sale are 8ft minimum and 32 inch drum. The Armstrong needs 150 horses out front I'm told

Reggie.

lakill Farm wrote: »

Any of them for sale are 8ft minimum and 32 inch drum. The Armstrong needs 150 horses out front I'm told

Aerworx

Bicki85

More importantly are they a good investment lads ?

MF290

Reggie. wrote: »

Aerworx

Used an aerworx one here a couple of times. There's a fair weight in them if you're lifting them but I'd imagine 100hp would be plenty if it was trailed

grange mac

brownswiss wrote: »

Have any of you seen the Alstrong. It is a land roller with blades.
www.alstrong.ie..... Thinking of booking a guy who has bought one....

would any of you have any idea if it will actually allow to ground to dry out quicker..

Thanks

Neighbor in process of buying one of these, fully laden they are 5t....reckons the slits at right angles to roller ground are better than ones that just go same direction as roller as they can shatter hard group up to 12 inches deep....they don't tear up ground as long as you drive straight....

Feckoffcup

So if aerators are useless , what do you use to improve drainage ? Panbuster?

lakill Farm

Feckoffcup wrote: »

So if aerators are useless , what do you use to improve drainage ? Panbuster?

No drains

Feckoffcup

Assuming drains are fine, cant they improve on drainage? Land can never be too dry!

White Clover

Feckoffcup wrote: »

Assuming drains are fine, cant they improve on drainage? Land can never be too dry!

If you have dung, spread it. It's a great soil conditioner. It improves structure and therefore improves drainage. Ensure ph is optimal for soiltype and crop also.

grange mac

MF290 wrote: »

Used an aerworx one here a couple of times. There's a fair weight in them if you're lifting them but I'd imagine 100hp would be plenty if it was trailed

Anyone know where could buy an AerWorx aerator?

Nobody in cork seems to stock them...

5 wheel drive

grange mac wrote: »

Anyone know where could buy an AerWorx aerator?

Nobody in cork seems to stock them...

Be careful with those. Mechanical poachers I was told by a few fellas. Do they really work?

Keepgrowing

If compaction is a problem it's usually deep and a pan buster is what you need. Use it here and adds 3-4 tonne DM grown per ha. €45 per acre.

Nobody seems to be putting a figure on the results from glorified rollers.

5 wheel drive

Keepgrowing wrote: »

If compaction is a problem it's usually deep and a pan buster is what you need. Use it here and adds 3-4 tonne DM grown per ha. €45 per acre.

Nobody seems to be putting a figure on the results from glorified rollers.

Can’t argue with that.

alps

Keepgrowing wrote: »

If compaction is a problem it's usually deep and a pan buster is what you need. Use it here and adds 3-4 tonne DM grown per ha. €45 per acre.

Nobody seems to be putting a figure on the results from glorified rollers.

What kind of ground was this and its purpose...silage/grazing? What kind of symptoms prompted you going for the pan buster and was it at reseeding you used it or just on ley ground.? Ground rough afterward...stones?

Sorry for all the questions, just very interested in this, and not many would have a measurement done on results...

patsy_mccabe

Good video here on 'pan busting' or 'deep ripping' as the americans call it.