I will ask again, do aerators work?

cacs

I was talking to an agri contractor yesterday. He said that a lot of land is not getting helped by water logging as a result of compaction. He said he often has seen water on top an bone dry four inches down. So do aerators work if you can’t sub soil with rocks.

Mooooo

cathal irwin wrote: »

I was talking to an agri contractor yesterday. He said that a lot of land is not getting helped by water logging as a result of compaction. He said he often has seen water on top an bone dry four inches down. So do aerators work if you can’t sub soil with rocks.

Has to be done when ground is dry. Only way to find out is to do some for yourself in the summer.

cacs

Mooooo wrote: »

Has to be done when ground is dry. Only way to find out is to do some for yourself in the summer.

I think I will hire one and give it a shot

Snowfire

Mooooo wrote: »

Has to be done when ground is dry. Only way to find out is to do some for yourself in the summer.

Prob depends on soil type, a lot of my soil would crack during a dry spell, reckon it’s better than any aerator. Heavy slurry tankers and Silage trailers during wet conditions cause massive compaction problems.

Base price

Snowfire wrote: »

Prob depends on soil type, a lot of my soil would crack during a dry spell, reckon it’s better than any aerator. Heavy slurry tankers and Silage trailers during wet conditions cause massive compaction problems.

One of the problems with 4 wheel drive tractors is that we are inclined to head out into the fields before the ground conditions are suitable.
We used to plough in the Autumn so that the Winter rain and frost would till the soil.

carrollsno1

Local stud man here swears by them and he wouldnt have a straw out of place in his yard hes that particular

stantheman1979

Like the OP said we had a few fields that would/should be dry but noticed over the last few yrs have been slow to drain water after heavy rain. Before i closed them last autumn i got dung spread and contractor went around with an aerator. Fields are noticably drier this winter and I think there's better grass on them as a result of the aerator pushing some of the dung down into the soil. My twopence worth!!

jimmy G M

What kind of aerator did he use?

Something like this?

https://www.donedeal.ie/rollers-for-sale/bridgeway-3mt-aerator/12759312

carrollsno1

jimmy G M wrote: »

What kind of aerator did he use?

Something like this?

https://www.donedeal.ie/rollers-for-sale/bridgeway-3mt-aerator/12759312

Nothing near as fancy as that one

Justjens

Bought a secondhand Fleming 3mtr last year, ground was so dry after the first cut last summer I had to pile it high with blocks for it to sink in.

Did a good few fields, some before and some after slurry, some low lying and some dry. You'd have to drive fairly slow for it to work, you get a good jolt when you hit a rock :eek: so there's no fear you'll fall asleep!

The filed I was most dissapointed with was the driest, on the side of the hill, as it just held the water, cutting a part of it in early Sept it was just like a sponge. The amount of rain we'd had the previous week was savage mind, so I hope it was just that.

The other fields were fine, even at second cut, but I probably won't know the real results until next/this spring.....feel it can't be doing any harm, and like anything worth doing the results are never instant.

cycle4fun

stantheman1979 wrote: »

Like the OP said we had a few fields that would/should be dry but noticed over the last few yrs have been slow to drain water after heavy rain. Before i closed them last autumn i got dung spread and contractor went around with an aerator. Fields are noticably drier this winter and I think there's better grass on them as a result of the aerator pushing some of the dung down into the soil. My twopence worth!!

Its probably worth a go, I am going to try it this year on a few fields during the growing season. Hopefully it will help the proper circulation of air, water and nutrients within the soil. As it is, compacted soils have too many solid particles in a certain volume or space.