Will Mechanical Aeration Help My Lawn in the MIDDLE of SUMMER? 

Nice to see you sitting down for a change ,you deserve a break!

WE can hear you REALLY WELL.

Thank you for your explanation on that

In the golf industry, we use an aerator called a "Planet Air" which uses blade-like tines similar to what you had on the Ventrac. It is a gooseneck tow behind unit that verticuts/aerates with no mess and minimal damage to the playing surface. I have used a Toro Workman HDX to tow one. Highly recommend.

I'd love to have that type of aerator like on your ventract I hate those turds all over

Take a hair dryer to your camera for 30-40 seconds before going outside, and no more fogging.

When working as a greenskeeper 2 years ago we had a drought, we did a solid deep tine in fall, and applied majority of root boosting and promotion chemicals (I didn't spray nor care to memorize each chemical we used) this along with the gas exchange from the deep tine aeration allowed the roots to grow much deeper and helped with winter stresses. Then by next summer the root zone when cutting cups was noticeably further down than seasons prior.

@Pete I can tell you from experience - D-Thatch will clean up the dead spots left behind from the fungus die off as long as the days remain hot.

Great video, I appreciate the humbleness and modesty you convey. I always learn something from your videos. 🇺🇸🙏

Pete when you do this aeration you don’t worry about hitting you irrigation lines. I have punctured my irrigation line once an hit my fiber line twice because AT&T buried the fiber so shallow

The "GURU". The force is strong with you 💪. Pete you know your stuff brother.

Pete the turf scientist.

Thank you for taking time out of your day to make the best grass educational videos on RU-vid! Keep killing it Pete

Interesting test. I feel like keeping mine alive is a success. Every rain cloud seems to go around or disappear the last two months here.

Thank you for doing that for us, Pete! I was wondering about this, since I have EXTREMELY hard, clay soil (typical Tennessee soil). But I was afraid it would dry out too much. Thank for being the guinea pig for me, lol. Hope it heals back up quickly for you. Blessings

Awesome! ... I ended getting that ecolawn spreader. Based on this vid, I think I'll go pull some plugs in my bermuda and then top dress some sand down!

I really enjoy these types of videos. My yard is always the test plot for anything new. It’s fun to experiment. There’s always something to learn

Thanks Pete you're a wealth of knowledge and appreciate the tests you do for your followers.

It went almost pitch black on Pete and he still sitting there talkin. Lol. I love it!

Great video Pete, your burmuda grass is amazing to me. Please keep giving us these lawn gems of information. Thanks again.

What would help us here in Texas is some rain... lol

Very insightful Keep it up gent

Great video Pete. Mic works perfectly. I can tell you're getting really good with the camera too. Now to work on some lighting. 😂👊🏼

The KBG will fill back in those aeration holes within the next month or so, especially when temperatures start to cool off and you start pushing nitrogen again. For the fungus, I've always just heard it called 'leaf blight' though 'Ascochyta' is the name of the actual fungi that infects the grass, typically it starts at the tips of the grass and turns the top section very straw-like and has a 'banding' section between the healthy and blighted growth. Should recover on it's own eventually, from what I've read on it, it doesn't affect the crown or roots of most grass types so the bluegrass shouldn't die from the fungus, just the foliage. Once you start getting healthy growth again the dead blades will disappear.

Thanks Pete! I’m back from vacation and my KBG held up great. I’m ready to aerate and get this growing season started.

Cool that you went to Mustang Week! We didn't make it there this year unfortunately for the last one 😪

I just buy a ventrac slitter,love it! Key is weight is correct amount.

I planted your gci blue heat last fall came in beautifully but The grass is suffering from fungus disease pythium blight can you do a video on that disease i tried the bulletproof strategy with azoxy an propiconzole but it didn’t work I got subdue maxx ima try that hopefully it helps thanks

Great video Pete. Thank you. I believe I'm experiencing some of that fungus with my KGB. I have blend I'm trying for this seaon that contains KGB, Tal Fescue and Preannial Rye. Unfortunately, looks like the Fescue is just hanging in there ( hea stress) The Rye is done for now and KBG is has the fungus. Can't wait until fall to get things back in order!

That DTL shirt tho 🔥

Holy GINSU knifes

Nice video. I just scalped my Bermuda here in Atlanta and amd now going section by section with the SunJoe Scarifier. ....and love the video after dusk 😂

Are you still growing that grass to see how long the roots will get?

When your yard is hard as a rock, it's ok to aerate your lawn. I use the star tine type. It just pokes holes like golf shoes. No plugs to pick up. I have a sprinkler system so I don't have any problems. The yard greens up in just a few days. 🐀🐾

I have elite varieties of KBG. The filling in properties are way over-stated in my opinion. It will take way longer than you would expect it would to close a small dish sized hole. KBG is way overrated, especially now in the summer where it wants to check out immediately upon receiving any heat.

In fall, for overseeding is it better to aerate or aero-vate? What are the pros and cons of either method?

I can hear you loud and clear. I usually aerate toward the end of August, because you want the plugs of dirt to dry out, cover the ground above, and be a proper bed for seed to go down. If the plugs are plugs, that's not necessarily a good adhesion for seeds. It's mindless. I never understood them doing this on the same day I usually aerate, let it dry out a week or two in the late summer sun, and then seed first week of September. Going to have to water it real good and start a fertilizer, but then it's got six to eight weeks of solid root growth before it turns cold.. Thoughts? Pete

Great video Pete and very timely for me here in MN! My company I use came this week and aerated in prep for overseeding. I think they jumped the gun a little. Gives me some ideas for prevention though I run fungicide all season on my bluegrass. Always fighting fungus.

Interesting that those spikes caused so many issues. I'm guessing the extreme heat has a lot to do with it.

Those aerator attachments r bad ass! U rock Pete! #Wolfpack

Howdy Pete, Off topic, What is that individual spray head attachment you are using for watering? Where is it available?

Pete, quick question here. Are you planning a fall aeration and overseed of the Kentucky Bluegrass like you would do with a TTTF lawn?

the bluegrass suffered from the heat of the blades when you used that slicer I imagine. basically heat burned it, they are metal and black and that hot metal hurt it.

I liked your previous mic more Pete

Pete, did you mark your heads?

How's the experiment going with the "ideal" conditions to grow grass seed? I noticed the vertical growing boxes on the shed...looked like something's happening!? 👏👏

Pete, little off topic but looking for some clarification. Can you spread grass types by not cleaning deck between mows? By that I mean I am renovating my front yard this fall. Should I buy a separate push mower for the front? My back is far to big and full of way to many grass types and weeds. I don’t want to put the work into the front and accidentally spread the stuff in in the back to the front.

What about when its really really humid. Up here on Long Island its been super humid this year and many of my customers keep watering and the lawns are heat stressed from all the heat and moisture. most of the lawns are like a rye, fescue, bluegrass mix. would aerating help to get rid of some of that moisture trapped in there from the humidity?

Mr Pete do you know if a professional grade soil loosener? My new house backyard is heavily compacted by the builders and my Bermuda roots are struggling

Ur Awesome 😎

The blue grass is still young. Those roots needed a little more time to get deeper. Just a possible observation.

I'm not sure if that aeration caused that blight. It could have stressed and it made it more susceptible, it could have brought it up from under the ground, or it was just coincidence. No way of knowing for sure

Is this verticutting?

I've really never heard a problem with the traffic and your mic at the shop its sounds good to me. However this mic is very loud and abrasive and the insects sound as loud as your voice. I like original mic better. Thanks for all the great knowledge you share.

Maybe the metal spikes were hot from sitting on the open trailer and the blue grass got burned?

Pete, do you rake up your plugs or leave them lay?

Where do I look for the link to the ©θΩ¤μ^] blight?

Why do you use your big sled sprinklers still instead of your irrigreen sprinkler system on your kbg?

If the conditions are conducive of fungus growth, such as temperature inversions no wind and higher humidity and such, disturbing of the soil should be avoided. It didn’t necessarily cause the fungus as much as it exposed and released it to conditions that it thrives in and it decided to take advantage of. Fungus can lay dormant in soil waiting for its ideal time to shine for decades. Best to not be that guy that releases it in to ideal conditions when it can be avoided.

Great video even though your socks are almost glow in the dark! 🤣🤣

Good stuff

I have that grass in my game the line grass one

Pete, would you recommend the combination of spike and core aeration on the fall before overseeding? Im on a hill and been contemplating doing this to help with compaction.

You torture Bermuda and it just laughs at you!

Them spots may have come from hitting spots twice or over lapping may be

Number 5!

Man thought you were hold a vape contraption lol.

What about pin aeration, not pulling a core???

Just fairly new to the yard care. Would this break the barrier of pre emergent that was put down. If you do this in the mid of the summer? thanks sir!

what about 6-24-24 in the fall

I bet those spikes cut the roots of the bluegrass and thats what damaged the turf. Oh well. Live n learn

Aeration in Summer Results: Bermuda: "That feels nice!" Fescue: "Meh..." KBG: "Ahhhhhh!.....🥵🤢🤮😭"

wetting agents must be used for the soil in addition to aeration

First comment.

Sometimes Pete, “there aren’t enough rocks”

mike in these drought like conditions throw down iron willy nilly atleast once a month, all it does is keep the grass green with little to no growth which is better than the yellow and brown or pale green of dormancy of grass hibernation. or you can paint it with that goofy green staining product. video quality was fine, loved the ending with the sky silhouetting your yard, only way it could have been better is if you had a large candle glow illuminating your face and or body, or a flash light, like you were telling a spooky ghost story, which this could have been, haha, or just chilling and relaxing having an adult beverage of higher quality like you were about to tell a story of scotland yard nature (sherlock holmes and such) also mike your blue grass appears to be suffering from a fungi invasion. this is typical up north for summer time when it gets dry out and then goes back into the rain period. i am told liquid dawn mixed with vinegar will fix most fungi problems, i know it works on dollar spot, not sure about ascochyta blight (as-coach{minus the A sound}-yeah-tah. say it as it sounds. it has been grains harvesting season for awhile now so this blight is in full spore wind carrier borne mode right now. i have also found accelerating new growth helps also but changing the soil Ph with a high dose out of the fungi loving Ph levels helps more. can't recall off the top of my head if it's more akaline or more acidic, but get it out of the 7 zone as fast as you can minimizes the spread. and spread it will and well into the next spring if it's a very wet autumn. ["Disease cycle The fungus often invades damaged leaf tissue caused by physical damage but can also penetrate through natural openings, such as stomata. In the spring, the primary inoculum is thought to be conidia, which are produced from pycnidia, and are dispersed by rainsplash to infect leaves. Infections lead to leaf spots which eventually develop into lesions. Black pycnidia can be observed in lesions. Secondary infection occurs when pycnidia produce more conidia during the growing season that are again dispersed by rainsplash and spread to new leaves for infection. The fungus overwinters as mycelium and pycnidia in host debris. Perithecia have also been observed in lesions and have been demonstrated to produce ascospores in later summer. Air-borne ascospores disperse in the fall and may cause primary infections the following season. Environment Leaf spotting symptoms are often associated with high humidity, warm temperatures, dense foliage, and leaves in contact with soil.[3] Because the fungus overwinters in plant debris on or in the soil and conidia are dispersed by rainsplash, initial infections occur on leaves in close proximity to the soil. High humidity and temperature promote sporulation. Dense foliage, which promotes high relative humidity, also promotes disease. Management Currently, specific controls for Ascochyta leaf spot diseases have not been clearly described.[4] Effective controls for a similar disease, Septoria leaf blotch, have been prescribed for Ascochyta leaf spot diseases. These include: crop rotation, fungicide application, variety selection, irrigation management, tillage to reduce residue, and good grassy weed control.[5] Fungicides that are listed as providing 'Very Good' control of Septoria leaf blotch include Azoxystrobin 22.9%, Pyraclostrobin 3.6%, and Propiconazole 41.8%.[5] Applying fungicides at the beginning of the season reduces the number of sporulating pycnidia and mycelium that overwintered. Sanitation through removing all plant debris from the field at the end of the season reduces the inoculum for the following season. Reduced irrigation prevents the spread of conidia from infected leaves to healthy leaves by decreasing dispersal of conidia. Removing grassy weeds that can harbor the pathogen also decreases the presence of inoculum.[6][7][8] Importance The disease is of relatively minor economic importance but is likely to contribute to foliar death in individual crops. Symptoms are often observed later in the season, towards the end of grain filling, when disease is unlikely to cause significant yield loss. The air-borne ascospores have been implicated in late summer asthma.[2] Ascochyta can also cause leaf blight of turf grasses, so its importance is not limited to cereal grain crops.[9][10] Ascochyta leaf blight of turf has become a common, although minor, disease of Kentucky bluegrass lawns in the United States.[11] "] only aerate in the wrong time of the year when you want to introduce weeds in mass quantities (aka invasion and hostile complete take over) of your lawn. during the seed spreading period of the year, never aerate...all those nice direct dirt contact points for seed germination will only result in a huge influx if not total take over of your freshly aerated lawn. ideally you want those aeration holes to close up prior to dandelion seeding season which is early june. slit blade aerators are actually dethatchers and slit seeding tilling, like farmers do in their fields to make ROW crops. if you like lines in your lawn, there is no better way to make lines in your lawn than planting grass in ROW CROP fashion. me i don't like to see dirt between rows in LAWN GRASS, i want my lawn grass to be like carpet, i don't want to see dirt feel dirt or get dirt and mud on feet paws shoes and boots on the ground, that's why you DO NOT ROW CROP SEED UNLESS YOU WANT TO DO IT 1 MILLION TIMES TO COVER ALL THE DIRT. now if you want to pinch pennies and wait 10-15 years for the grass you do ROW CROP SEED to spread to fill in the 4"-8" dirt gaps then by all means enjoy applying herbicide 4 times a year for the next 10-15 years until that grass spreads out enough runners to cover all that muddy open area between your grass ROWS. the only reason ROW CROP planting became popular is due to automated harvesting machines which didn't jam up so easily when crops were planted in rows to fit between the harvester funnels of the big combines. this worked out perfectly for farmers being better able to estimate their seed needs and maximize their coverage for HARVESTING fully developed healthy plants for the estimated water god would potentially deliver for their area on the yearly average. in tropical places you can plant as much as you can stuff into the ground. this is why farmers have such a huge problem with water run off and erosion and evaporation due to ground exposure to direct sun light and suffer so far and wide from drought. too little ground coverage to protect the dirt from being directly dried out by the height of the suns summer rays and the extreme heat of the air quickly whisking away precious moisture from the soil and not enough plant matter to absorb the water when it precipitates snow, sleet and rain. this is also another direct reason why you do not mow until the dew is gone off the grass, not so much to keep your precious mower from clogging up and clumping grass on a side discharge (rear discharger sniggers here), but to keep that precious airborne moisture the grasses collected from the air during the night to drip back into the lawn some what. that's why grass blades are shaped as such to drawn water from the air (fog) directly to the core root. no, not all of that dew will make it to the ground, the sun will re evaporate 70% of what you see left in the grass in the mid morning. i have no idea how much over the period when i am sleeping makes it to the ground nor do i have the ambition to study such things, i just know the soil below becomes wet to the point of near muddy.

First Aussie 😁