Deep Compaction Cancel The title field is required!

1. Batchelor Brad D

   
   11/28/2012 12:11 PM

   We're dealing with some deep fairway compaction issues at our course starting at about 2 inches and going who knows how deep. It's so hard that you cant get a soil probe past it. Needless to say it causes some bad spots during the summer month that just wont accept water regardless of wetting agents, cycle/soak settings or whatever. Recently we're trying to break up that hard pan layer with different machines. The first though was vertidrain, but there are rocks here and there under the soil; not to mention the soil its self being quite rock like, so I don't think a verti would hold up. The other two we've tried is a Procore and GA30. Both having the same issues of not penetrating the hard pan, then lifting the turf like sod because of the weak roots right at the compaction layer. Does anyone have any ideas about the best way to break up that compaction layer? Thanks.

   
   
   
   
2. Self Michael L

   
   11/28/2012 12:11 PM

   I've had good luck with an Aerway.

   
   
   
   
3. Canedo Alberto J

   
   11/28/2012 12:11 PM

   Deep drilling would be another option. Works out great especially having it drilled and filled.

   
   
   
   
4. Robert Mitchell

   

   0 posts
   
   11/28/2012 2:11 PM

   Have you considered a Deep Tine such as a Soil Reliever? We did our fairways and traffic areas this year and it seemed to help a lot

   
   
   
   
5. James Smith

   

   112 posts
   
   11/29/2012 6:11 AM

   I think you will just tear up the GA-30 or any other type of punching aerifyer if it is that bad. I would try to aeryway if you can get a hold of one. you would most likely need a lot of weight though. There may not be a good solution for you. I know the drill and fill method will work but you will not be breaking up the layer but rather placing holes in it. Even though they will be filled with sand you are basically placing a hole in a rick and once the hole is full of water where will it go? you need some sort of shattertine machine and the aerway is built for that. If you do go with an aerway it may take a lot of passes to break up the aera and you may have to do it over a few days and try to soak it in between to try to soften the lower layer up some. Do you know how deep the layer is?

   
   
   
   
6. Keith Fellenstein

   

   0 posts
   
   11/29/2012 10:11 AM

   Aerway, or verti-quake

   
   
   
   
7. Wydra David A

   
   11/29/2012 12:11 PM

   We have the same issues here in Central Oregon. The native soil is so hard that the turf growing on top is like carpet - its just laying there as opposed to growing into the soil. We've been through them all; Aerways, JD 1500, verti-drains, hydrojects, the ga60 was a joke, and the list goes on. What we now have (and have had the best results) is a Wiedenmann Terra Spike XF 20-8. Hands down the most sturdy machine we've come across. Its an extremely heavy machine, so a larger more powerful tractor is required to operate it. We have found that we get the best results by using it in the late winter and early spring when the ground is a little softer, getting down almost 10". The unit also has a "hoeing" adjustment so you can change the angle of the tines as they enter and exit the ground. Using it during the summer months is possible, but because our soil becomes so hard we can only get down about 4". We like this machine because it can be adjusted to work in many different conditions. The one drawback is that they are expensive, but it has been worth the $ spent. Although we've only had it for one year, it has hit countless rocks. No breakdowns, not even a bent tine!
   Good Luck!
   
   Dave Wydra
   Asst. Supt.
   Awbrey Glen GC
   Bend, OR

   
   
   
   
8. James Smith

   

   112 posts
   
   11/29/2012 12:11 PM

   David Wydra said: We have the same issues here in Central Oregon. The native soil is so hard that the turf growing on top is like carpet - its just laying there as opposed to growing into the soil. We've been through them all; Aerways, JD 1500, verti-drains, hydrojects, the ga60 was a joke, and the list goes on. What we now have (and have had the best results) is a Wiedenmann Terra Spike XF 20-8. Hands down the most sturdy machine we've come across. Its an extremely heavy machine, so a larger more powerful tractor is required to operate it. We have found that we get the best results by using it in the late winter and early spring when the ground is a little softer, getting down almost 10". The unit also has a "hoeing" adjustment so you can change the angle of the tines as they enter and exit the ground. Using it during the summer months is possible, but because our soil becomes so hard we can only get down about 4". We like this machine because it can be adjusted to work in many different conditions. The one drawback is that they are expensive, but it has been worth the $ spent. Although we've only had it for one year, it has hit countless rocks. No breakdowns, not even a bent tine!
   Good Luck!
   
   Dave Wydra
   Asst. Supt.
   Awbrey Glen GC
   Bend, OR

   
   That sounds like the machine to have. I wonder if doing it right after the winter where you might have frost heaves would help. Since I am outside of new orleans we never get anything frozen out here other then our____s

   
   
   
   
9. Nowakowski Michael J

   
   11/29/2012 1:11 PM

   Contractor that does our aeration has tried various methods to relieve compaction on our fairways. The vertidrain set to 8" worked well, as well as an earthquaker, which cut continuous slices about 6-8" deep, and the entire length of the fairways. This method seemed to help many ways, such as relieving compaction, cutting tree roots, and helping with drainage.

   
   
   
   
10. Robert Crockett

    

    4 posts
    
    11/29/2012 2:11 PM

    James Smith said: I think you will just tear up the GA-30 or any other type of punching aerifyer if it is that bad. I would try to aeryway if you can get a hold of one. you would most likely need a lot of weight though. There may not be a good solution for you. I know the drill and fill method will work but you will not be breaking up the layer but rather placing holes in it. Even though they will be filled with sand you are basically placing a hole in a rick and once the hole is full of water where will it go? you need some sort of shattertine machine and the aerway is built for that. If you do go with an aerway it may take a lot of passes to break up the aera and you may have to do it over a few days and try to soak it in between to try to soften the lower layer up some. Do you know how deep the layer is?

    
    What speed do you operate your Shatter tine at James?

    
    
    
    
11. Andy Jorgensen

    

    1 posts
    
    11/29/2012 2:11 PM

    I contract out each year with a company that uses a Model 72HD Soil Reliever and 1 1/4" x 8" coring tines to do my high compaction areas along cart paths and drive-offs. We have a lot of clay and limestone here and this machine goes right through it. It will pull a limerock core even. Hit a cart path once and shattered the concrete about 18" out while doing nothing to the machine. Years later we can still see the results when coming out of dormancy.
    
    [img">http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r143/andyjorg/IMG_1422.jpg[/img">

    
    
    
    
12. Melvin Waldron

    

    43 posts
    
    11/29/2012 3:11 PM

    Andy Jorgensen said: I contract out each year with a company that uses a Model 72HD Soil Reliever and 1 1/4" x 8" coring tines to do my high compaction areas along cart paths and drive-offs. We have a lot of clay and limestone here and this machine goes right through it. It will pull a limerock core even. Hit a cart path once and shattered the concrete about 18" out while doing nothing to the machine. Years later we can still see the results when coming out of dormancy.
    
    [img">http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r143/andyjorg/IMG_1422.jpg[/img">

    
    
    Andy you have clay? I thought all of Florida was sandy soil, it certainly was were I grew up (thank goodness)
    
    Mel

    
    Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
    
    
13. Andy Jorgensen

    

    1 posts
    
    11/29/2012 4:11 PM

    Melvin Waldron, CGCS said:

    Andy Jorgensen said: I contract out each year with a company that uses a Model 72HD Soil Reliever and 1 1/4" x 8" coring tines to do my high compaction areas along cart paths and drive-offs. We have a lot of clay and limestone here and this machine goes right through it. It will pull a limerock core even. Hit a cart path once and shattered the concrete about 18" out while doing nothing to the machine. Years later we can still see the results when coming out of dormancy.
    
    [img">http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r143/andyjorg/IMG_1422.jpg[/img">

    
    
    Andy you have clay? I thought all of Florida was sandy soil, it certainly was were I grew up (thank goodness)
    
    Mel

    
    
    [img">http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r143/andyjorg/Clay.jpg[/img">
    
    [img">http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r143/andyjorg/moreclay.jpg[/img">
    
    These are clay pictures from two projects we completed this summer. The majority of the courses are sand, but we have lots of surface clay that gets like hardpan too.

    
    
    
    
14. Robert Crockett

    

    4 posts
    
    11/30/2012 10:11 AM

    Andy Jorgensen said: I contract out each year with a company that uses a Model 72HD Soil Reliever and 1 1/4" x 8" coring tines to do my high compaction areas along cart paths and drive-offs. We have a lot of clay and limestone here and this machine goes right through it. It will pull a limerock core even. Hit a cart path once and shattered the concrete about 18" out while doing nothing to the machine. Years later we can still see the results when coming out of dormancy.
    
    [img">http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r143/andyjorg/IMG_1422.jpg[/img">

    
    WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    
    
    
    
15. Corp Chad B

    
    11/30/2012 11:11 AM

    Check out this link, when I was out West there was a lot of discussion about this, I'm pretty sure this works on compaction, not sure on the rest of the things they promise it does. http://www.aqua-phyd.com/company.htm

    
    
    
    
16. James Smith

    

    112 posts
    
    11/30/2012 1:11 PM

    Robert Crockett said:

    James Smith said: I think you will just tear up the GA-30 or any other type of punching aerifyer if it is that bad. I would try to aeryway if you can get a hold of one. you would most likely need a lot of weight though. There may not be a good solution for you. I know the drill and fill method will work but you will not be breaking up the layer but rather placing holes in it. Even though they will be filled with sand you are basically placing a hole in a rick and once the hole is full of water where will it go? you need some sort of shattertine machine and the aerway is built for that. If you do go with an aerway it may take a lot of passes to break up the aera and you may have to do it over a few days and try to soak it in between to try to soften the lower layer up some. Do you know how deep the layer is?

    
    What speed do you operate your Shatter tine at James?

    
    We generally go as fast as the operator can operate the machine safely. When we use it I generally use a 6' wide pull behind roller that we built out of a piece of 12" steel pipe. this will knock down the tufts that you get from using it and cut down on some of the scalping when you have to cut.
    If you are going to shatter tine in order to try to break up the compaction down deep you may want to make sure the ground is as dry as possible. If it is dry it will fracture when it is hit instead of just poking a hole.
    
    Those are some impressive pictures of aerification with a soil reliever. I have a much smaller 48" version that we use for our greens and I know it is really tuff.

    
    
    
    
17. Andy Jorgensen

    

    1 posts
    
    11/30/2012 2:11 PM

    Robert Crockett said:

    Andy Jorgensen said: I contract out each year with a company that uses a Model 72HD Soil Reliever and 1 1/4" x 8" coring tines to do my high compaction areas along cart paths and drive-offs. We have a lot of clay and limestone here and this machine goes right through it. It will pull a limerock core even. Hit a cart path once and shattered the concrete about 18" out while doing nothing to the machine. Years later we can still see the results when coming out of dormancy.
    
    [img">http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r143/andyjorg/IMG_1422.jpg[/img">

    
    WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    
    
    
    This piece of equipment is also referred to as "The Beast"!