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Is anyone using the planetair venting system on their greens

13 posts
  1. James Smith
    James Smith avatar
    112 posts
    7/22/2015 6:07 AM
    I am doing my research on different methods of organic removal and I am trying to find Superintendents who is using or know of a course using the planet air venting system.

    It looks like it could help out with the OM but I know only time will give us a true gauge of how well it works. Trying to get first hand info on the way it works, if you like it? and how often you are using it?

    Thanks for any info you may have.



  2. Michael Palmer
    Michael Palmer avatar
    0 posts
    7/22/2015 9:07 AM
    I believe Southern Hills, Tulsa is using it and also Tulsa Country Club./ K.D Davis and Brady Finton, I am wondering about the results also.



  3. Jeremy Hreben
    Jeremy Hreben avatar
    0 posts
    7/22/2015 11:07 AM
    I've researched it quite a bit. I have old push up greens. When I say push up I mean push up, nasty stuff. So I am always trying to replace soil through aerification. I also vent a ton because my soil becomes extremely anaerobic due to a lack of drainage.

    I see the Planet Air as a form of venting, gas exchange. But I don not see how it would help remove organic matter. What it could help with is getting topdressing in a bit deeper in the OM layer(thatch etc). Meaning vent then topdress and brush in.

    To me the Planet Air just looks like a deep spiker that goes on the back of a sand pro.

    This is all just my opinion of course.



  4. Kyle Rausch
    Kyle Rausch avatar
    0 posts
    7/22/2015 11:07 AM
    Alpha/T1 bentgrass greens in South Dakota. Use the planet air every 3 weeks in conjunction with verticutting every 3 or 4 weeks. Light topdress greens once a week. Haven't aerified in 4 years and have been able to keep thatch layer around 1/4". I feel that the planet air does a great job of keeping thatch from ever building, not that it necessarily removes it. The planet air not only vents the greens by making the slices, it also shatters the root zone 2-3" down. This is what seems to make it so much better than using needle tines.
    Having no experience with the more aggressive grasses in the south, I would still imagine that core aerifing would be needed but would likely be reduced.



  5. James Smith
    James Smith avatar
    112 posts
    7/22/2015 11:07 AM
    Kyle J Rausch said: Alpha/T1 bentgrass greens in South Dakota. Use the planet air every 3 weeks in conjunction with verticutting every 3 or 4 weeks. Light topdress greens once a week. Haven't aerified in 4 years and have been able to keep thatch layer around 1/4". I feel that the planet air does a great job of keeping thatch from ever building, not that it necessarily removes it. The planet air not only vents the greens by making the slices, it also shatters the root zone 2-3" down. This is what seems to make it so much better than using needle tines.
    Having no experience with the more aggressive grasses in the south, I would still imagine that core aerifing would be needed but would likely be reduced.


    When you say verticutting, are you doing it with the planetair machine or thr traditional verticutting reels?



  6. Kyle Rausch
    Kyle Rausch avatar
    0 posts
    7/22/2015 1:07 PM
    Traditional verticuting. When we planet air we have it hooked up to a John Deere ProGator and run it in 1st gear. The slices are an inch apart from each other.



  7. James Smith
    James Smith avatar
    112 posts
    7/23/2015 6:07 AM
    Kyle J Rausch said: Traditional verticuting. When we planet air we have it hooked up to a John Deere ProGator and run it in 1st gear. The slices are an inch apart from each other.


    Im very interested in your thoughts of how the Planetair verticuts if you have tried it. When we do traditional verticutting here we have tons of material that we pull up, but cleaning it all up is almost impossible. They advertise the Planetair Tri as a verticutting machine which I do not see the mess traditional verticutters make (wondering what the effects are of not pulling out that material). I know my greens roll better when we do not verticut but if we do not we will end up with grain.

    Can you or will you give us your thoughts on the use of the machine on your greens. do you see it helping with long term thatch/OM control?

    Common sense tells me that this could be a great machine if it indeed does break down the OM through steady use. Cost wise, it could be more affordable if it eliminates 2 of my three core aerifications which would save us about $2,500 - $3,000 per aerification per year as well as the lost revenue from the three week recovery period (it generally only takes two weeks but most of our play is on weekends so it is almost three weeks until we see the jump in our play).

    Thanks for your input. you really do not know how much Superintendents are looking at end results from clubs already trying these out.



  8. Corey Eastwood
    Corey Eastwood avatar
    80 posts
    7/23/2015 11:07 AM
    The PlanetAir creates a perfect mix in the root zone for microbial activity. That reduces the thatch.

    Corey Eastwood CGCS, Stockton Golf & CC, Retired

  9. Kyle Rausch
    Kyle Rausch avatar
    0 posts
    7/23/2015 1:07 PM
    I haven't used the Planet Air for verticutting. Like you said, the Planet Air doesn't pull out any material so that is why we still do traditional verticutting once a month.
    And yes I do feel the Planet Air is a great tool for long term OM control. Like Corey said, the increased amount of air in the root zone allows for more microbial activity which breaks down the OM.
    Another positive that I have noticed since we started using the Planet Air 3 years ago are a substantial reduction in wetting agents, fungicides, and growth regulators.



  10. Corey Eastwood
    Corey Eastwood avatar
    80 posts
    7/24/2015 11:07 AM
    Also eliminates hose dragging in the afternoons

    Corey Eastwood CGCS, Stockton Golf & CC, Retired

  11. Gary Carls
    Gary Carls avatar
    19 posts
    7/24/2015 1:07 PM
    We did the Planet-Air process on our poa/bent greens for at least the past 7-8 summers to help us maintain good stands of turf despite having 70,000+ rounds. We would do one service in the spring (late March/early April), a regular aeration in May and then Planet-Air again in June, July and August before another aeration in late September. Being able to open up the greens and get air into the root zone with minimal turf disruption was a key for us. We could get the service done ahead of play and the customers would hardly even notice we had done anything, but the turf loved it. Some time we would also do it in conjunction with verticutting and topdressing as the Planet-Air itself actually removes very little thatch.

    Had nothing but positive results with all the benefits previously mentioned but you do need to make sure you keep and eye on your water practices if it is hot on the days when you do it. Things will dry out quite quickly once they are opened up.

    Gary K. Carls, CGCS, President - Oakland Turfgrass Education Initiative

  12. Joshua Sawyer
    Joshua Sawyer avatar
    0 posts
    7/25/2015 1:07 PM
    I love the Planet Air as a supplement to my aerification program. Great slicing action with minimal surface disruption is a fantastic tool on a facility with a lot of play. That being said, I feel like you need to be careful with your timing because of the slicing of the roots. We don't use the machine in the heat because the entry points will stress back out (for about 2 weeks) on bent grass in South Carolina heat. I use it during periods of active root growth, but not when we are holding on in the dead of summer. We then rely more on solid tines that will not sever roots as aggressively as the Planet Air.



  13. Brent LeBlanc
    Brent LeBlanc avatar
    0 posts
    7/26/2015 9:07 AM
    James,

    Call Nick at Squire Creek in Ruston. He has been using Planet Air on his Tif Eagle for a while now. He could give you a pretty good guage of how well it works for him.


    Brent LeBlanc
    National Golf Club of Louisiana
    Westlake, La
    Mini Verde Bermuda Greens
    Tif Sport BErmuda



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