# aeration



## robert23239

I wanted to aerate my hay fields this year, U have about 100 acres. I looked at the Aerway company and believe they have a good product but couldn't I do a good job with a good rotary hoe?

Would the hoe pull too much out?

What do you guys use to aerate the hay or pasture ?

Thanks

Robert


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## Heyhay..eh

I used an Aerway on a few fields and it did a good job. On field was simply and aeration pass. Another was for renovation, opening it up in the fall to spread seed onto the field, and to rip up some of the thatch and fine grasses that had overtaken the stand.

A nice feature of the unit used was that it could be adjusted from straight aeration to 3 more progressively aggressive stages. The most aggressive was good for renovation and incorporating composted manure.

Always regret not buying that piece.

Take care


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## rrranch

My old rotary hoe wouldn't even scratch the surface on our Bermuda field. West Texas dirt gets too hard especially after 4 years of haying and all the traffic. I ended up this spring rigging a toolbar with B-33 mole knives and running them all the way up to the shank. It was cheap since I already had the bar with plows mounted on it and just had to buy the knives and some grade 8 bolts.

So far this year out yield has increased more than I ever expected and also this field used to be prone to flooding. I haven't seen standing water on it yet since I ran the knives over it. They sure worked.

These knives took some HP to pull. My tractor is a 95 horse NH with 4 wheel drive and 5 was all I could manage in this hardpan.


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## kingranchf350

Robert,

I've been using a Aerway for several years now. I generally use it each spring just as the bermuda begins to green up and again in the fall of the years if I put out lime. We have excellent results - less runoff, denser stands, quicker results from fertilizer and lime, extended resistance to drought. The Aerway has 8" tines and I have four 600 lb. weights in the tray so they go all the way down - I wouldnt think a rotary hoe could touch that.


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## hay wilson in TX

By enlarge the university researchers have little good to say about it. By enlarge growers like the machine. It mostly depends on your ground and your management style. 
I tend to go with the growers on this one.

Anything we do will encourage some sort of compaction be it a tool or just putting weight on the ground. 
I like the idea of using a knife to cut deep. In bermudagrass you will have to have a coulter in front of the knife or you will pull up balls of roots & stolen's. Then if you are doing that just as well put some tubes on the back side of the knives and run some fertilizer down behind the knives. I am partial to anhydrous ammonia down one tube and 10-34-0 down another tube. With anhydrous really two tubes for the anhydrous and one for the phosphate is a good idea. this is to insure a more even distribution of fertilizer from the flow devider.

Works well in heavy clay soils but I would never consider it in a sandy soil. Probably want a soil with at least a 30 CEC. 
Do not forget to include a closing disk and or packing wheel. 
Run the shanks on 36 to 48 inch centers. 
For hay ground run in the same pattern as you use when mowing. 
Here our summer cracks will be where the shanks penetrated.


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