Core Aerator - Best Size for 1025R Subcompact Tractor? How Much Weight for HARD SOILS?

1025R Subcompact Tractor with Core Aerator from TractorBasics.com. Will it handle the remnants of our "hump"? This compacted soil is HARD! We may have to use the 3046R to lift it after we add sufficient ballast.
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[@jimmcknight3021]

Looks like our buddy Pete with GCI Turf needs to make a visit to TTWT for an evaluation. Turnabout us fair play. LOL

[@jsstuff1431]

Tim, you need to talk to Tractor Basics. Back in February, I ordered a 4’ gear drive tiller. After not hearing from them for nearly 2 weeks I called them and I was told that the tiller wouldn’t be ready to ship until April. I called back in April and they then told me it’d be June or July at the earliest but no guarantee. I asked them what was the problem causing the delay and they wouldn’t give me an answer. I used the TTWT discount code and they brought that up each time I spoke to them. It seemed like they weren’t happy about me getting the discount. They weren’t very friendly or helpful at all. I canceled the order and I got a full refund but I’m hesitant to order anything from them again.

[@TractorTimewithTim]

I’m very sorry to hear that. Let me check into it.

[@OldGuyGolf]

Spread some sand after you Aerate, especially on top of the hill. This will help with drainage, air and water getting to the roots, and make it easier for the roots dig in and expand.

[@slip0n0fall]

Soil mosture plays a HUGE role in how far tines will go in. Before I'd remove tines I'd hold out for some wet weather to soften the ground.

[@YMF1891]

Man, that 3046R sure is a beauty of a machine.

[@TractorTimewithTim]

I really like it…especially after I have it equipped as I want it.

[@kaytod]

Tim, If you look in your "way back" machinery tales. There was a company called Savage which makes machinery for pecan growers. They made an aerator for large equipment. A simple search will show you the model and designs they had. I don't think it's manufacturered anymore, but they were wonderful for folks wanting to "rip" their soil without disturbing the cover crop, no-till cover or in our neck of the woods, rejuvenate pasture. Perhaps someone would come up with a compact tractor version. It would provide soil loosening and aeration without seriously disturbing your yard. One of the bigger selling points was the reduction of horsepower needed to use them, compared to a subsoiler or vee ripper, which made it an option for those needing a deep "tillage" without a monster tractof. Thanks again for a wonderful content. Shalom Todd

[@TractorTimewithTim]

Interesting. Simple design. The aeravator and agrivator from one products is probably the closest to this for small equipment. We’ll show it on our Ventrac soon.

[@aprilgeneric8027]

Soil Calcium is why they quit making that product.

[@gregberthiaume8665]

Best time to aerate is after a good rain. It’ll soften the soil and the tines will dig deeper.

[@FelipeColby]

Top quality video shots/variety on this one, it must be good when we stop to wonder how it was done!

[@TractorTimewithTim]

Ha! She was riding on the attachment.

[@garyduncan3060]

Need to get one for my lawn Great Video

[@aprilgeneric8027]

your hard pack hump was a barn. there were cattle underneath. you should go check out the The Chisholm Trail some time. the hardest packed earth since the dinosaurs, this was a trail used in the post-Civil War era to drive cattle overland from ranches originated south of San Antonio, Texas, ran north across Oklahoma, and ended at Abilene, Kansas. The trail was established by Black Beaver, a Lenape guide and rancher, and his friend Jesse Chisholm, a Cherokee merchant. They collected and drove numerous cattle along the trail to Kansas, where they could be shipped east to achieve higher prices. The southern terminus was Red River Station, a trading post near the Red River along the northern border of Texas. The northern terminus was a trading post near Kansas City, Kansas. Chisholm owned both of these posts. In the years of the cattle drives, cowboys drove large herds from ranches across Texas to the Red River Station and then north to Kansas City.

[@TractorTimewithTim]

No, it was not a barn. No, there were not cattle on it. Good grief.

[@floydferguson5366]

Great video!

[@amrrma4796]

Looks like the pond is shedding water well from the drone footage,good work!

[@mikweihl]

Tractor Wheelies! just the right amount of weight to get aerator working well.

[@agentleebs]

I did my own lawn after building a house, the best I could, mostly hand work with a walk behind tiller. Year by year I would improve it but the number 1 big improvement: plugger aeration. Two aeration passes thru the lawn -early spring and midsummer plus the typical lawn care - drastically improved grass coverage and appearance, all in one season. 16 inch firewood logs made my weight, lol.

[@keerymj]

Pulling a core of soil and letting it sit on the surface helps thatch breakdown too. Another benefit to core aeration is getting fertilizer into the soil instead of on the surface. Phosphorus in particular does not move in soil and is prone to washing away. I suggest spreading a starter fertilizer after your core aeration, especially on your bad area.

[@Chris-ho5zb]

Gypsum

[@michellessouthernhomecooki5870]

Amazing videography!! This episode spoke to me loudly. I can see us purchasing one similar in the future. Thanks for the amazing videos and all you do.

[@TractorTimewithTim]

Hey! Thanks for the kind words. You guys won't need too much weight either. Soil is typically not as hard as here.

[@TheBlueBirdguy]

Am recently retired and was thinking very early this morning about getting the aerator on my 1025r. Your video showed up first when I sat down for coffee! The soil here in NH is quite rocky. As a result I need to be careful with the added weight for deeper penetration to prevent snapping the aerator tines on the rocks. Many thanks for all the information and insight you share on your channel.

[@TractorTimewithTim]

When I hit rocks, it just bounced over them. Made a bit of a racket..but bounced over none the less. Maybe with a huge number of rocks, it would be different. Not sure.

[@MJF40]

I have heavy Clay and silt. Property is an old dairy farm. I’ve tried aerating and soil amendments with some success.

[@aaronburford5701]

Anytime you are on the tractor I'm watching! Like,d, Viewed, Shared, Subscribed!

[@dave2138]

I ran a x730 jd with a cat 1 three point, I pulled a 4 foot agrifab coring aerator converted to lift on the the point hitch. Ran about 300 on the unit.tractor played with it needed 4 42lb. on front rack. If I felt I needed more action I just changed direction and did it again. It was a very cheap and effective homework shop solution. Used it for 20 years with very little problem

[@edrocks3]

@dave2138 I have the same agrifab and looking to do the same conversion. Do you have pictures or advise?

[@garycorrick]

Your tractor wheelies reminded me of when I was young (50 years ago) cultivating bush beans in Oregon. We used a John Deere 2030 with a 3 point hitch cultivator. When I reached the end of the rows, I would quickly pick up the cultivator. The front tires would come off the ground and I would use a brake to turn a tight circle to go down the next 4 rows.

[@TractorTimewithTim]

Yes, row crop cultivating was my memory too.

[@Chris-jh3tg]

Love this. I'm "that guy" on my road for lawns. I maintain 1.5 acres of lawn. I aerate in the fall. In your circumstance, I would order about $5,000 worth of compost, dump, pull Vinny out and spread the compost and overseed about $2,000 worth of drought resistant fescue. I would do it now, or wait until Labor Day and irrigate from the pond. But hey, that's just me. You might want to discuss with the finance committee 😁😁

[@05xlt]

I’m a big fan of aeration. It reduces compaction and gets air, nutrients and water down to the root layer. For the “hump” you may want to give “Air8” from Greene County a try. It may help soften your soil some so that your grass roots will run deeper. Pete from GCI would be a good reference on that.

[@angus4202]

dang, that does a good job i need one for my 9n and my hay fields

[@aprilgeneric8027]

i used to work a 36 hole golf course in high school. how much weight is determined by how far the tines are sinking into the ground and how far you want them to pull cores out, and by how long your actual cores are. soil type and soil condition matters. you want to aerate only in the spring so weed seeds don't grow out of your direct dirt contact holes you want to do this when the soil is marginally damp, not wet. if it rained 1" wait 3 days especially if your ground is hard packed, you don't want any kind of mud what so ever or alot of ground squish or top water. check how easy it is to throw a spike into the ground like it's a lawn jart, rail road spike sized or rail road tie nails used for large retaining walls thicker than your finger. don't bother core aerating if you're not going 3"+ 5-6" is what's done at the golf courses. vertical spike aeration is what's done any other time in the year if the ground is not accepting water. the difference is you are compacting earth side to side and a bit downward so no weed seed is going to be able to root into hard packed earthen wall. again, vertical spike aeration is atleast 5"+ good grass root is 16-18" deep. if your ground is so hard packed it won't accept plug or spike aeration, you need to soften the ground putting down soil calcium and water it in to bust up the surface tension soil compaction. soil calcium is usually enough on it's own except for more pure clay soils. best time to use soil calcium is in august-september during optimal grass fall seeding period. winter frost will further compound the penetration of the soil calcium going into spring so don't be afraid to go thru 2-4 50# bags per acre as come may that soil will be nice and soft to accept all that spring rain and snow melt. best time to seed grass seed again is the week after the last of the snow has melted away as long as the ground is properly aerated. don't aerate that soon if it's not wait until mid april atleast 4 weeks after the last snowfall has melted away. then drop seed within the next few days Petyes GCI Turf Blends for your area are great stuff. i have used them for a few dozen of my customers lawns. ryan knorr also has a great northern blend. what we used at the golf course for mid minnesota is a variety of kentucky blues@30+% and the rest as tall fescues as heat and drought resistant. no rye/poa if you like lush lawn go more 60% KBG with the remainder the drought and heat tall fescues. if you like your lawn green but not have to mow much, go 90% fescues of 3-5 types and rye/poa and 3% KBG . or less rye/poa and 13% KBG with 80% Fescues. fescues and KGB will do well in sandy soils as long as there is irrigation. in clay KGB with some fescue will do well also with irrigation, just watch out as water goes a long ways with clay sponging it up.

[@revd6239]

Man, 3 inch plugs is awesome, 4 and 5 inch is crazyyyy good.

[@ranger6x660]

I never had an aerator. Got me thinking Tim. To this day I never understood why JD didn't put split brake pedals on a 1025 or 2025R.

[@BobsOutdoorActivities]

Good video. Yes, lots of questions. For my yard in the Spring, it is just way too wet, soft and even muddy for me to run my 2032R over it. So I would have to do this in the Fall. I'd love to do this, but darn, $3K+ for one of these.

[@gordenbest2950]

I don't have an aerovator but think that is the best piece of equipment for the job. I agree with @oldguygolf that adding sand or compost or peat moss after core aeration would be best option. And full disclosure, I use Pete to core areovate my ballfields which I believe is my best option.

[@SpartanZapp]

I love how some equipment from the exact same manufacturer.. Fits quick hitches and others don't

[@JohnSmith-nn1yk]

Would really like an update in say 30 days to see the difference if any it made. Thanks for the video.

[@frankhartmeyer9841]

Tim just a thought how about thatching ? Always enjoy your videos.

[@komatsutech1]

Put used antifreeze in anything you need weight in. You don't have to worry about it getting frozen or having it rust from inside out. If you stop at a heavy equipment dealer or truck repair shop they probably gladly give you all you want for free. Plus it's heavier than water. Great video

[@robertproteau4113]

If I could give you more than one 👍 I would. Your videos are very informative and have inspired me to get my own 1025r. Thanks

[@TractorTimewithTim]

Thanks! Congratulations on the new tractor!

[@Kcolby47]

The aerator does a good job of opening the soil. I did see someone after core aerating in hard ground, spread a mix of topsoil)and compost (like you and Dave did with the spreader) then broadcast fertilizer and more seed. I didn’t see the end results. just a thought….if you want to work at it that hard ;-) Wow, Christy what great shots of the working end of the aerator! I really like seeing how things work. Impressive! Blessings.

[@TractorTimewithTim]

Will have to wait until next year when Doug’s woodchips rot further!

[@gregb2351]

you can you lil Johnny. look at your forecast and do it the day after a good rain. we do this out west here. the ground is damp and the plug aerator won't mess anything up.

[@charlesperry1051]

I just picked up a used aerator. There is a section of our yard (about 1/4 acre) that just won't grow grass. It is a fill area. The fill came from excavating for the house and is something called chirt. Basically yellow clay/shale mixture. I have tried to grow anything other than hardy weeks on it for 7 years. This year, I am trying aeration and overseeding.

[@photocontrol]

Very nice aerator. A bigger tractor, adding water and weights did the trick for longer plugs.

[@brettdobbs6825]

Nice camera work Christy!

[@DavidSmith-tm7hp]

She is the star of the show.

[@TractorTimewithTim]

She's been the star of MY show for almost 32 years!

[@michellessouthernhomecooki5870]

@@TractorTimewithTimthat’s sweet, Tim ❤

[@Freecan67]

Well Tim. I have some sad news. We sold our little Johnny. As per the Lord's request. The good news is we will continue to watch your Video's. Keep them coming. God Bless.

[@TractorTimewithTim]

Sorry to hear that! However, now someone else can enjoy it!

[@ltg72260]

Independant brakes are a real necessity, especially on anything larger than a sub-compact tractor. Can't tell how many hours I have pulled equipment and only had brakes for steering.

[@TractorTimewithTim]

Next episode :-). Hopefully I covered the topic thoroughly. We'll see how it comes out. Obviously I had the perfect demo setup, right? :-)

[@ricktieken7025]

Without soil samples it is just a guess, but you probably need to add lime, then fertilizer and grass seed. I always like to over seed after aerating in the spots where the grass is thin. You will have a nice green yard in no time if you get a few rain showers on it.

[@projectswithjw]

Good Morning

[@PaulLB7]

Nice to be able to use the steering brakes. One of the things I dont like about my L3901 is the steering brakes are on the right side with the go pedal- my foot can apparently only do one thing at a time.

[@andrewkirch5920]

On that hump, put down Milorganite monthly. Aerate quarterly. You have basically fill dirt there. It will take time for the soil beneficial bacteria to recolonize the dirt and make it functional soil. Broadcasting Great White might also help.

[@eddiebaughman2809]

Tim, it looks like a good aerator. If it was me I would plow and disk the hump and start over. Otherwise you will still be fighting that spot and not be happy. Bring up good soil and loosen below it.

[@HalDIY]

I just got a Dirt Dog 60 inch for my 1025R. It weighs about 200 and I add over 300 in weights and quick hitch. I found the trick to penetrate hard clay is to go out soon after spring rains and I'm getting about 3 inch penetration. I think it has fewer punches so greater force each than the TractorBasics one. One advantage to me is the CPG60 has five independent rotating sections so I can turn a little bit without ripping the turf. I have way too many obstacles (trees, rocks, flower beds, etc) to go straight all the time. Turning is not an option with the TractorBasics tool. It is the first aeration since the place was cow pasture so we'll see if it helps grow anything nice.

[@jakeschisler7525]

Here's a funny thing that just happened while watching this video, it went to a commercial then I was switched to a different channel. Your video wasn't over and all I had to do was go backwards. My yard is totally rocky. We had our septic system changed and the guy we hired dug a new line and he didn't really fill it in like he should have and talk about rocks. I was out yesterday hand picking up rocks put them in a bucket then dumping into my tractor bucket to haul to another area. Using that aerator probably wouldn't work in my yard.

[@TractorTimewithTim]

Maybe. I don't have many rocks, but the ones I have just caused the aerator to "bounce over". Not sure how it would behave when there is a predominance of rocks.

[@RyanRed13]

Tim, I have a thought. I have a landpride areator that’s a little different design, the main point I see is the location of the weight to the spike wheel. On the landpride weights go directly over the spike and the tractor basically balances the unit. I notice on the tractor basics unit you have the spike wheel is moved back away from the weight rack. Now this may not make a difference on your tractor but depending on how low the three point arms go down it’s kind of acting like a bridge with the spike wheel and the tractor sharing more load. Compared to the other designs I’ve see where all the weight is directly over the spike wheel and the tractor is helping balance or support the load. My thought is this is better because more weight goes on the spike wheel. Just curious to your thoughts. Hope to see you May 4th at the show. As always appreciate the videos keep up the good work!!

[@jamess.putman1779]

Cool

[@bradbruggeman6745]

You might look into some "hitch hangars" from "Good Works Tractors". I got a set for my "i-match on my 3039r. Works great with 6-70 pounders.

[@TractorTimewithTim]

Not totally sold on that concept. Puts lots of downpressure on those quick hitch thumbs. Not sure they are built for that in the long term.

[@bradbruggeman6745]

@TractorTimewithTim I have used mine a couple times for my 6ft grader blade, and it really helps.

[@jdman-ohio]

Hi Tim, I have seen where people with poor soil conditions after ariating the soil they come in with sand and spread and rake it smooth. Just a thought.

[@wellscustomwoodworking2726]

Might need to do a soil test on that hill to get grass to grow. You are probably low alot of important mineral and high on others

[@turdferguson5300]

Tim what about using a sub-soil in the hard areas? That wouldn't mess up the grass too bad and it would absorb water. I have the same type aerator in a tow behind model. They will accept water but I used old motor oil for rusting purposes. Mine is around 25 years old so it must have worked. The down side is I can drain it for moving. You also can't turn sharp with a tow behind because it stresses the tines. This 3 point hitch model is better. It's all a trick, the more you aerate and fertilize the more you have to mow. It looks like geese have been in the yard when I'm finished. lol

[@TractorTimewithTim]

Yea, turning with it in the ground is not good. I noticed that with the 3pt model. You need to get a hydraulic lift :-)

[@kencotton4645]

Looks like you need a weight bracket on the front of that tractor, though it did make turning easier.

[@berkoskilandscaping4247]

You’re aeravator would do a much better job for that really compacted area. High idle and slow travel speed to really shake up the ground. Then I would put down a good shot of gypsum.

[@JCWren]

Fill the aerator with Rimguard, get another 80lbs :) Now how much that would cost is another matter.

[@TractorTimewithTim]

Yea. I was even gonna mention that idea… but forgot!

[@mitral5333]

You probably are not going to notice immediately "night and day" difference with just one aeration. However, if you routinely perform it, you will notice a huge difference after a few years.

[@clausiusuf]

Looks like you need more organic material on the hump. Spread some good compost onto the hump after core aeration.

[@TractorTimewithTim]

Gonna have to wait till next year. Neighbor Doug's wood chips need another year of 'seasoning' to be ready for good compost. (Did you see the recent episode where we used the manure spreader to spread around the pond?

[@angus4202]

run north south then run east west and finish going diaganal thats what we did when we aerated our super hard clay ground that barely grew grass to the point youd mow it 1 time the whole summer and now its 6-7 times a summer im going and mowing

[@stevenmcintosh3303]

I have a Frontier aerator but have a really hard time getting it to pull plugs.

[@craigflatley7370]

👍

[@richarddubord3978]

So is this to provide a way to get water deeper, to the roots?

[@ian1oo]

Take your quick hitch off u will have more lift as closer to Tractor

[@rb2530]

👍👍

[@bvinduck]

Do you think too much weight would bend the tins? or too fast would bend them?

[@TractorTimewithTim]

No.

[@Rsiikarla]

When you mention about removing tines, would it be better to remove them from one side only so you can have it offset kina? This way you probably would not driver over the plugs you just took out. Just thinking out loud!! Are you going to over seed now?

[@TractorTimewithTim]

I would prefer to keep it centered so that the weight applies evenly. Yes, will overseed in upcoming video.

[@jeffhester6320]

do you have pressure for down mode with top link? Thanks

[@TractorTimewithTim]

No, not really. pushing 'down' with top link will only lift the lower two links. 4 series tractors offer down pressure on the 3 point hitch as an option. It doesn't work as well in practice as you would think it might.

[@jimhancock5047]

Darn kids!!! Popping wheelies while they should be working...

[@TractorTimewithTim]

Yep. I have to admit, I enjoyed it. Coulda easily put the loader on, but that woulda spoiled the fun!

[@michaeldugger6964]

me thinks front end needs more weight!❤❤❤❤

[@norme7102]

What brand/model grapple is that on the 1025R?

[@TractorTimewithTim]

precision manufacturing Mini 322 (Big Mouth). Buy from agfolks.com use code ttwt for a 5% discount. Very light weight but built strong with AR400. It has two clamps (dual lid is another name). I truly love this grapple!

[@tacticalrabbit308]

I think you need to add a little weight to the front of the tracktor

[@TractorTimewithTim]

Hmm. I hadn't noticed!

[@yippikiyay197]

Hey Tim, if you have a 1023E without a bucket, what would you use the extra hydraulics for? My 1023e is mostly used for rear attachments and use an LS mt125 with a bucket and backhoe. Could I use the bucket hydraulics for a hydraulic top link ?

[@TractorTimewithTim]

Yes. You can get a set of hoses from discounthydraulichose.com/ttwt specifically for this purpose. It is called the ‘mid to rear’ kit. Don’t forget code ttwt for 5% off!

[@yippikiyay197]

@@TractorTimewithTim thank you! Also I can't seem to get my PHD on the rear. Any chance you'd be able to do a video on how to attach it without crushing fingers?

[@EmancipatedbyTRUTH]

Hey Tim! I have a 2021 JD 2025r. My tractor's rear end is stuck in positive traction. I had been using the little foot button to get positive traction. It's tearing up my lawn something awful. Have you heard of this? Is this a simple fix? Or is this going to cost a fortune. I only have 57 hours on my tractor. Thanks.

[@TractorTimewithTim]

Likely be covered under power train warranty. Sometimes simply backing up can unlock it.

[@Blakebrash]

Faster u go the better

[@Lackieestatesfarm]

So i noticed that the disc and the aerator you got from tractor basics seemed to be the very upper limit of the 1025 lifting capacity. Is there smaller versions of those tools or are these the ones marketed for “sub compact use”. Side note…have you ever done an analysis of whether or not you lose any lift capacity with/without a quick hitch? I know on the kubota range you lose a few lbs on the loader when you go from pin on to ssqa, and on small machines a 5-10% loss is quite large. I’m curious if by shifting your weight rearward the additional 2-3 inches if you’re losing say 50-100lbs of capacity

[@TractorTimewithTim]

Did you keep watching (and listening)? :-). Yes, I recommend the 4' model for the 1025R. And yes, there is a lighter disk as well.

[@Lackieestatesfarm]

@@TractorTimewithTim I did watch it haha. Was having my morning coffee. Wasn’t fully awake

[@Ramblin_Rob]

More and more I regret getting the 1025r. It just doesn't have enough lift capacity and it's unstable. How does that 3046R compare stability wise? We have hilly ground.

[@TractorTimewithTim]

3R cab tractors are tipsy. Open station can be stable if you get wheel weights and rimguard. Now, about your 1025r…do you have rimguard? Wheel weights? Wheel spacers? How about 3 point hitch attached ballast? My point is, you MUST equip these tractors appropriately to keep them stable.

[@texillini1]

Gave you a like for the KZbin police 👮‍♀️ 😂. I’ve never aerated myself, but it doesn’t hurt to experiment I guess. I’d say give it a year or two to see what it does, perhaps even reseed over everything. You may worse come to worse have to till it all up and redo it. Good luck.

[@Not_So_Weird_in_Austin]

Nice tool. Aeriation opens soil so air and water can get into the ground allowing the soil microbiology and bacteria to reproduce which helps the plant grow. Organic material is needed to feed the bacteria too.

[@michellessouthernhomecooki5870]

I’m getting ready to reseed a portion of my yard and we borrowed a friend’s metal aerator that we can put water in. Very thankful they are letting us borrow it. Loved your explanation.

[@AD-hr4is]

Also add weight on the front.

[@TractorTimewithTim]

Hmm. Never noticed any issues!

[@AD-hr4is]

@@TractorTimewithTim so the front end lifting is not an issue Tim maybe more cheeseburger would fix that.

[@randyhill4549]

Lawn aeration is a holey topic...

[@darrencook731]

I have a 1025 and last night I had a weird issue. At about 3200 RPM running the PTO with a bushhog on it, in 4 wheel drive, it started bogging down and spitting out blue smoke. The motor starting missing and adding more throttle seemed to make it worse. I turned off the PTO and idled down and when I throttled back up it did it again as soon as I put any real load on it. Anybody have any ideas?

[@TractorTimewithTim]

Fuel filter. Likely the under the floorboard one…but change both of them.

[@darrencook731]

@@TractorTimewithTim Thanks I will try that. I appreciate your videos lots of helpful advice etc.

[@angryoverlanding5955]

If you’re having trouble with penetration, what about pre watering? 💦

[@TractorTimewithTim]

How?

[@angryoverlanding5955]

@@TractorTimewithTim how could it help? Watering or rain might soften the first inch of soil allowing the spikes to get that far before meeting resistance. I don’t know, I was just wondering if it might help.

[@angryoverlanding5955]

Maybe you could test it, I curious? It might just make a mess.

[@yayinternets]

Prewatering definitely helps. I have very hard clay soil and aerate in the Spring after a late snow or after one of the first rains.

[@TractorTimewithTim]

@@angryoverlanding5955 how am I supposed to water such a large area so far from a hydrant?

[@LakeJoe]

Yt only lets me hit the like button 1x. Must be a bug…

[@Anthony-stama]

i think so to

[@cumminsdieselgt]

I have the Deere 42" tow behind aerator, connected to a 3 point drawbar, an I put 2 bags of lime on it, roughly 100 lbs of weight. I aerate right after it rains, so it pulls about 3" plugs easily. I have 4.3 acres and it does a good job.

[@garymeyer3294]

Huge, HUGE mistake to core plug before your final mowing in late fall. First of all, when the first dry spell hits, your lawn will dry out super fast, and your lawn will suffer greatly from drought stress. Secondly, when you mow over a newly cored lawn, the dirt plugs will pack the underside of your mowing deck, and it will look like a giant mud dauber's nest plus add a lot of weight to the deck. Always core plug after you've completed your final mowing of the season. That allows your roots to expand and grow into the holes while the plugs are spending all winter "melting" over your thatch and breaking it down.

[@TractorTimewithTim]

HUGE mistake. I can always count on you, Gary! ...although I haven't heard you saying much negative about my pond recently. Perhaps it turned out better than you thought it might?

[@garymeyer3294]

@TractorTimewithTim Now that you ask... I'm giving the pond more time. As for my opinion so far, it seems rather shallow. Why didn't you put in depth stakes so we could actually see how full it is? Also, for a "pond", (er swimming pool?) , it looks rather cloudy considering it was filled with chrystal clear, deep well water surrounded by bentonite. Bentonite is used in wine making th eliminate the cloudiness in the wine. However, it isn't doing anything to help your mudwater.

[@shanesherwood343]

Steering brakes are a game changer when I try to plow snow and the front end gets light I can steer with the brakes and never feel like I’m going off the driveway can’t say I have done it and a wheelie at the same time though

[@dave.lawrence.3894]

Fertilizer!!! Nice tool, 😮😢😅

[@robertwikeljr-1522]

What about soil composition? True top soil vs clay / hard pack sub-soil. If You scraped off most of top soil the clay well cause problems.

[@TractorTimewithTim]

Welcome to our channel. I say that because you must have missed us removing this huge hump….which was created by the initial digging of the pond. So, no…not topsoil…and wasn’t when I started!

[@robertwikeljr-1522]

@@TractorTimewithTim I'm lucky to see an entire show on anything, normally just listening - , long hours and I fall asleep

[@HarrisPropertyMaintenance]

Waiting till after a rain when aerating also helps reaching desired depth when in hard soils, the more moisture in the soil the easier a core can be removed, but there is such a thing as too wet tho. I used to aerate professionally and tough clay soils I’d water or wait until it rains to have any chance getting proper depth with my little stand on aerater from exmark.

[@GrampysTractor]

First thing to do would be to go out right after a rain and then aerate, but not a toad strangler. Second thing would be to get a load of compost to spread over the hump after you aerate so it will fill the holes. This helps it get into the soil. Plowing would have been the fastest to break the soil but is probably still needs compost.

[@TractorTimewithTim]

Maybe next year on the compost. Doug's pile needs another year to "process" :-)

[@Skynet-1]

Need to add weights to the front of the tractor.

[@TractorTimewithTim]

Really? I never noticed!