Pull-Behind Aerator – Evaluation

Q: I’m considering buying one of these pull-behind aerators. Do they work well?

A: Well, let me pull out a calculator and check.

The goal of aerification is to have approximately 10 holes per sq. ft.

This machine looks like it has 4 spoons on six disks 8″ apart on the shaft, with 8″ between spoon tips on each disk.

One revolution of the entire array would yield an area of 40″ x 32″ (approximately 9 sq. ft.) with 24 holes in the soil. You’d need to go over this 9 sq. ft. plot approximately 4 times to get the right number of aerator holes in the dirt.

But since the appliance is pulled behind your lawn tractor, and since it works best on moist soil, the tractor tires might very well compact the soil more than the aerator opens it up.

Professional machines are usually walk-behind or are operated by a tractor with wide, high-flotation tires.

I don’t think you’ll get the results you want with this machine.