Aerate and overseed in one pass with Ventrac: Turf compaction and grass damage over the winter months caused by foot or vehicle traffic and other stresses can be an issue and needs to be alleviated to keep the turf healthy. Now with Ventrac’s Aera-vator and integrated Gandy seeder it’s possible to aerate and overseed in one pass.
The Aera-vator is designed to break and loosen the soil beneath the surface without destroying the turf. It creates a hole without bringing a core plug to the surface, leaving the turf ready for use immediately after treatment. The Aera-vator works best in drier ground leaving a core hole while fracturing the sub soil.
Aerate and overseed in one pass with Ventrac
The National Trust’s Waddesdon Manor, managed by the Rothschild Foundation, purchased a Ventrac 4500 compact tractor and Tough Cut deck late last year and recently returned to local dealer RT Machinery to purchase additional attachments including a Turbo Blower, Landscape Rake and Aera-vator with seeder.
Peter Turski is the Horticultural Team Leader at the estate and says,
“The Aera-vator and overseeder attachment for the Ventrac is an excellent piece of equipment. We have some heavy footfall across the estate especially at our annual events such as the Christmas Fair, Colourscape in May, Summer Fest in July and Chilli Fest each September. We are one of the National Trust’s most visited properties with over 460,000 visitors, which means that the more formal grass areas around the ornamental core of the gardens can become very compacted.
“The main benefit of the Aera-vator is that it simplifies the whole operation in one pass significantly reducing the time taken to a fraction of what it used to. No soil plugs are generated, so no collection required, and the over seeding attachment works in synchronicity with the aerating implement by dropping seed directly into the fractured surface of the sward assisting good contact with the soil.”
With a working width of 1.52 metres and a depth of 70 mm, the vibrating heads create six holes every 300 mm (66 holes per square metre) with the hole size regulated by the drive speed. The slower the forward speed of the Ventrac tractor unit, the larger the hole.
With the optional Gandy Seeder, you can save time by reseeding while aerating, increasing the odds of germination for a thicker and healthier sward.
The tines can be replaced individually or by quickly changing the entire mounting heads, giving you the versatility required for efficient operation. The Aera-vator is built with the Ventrac Mount System, allowing for easy attachment changes, and comes with a standard jack stand for easy mounting.
The all-wheel-drive Ventrac 4500 is rated for slopes of up to 30 degrees and is capable of handling various turf conditions allowing aeration in areas previously inaccessible with other aeration tools.
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