I'm posting this here in case anyone searches Google for help aerating
clay soil and needs ideas. This worked great for me and I'd like to
share it.
We have dense clay soil and, while applying gypsum helps somewhat,
I've been told that aerating is necessary too to loosen it up. I've
tried using hand aerators:
http://www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/victoryga...e/lawn2_lg.jpg
but the soil is too dense and the coring tines are almost impossible
to push into the ground, even after watering it to soften it.
I tried renting an aerator, but the machine they called an "aerator"
was really a cultivator, with spinning tines designed to rip up the
ground, not pull plugs out.
I called 5 different gardening services and none of them offer
aerating services; most hadn't even heard of the process. I also
searched Google and the Yellow Pages under lawn aerating and nobody
offers this in the Los Angeles area.
Our lawn is far too small for those tow-behind aerators:
http://fergusonmfgco.com/images/FMC%...0PA-48TWEB.jpg
What finally worked great was to use a 1-inch auger drill bit with my
power drill:
http://www.hardwarestore.com/media/p...8_front200.jpg
(You need an auger bit, not a paddle bit, because you need the dirt to
be pulled out of the hole.)
Using this, I was able to properly aerate the front and back lawns in
about 4 hours. Hope this helps anyone else in a similar dilemma!