The AGRI-vator is the perfect piece of machinery if you want to relieve compaction while aerating the soil at the same time. It doesn’t just facilitate seed growth — it also helps you get the results you want for your farm. This machine is ideal if you want to break apart the soil without doing damage to the surface turf.
Below are the answers to our most frequently asked questions about the AGRI-vator. If you have any questions about the AGRI-vator that we didn’t cover, get in touch with our team and we’ll be happy to answer them.
“What’s the best time to use the AGRI-vator?â€
After the grass is harvested, you should wait 8-10 days because the grass is in shock. This is a good time to spread fertilizer, lime, or any other granular products before you operate the AGRI-vator.
The AGRI-vator’s vibrating tines fracture the soil without damaging the grass root structure and rhizomes. The fractured soil allows air, water, and nutrients to reach the roots for a faster recovery and grow-in.
You can also use the AGRI-vator on slow to fill in areas or seeded areas that didn’t get a good seed germination and population rate. This is typically areas with heavy clay soils or areas where water runs off or evaporates before the soil can absorb water. This second treatment will help those slow-to-grow-in areas fill in faster and allow the field to grow in consistently.
“What’s the best ground speed? How fast can the AGRI-vator be operated?â€
The soil profile determines ground speed. Dry hard clay soil will require a slower ground speed than softer soil, so you have to vary ground speed to soil condition and moisture content. In hard, dry soil, it’s best to use water to soften the ground first.
As you operate the AGRI-vator across the field, periodically watch tine depth. When operating too fast in hard soils, the machine tines will rise up; in soft conditions, the tines will penetrate faster. This is why you should vary ground speed to soil conditions.
A little water can go a long way to help tine penetration and increase ground speed, but too much water can prevent soil fracture. In extreme wet conditions, the AERA-vator vibrating tines will leave an elongated hole in the soil with no fracture between the tines. In this condition, it’s simply too wet to operate the machine with the PTO engaged. However, you can operate the AGRI-vator in wet conditions without operating the PTO.
In some areas, you can irrigate the field and operate the AGRI-Vator the following day. In other areas, you may only need to wait an hour after irrigation. Every field has a variety of soil conditions, so knowing your field’s different soil profiles will help in understanding when water is needed prior to operating.
“Can the AGRI-vator tine depth be controlled to limit tine depth in shallow rooted turf?â€
Yes! We know that, in some situations, you don’t need the AGRI-vator to go full depth. Because of this, we’ve designed the AGRI-vator so that the roller has a series of holes to limit how deep the tines can penetrate. All you have to do is move a pine on each side of the roller to control it.
“Can the AGRI-vator be operated on fields with netting?â€
Yes; the AGRI-Vator tines are powered to vibrate only the forward movement of the tractor, which is what turns the shaft. This prevents the shaft from rotating like a tiller and prevents the shaft from pulling and rolling up netting. The vibrating tines may tear and rip a small piece of netting, but it will not roll or pull up netting off the ground.
“How can the AGRI-vator benefit me?â€
There are many reasons you might look into getting the AGRI-vator, and before you invest in machinery, you want to know that it’s going to work for you.
Here are just a few of the top things our customers love about the AGRI-vator:
- It fractures the soil, providing increased water and nutrients absorption rates, which results in reduced water run-off, lower evaporation rates, and less water use. The increased plant oxygen exchange and increased fertilizer nutrient absorption allows for a faster re-growth.
- Water accumulates in the holes from the tines, reducing blowing sand, as the ground stays moist longer. The holes are where you’ll see the grass grow first, and the field will look like it’s plugged again.
- Even on ground where the AGRI-vator was used the year before, the grass grows back faster and more aggressively. The holes aren’t as evident, but there are still pockets from the tines that retain water. Again, this is where you’ll see the grass grow first, with increased grass population rates than grow-in from ribbons alone.
Order Your AGRI-vator from 1st Products
At 1st Products, it’s our mission to build top-of-the-line, USA-made machinery that gets the job done better than you could’ve hoped for. The AGRI-Vator was introduced in 2001, so it’s had more than 20 years of operation in the turf-grass producers market. In that time, our customers have told us that the AGRI-vator has increased sod production by 20-30%, and that ground worked the year before still looks good, like it just got re-plugged! If you want the same results, then you want the AGRI-vator.
Call or email us today for a free quote on the AGRI-vator.
Phone: 800-363-8780
Email: sales@1stproducts.com