I am not trying to compact the dirt as much as trying to get rid of some of the bumpyness. Moles and critters dig holes so I push the dirt back in and run over it with the roller when I mow. Does it help, yeah maybe I think, my hay field aint never gona be a putting green but not a mine field either
The problem I find is…. To reshape the surface requires it to be moist and “plastic” …. but my compactor/roller has no traction under those conditions…so if too wet or too soon after a rain….it’ll simply get stuck and cannot be retrieved for a couple days. (I had a learning-curve on that situation.)
Anyway, it’s likely that if you wait until after a rain…when the surface has moisture in it…the roller may …and I really mean “May”…. flatten-out the bumps. …. but the problem will be that since you are towing the roller…your tractor tires will make more.
What tires do you have..?
Here’s a reminder of what I have that doesn’t work to remove “bumps” (hog damage) except after about Six Years…. it is somewhat better at keeping hogs OFF the area previously rolled because it “compacts” the turf…. doesn’t “reshape” it as much as expected. This thing weighs 13,000-16,000 lbs. depending upon whether the rollers are empty or filled with water. I’ve found it makes little difference except on gravel…where it will smooth things out until the next few vehicles or rain gets on it. For several days after a rain…. the rollers simply “spin” until they sink …and then the machine must sit there for several days …to be pulled out with a tractor while it’s rollers are operated simultaneously….resulting in a 5’ wide depression with sharp edges that now needs correction.
If I wait 3 or 4 days after a moderate rain…it will do fine for compaction.…Not reshaping tho’.
When I first sufferd hog damage to my turf runways… It was so bad my little 9N Ford couldn’t be used on it at all. Those hogs really did a number on it.
I first tried plowing/discing the runway to prep it for the roller…. but that did very little to help. Sold that disc-harrow/plow and waited for rain. Got it stuck really good…it sat in a mudhole for almost two weeks before it dried sufficiently that I could get it out with a tractor pulling while I tried to gently drive it out.
Since then….every 3 or 4 months…waiting several days after rain…I’ve rolled the runways….now going on 6 years….and it is gradually becoming better….but still not actually “smooth”…. Fine for light airplanes tho’.
BTW…. the soil here in central Tx is hard…. not “sandy loam”. This pic is typical of the turf found here.
