Drag Harrow.....gravel on lawn

[River19]

So......the winter combo of front blower and back blade worked fantastic. That being said, as thing softened up I ended up with a decent amount of loose gravel and aggregate (gravel driveway) along the edge of my drive and then of course I blew that crap all over the lawn........oops....

As the snow melts it reveals 2 things.......enough dog crap around back to keep me in the crap business for a few weeks AND out front I have a goodly amount of gravel and aggregate spread judiciously across the front lawn. While raking this by hand is an option, so is shoveling my 500' driveway.....possible? yes. Practical? No.

I have a drag harrow sitting out back......wondering if that harrow flipped over in it's least aggressive direction might help collect said mess.......

Thoughts?

 

[GreensvilleJay]

neighbour who snowplows his driveway onto his lawn (and mine) every Witner, uses a 'rotary broom' on his Kubota EVERY Spring, to relocate the gravel BACK onto his driveway....

 

[River19]

Hmm......sounds like the cheapest way would be the smaller trimmer attachment for a power broom.......

Although the harrow might work for the large stuff.......seems a little aggressive.

 

[85Hokie]

Sometimes a good ol hand rake will get a lot of it ..... then again my drive is 60 feet long - not ......600!
I agree with River19..... might be too much and end up with grass and dirt in/on the driveway!

As for the doggie-do .......... get an old pieces of chain link fence or a couple of old tires and drag them around the poo ..... it will even them up and allow that to break down faster.

 

[je1279]

I've tried my chain harrow for the same purpose in the past and no dice. I dont have a landscape rake but I've wondered how those would work.

 

[Creature Meadow]

While I don't blow snow here in NC I do get gravel in my grass.

I use a parking lot blower and back pack blower to put it back where it belongs.

I pull the blower along backwards and use the back pack to help encourage the gravel out of the grass and in front of the air stream from the push blower. Works nicely.

When I don't have much I just use the back pack blower. Including both sides of the drive have roughly 2000 feet to do. Couple hours and done.

 

[B737]

If you have a weed trimmer, you can often find a power broom attachment, it is a rubber paddle wheel, it will remove all gravel from the grass leaving the grass behind intact. They are crazy effective.

The manufactures try to make you buy a stand-alone unit or a 'power attachment system' but a lot of times you can just switch the head.

I have an Echo SRM-3020t trimmer and attaching the Echo PAS ProPaddle to it, is just two fasteners. The same may work across other lines.

 

[River19]

If you have a weed trimmer, you can often find a power broom attachment, it is a rubber paddle wheel, it will remove all gravel from the grass leaving the grass behind intact. They are crazy effective.

The manufactures try to make you buy a stand-alone unit or a 'power attachment system' but a lot of times you can just switch the head.

I have an Echo SRM-3020t trimmer and attaching the Echo PAS ProPaddle to it, is just two fasteners. The same may work across other lines.

Bingo.....had one on order as of this morning !!!!

I have a couple if strong running power head units in the shed so I ordered up a simple Ryobi attachment that should be compatible and if not I can easily return it to the "Big Orange Box".

Funny, COVID lept me cooped up a bit like everyone else so I decided to dive into learning how to revise and fix all my 2 strokes......then that lead to pulling carbs apart on my 4 strokes so now that I have strong running power heads.......let's use them.

Once the fine folks above confirmed the harrow would be ineffective/bad I was left to google. @GreensvilleJay got me googling the rotary brooms and I started off big and spendy and landed on "this handheld will probably work fine".......so for $145 I will give it a whirl.

 

[DogHandlerMN]

I use the rubber paddle broom as well. It’s a workout for sure, but very effective. It also works to move acorns in the fall.

 

[River19]

I use the rubber paddle broom as well. It’s a workout for sure, but very effective. It also works to move acorns in the fall.

Oh outstanding.......my house is surrounded by large oaks and last year with the drought around here it was like every tree flipped a switch to fight for species survival.....I literally have a carpet of acorns that we rakes to the edge of the yard. The large pines weren't far behind with a bumper crop of pine cones as well.

Thanks for adding the acorn news.........they were my own private hell last year, There were days when walking to my shed was dangerous as it was like walking on ball bearings......of course all winter the deer and squirrels have kept my dogs watching "Squirrel TV" to pass the time.........

 

[baronetm]

I use a flat aluminum shovel to scrape up the heavy concentration of aggregate from the melting snow piles, and along the driveway 340 feet. If the grass has not started to grow it will get most of the gravel without much effort, then I rake the area if it needs it to get the remainder.


I also have a paddle sweeper, I use it when I feel really energetic, it will give you a work out and with wet ground you may get damp, I use mine dragging it backwards, for me it is easier than pushing it.


I won’t use a snow blower on my driveway for the reason it blows the aggregate to from the driveway onto the lawn on both side of the driveway, cleaning up 6-8 feet of aggregate is much easier than 20-25 feet.

My son suggested a power broom for the front of my L3901, he saw one for sale locally at a reasonable cost, the problem is the ruts from running on soft ground.

 

[PNWBXer]

If you have a weed trimmer, you can often find a power broom attachment, it is a rubber paddle wheel, it will remove all gravel from the grass leaving the grass behind intact. They are crazy effective.

The manufactures try to make you buy a stand-alone unit or a 'power attachment system' but a lot of times you can just switch the head.

I have an Echo SRM-3020t trimmer and attaching the Echo PAS ProPaddle to it, is just two fasteners. The same may work across other lines.

That’s PAS paddle attachment would be crazy long if you attached it to the end of a normal echo trimmer right? Pictures or it didn’t happen! Lol

 

[B737]

its not too bad, you are upright while using it. you remove the shaft it comes with and just use the head.

 

[PNWBXer]

its not too bad, you are upright while using it. you remove the shaft it comes with and just use the head.

Ah! I’ve only put a blade on the head....never taken it off completely

 

[pauly]

I’ll also suggest the power sweeper. I use the Echo paddle sweeper on a quarter mile gravel drive. It is a workout but keep in mind you don’t need to get it done in one day either.

 

[gssixgun]

I've tried my chain harrow for the same purpose in the past and no dice. I dont have a landscape rake but I've wondered how those would work.

I just bought one today I will let ya know

 

[Borgf15]

Does anyone know if a bristle broom trimmer attachment will work, or does it have to be a rubber paddle version?

 

[Tim Horton]

If gravel in grass were a problem here I would use the Stihl broom attachment..

I already have the Kombi power head so would get a broom.. Maybe will get it anyway as it would be useful in the barns..

Good thinking... eh...

KB-KM bristle brush attachment for KombiEngine | STIHL

KB - KM - The bristle brush KombiTool is an effective tool for removing debris from cracks and crevices of hard surfaces. All attachments sold separately.

en.stihl.ca

 

[River19]

Update:

I got the power sweeper attachment that fits trimmer power heads.......

I have a couple Troy Bilt powerheads that I have running like tops thanks to pandemic time to rebuild carbs etc.

The sweeper works well......it is a bit of a beast and not something you want to do for an hour without a break but it certainly works for the purpose. As a side bonus, it has dethatched the hell out of my lawn.

 

[B737]

lol right?! they are insanely effective! but its really a work out on your back and arms.