Tilling ground

[Bubbie Corrillo]

I plan on tilling my 4 acres of grass/weeds and re seeding, but i was curious if i should rent a 3 point roller to flatten the ground after seeding, currently ground is undilated and rough. Roller idea is for compacting the ground so rock picking would not be necessary, am i on the right track with this idea? and what would be the best time of year to do this? Western washington area

 

[hodge]

How rough is your ground, how hard/tight is it, and how big a roller are you talking about? I would imagine that it would take a substantial roller to push rocks down in tight/hard ground. A soft yard is one thing; a field is something else.
You may have to disc it instead, and spend the time picking rocks.
Welcome to OTT!

 

[MagKarl]

Working the ground brings the rocks to the surface. Only thing you can do is rake or pick them up. There are power rock rakes and rock buckets for skid steers that are pretty impressive. Maybe you can rent one. I plan to build a rock bucket when I get around to putting in a lawn at my place.

 

[Bubbie Corrillo]

Thank you for your reply, the ground is pretty soft, the roller i was considering was a 84inch 600+ pound roller, i am not real familiar with the power rakes and such, i did look at a rake attachment for the tractor but kinda pricy for what it is and figure all its gonna do is move the rocks to several piles for pick up...tryin to avoid the manual labour. I was thinking of the roller so i could mow over them without trashing the blades. i guess i am wondering is the roller will "roll" or just push the dirt. im pretty new at this tractor stuff and am pretty much guessing at what the right thing to do is.

 

[Eric McCarthy]

Without a doubt 4 acres is alot of ground to take care of and get things done, especially picking up rocks. Are you planning on making the 4 acres more like a nice lawn or are you planning to just make it a field area?

 

[Bulldog]

I just did a yard for someone not long ago and it was a disaster. Weeds, grass, rocks and tiller don't belong together. If it's to where you could do it I would cut a fire break around it and burn everything off the top. Bare dirt would be much easier to work with. If it's rocky I still wouldn't waste time tilling it. Either a skid steer and a rock bucket or a rake on your tractor would be better. When it comes time for seed a grain drill would really be nice if you could find one to rent.

 

[skeets]

Yeah a clear burn and even a spike harrow might work, but 4 acres is a bunch of yard. Unless you are going to put in a food plot

 

[Bubbie Corrillo]

Without a doubt 4 acres is alot of ground to take care of and get things done, especially picking up rocks. Are you planning on making the 4 acres more like a nice lawn or are you planning to just make it a field area?

I do plan or would like to park it out with a nice level/ smooth lawn, it is sloped from top of property to bottom , i would say the top portion is probably 20 feet higiher than the bottom portion...660 feet from top to bottom. I am not real familiar with some of the equipment you all are explaining to me so i will have to research some. I do appreciate everyones input...i gather that tilling, which i did do about a 100 foot strip, did bring up some fairly good sized rocks, but the soil was very soft after tilling, that is why i was hoping a good sized roller might do the trick, but then again thinkin and knowin was what i am curious if anyone has tried this. i know there is probably a better way like using rock rakes, power rakes, ect but sounds expensive. after tackling this project, i did plan on buying some type of grass cutter and get ride of the smaller craftsman lawnmower, as is 8 to 16 hours of cutting grass on a very bumpy ride is getting old

 

[Bubbie Corrillo]

I just did a yard for someone not long ago and it was a disaster. Weeds, grass, rocks and tiller don't belong together. If it's to where you could do it I would cut a fire break around it and burn everything off the top. Bare dirt would be much easier to work with. If it's rocky I still wouldn't waste time tilling it. Either a skid steer and a rock bucket or a rake on your tractor would be better. When it comes time for seed a grain drill would really be nice if you could find one to rent.

sounds like you have some experience, i did do about a 100 foot strip with my tiller, it is a monster tiller, seemed to work good on the grass and weeds but did bring up some pretty good sized rock, but the ground was real soft and fluffy. That is why i was thinking maybe a good sized roller might compact the fluffy stuff and push some of them rocks back into the ground and make it nice and smooth. i got a grading scraper, and a box scraper, also a back blade..i do not know what a skid steer is, but i"ll look into it, the rake i was looking at was fairly expensive, so i should probably rent one and try it out. and maybe find a roller to rent unless you think it would be a wast of time and money. I do appreciate your reply...thank you

 

[Bubbie Corrillo]

How rough is your ground, how hard/tight is it, and how big a roller are you talking about? I would imagine that it would take a substantial roller to push rocks down in tight/hard ground. A soft yard is one thing; a field is something else.
You may have to disc it instead, and spend the time picking rocks.
Welcome to OTT!

Thank you for your reply, the ground is pretty soft, the roller i was considering was a 84inch 600+ pound roller, i am not real familiar with the power rakes and such, i did look at a rake attachment for the tractor but kinda pricy for what it is and figure all its gonna do is move the rocks to several piles for pick up...tryin to avoid the manual labour. I was thinking of the roller so i could mow over them without trashing the blades. i guess i am wondering is the roller will "roll" or just push the dirt. im pretty new at this tractor stuff and am pretty much guessing at what the right thing to do is.

 

[Eric McCarthy]

4 acres is not going to be cheap either way you look at it. A power rake would be the benificial tool to use. However the run around 7 to 8 thousand new, and by the time you rented one to work over the 4 acers you may have well just bought one. Your tractor should be able to handle a 6 foot rake.

I do agree with Bulldogs idea of buring, but this time of year that may or may not get you in trouble. I know here in my area theres a strict burn ban in effect because of Fall being a dryer season with little to no rain and all the leaves falling.

Not to mention your going to need about 70 bags of grass seed to sow in the 4 acres and with a newly seeded lawn you end up putting down about 50lbs per 10,000 square feet. And looking at the price of Kentucky 31 at Home Depot $76.98 a bag you're looking at roughly $4,617.06 just for grass seed alone.

 

[Eric McCarthy]

Maybe when its not 4:30 in the morning I might double check my numbers. I think I'm off somewhere.

 

[Kubota Newbie]

The first thing to do is to check your State University's "agronomy guide" for the seeding suggestions. Climates vary considerably and the seeding suggestions for seed type, rate, and ground prep will change accordingly. For example: in Ohio we're outside of the suggested seeding dates for permanent grass seedings right now, but if you're in western Washington and have influence from the coast your seeding periods will be different. Likewise, the intended use makes a difference, in Ohio we'll seed pasture areas with fescues at a rate of less than 20 lb per acre, if it is a turf seeding the suggested rate may be 300 lb per acre or more.
The roller will probably not push rocks down as well as you'd like, you'll have a "lump" wherever there is a rock.
I'm guessing from your region that "burning" it off with fire is probably a no-no. Consider a chemical burn-down instead. Mow it good now, let the trash break down over the winter and then have it sprayed when about 4-5 inches in the spring.
Either way, see what is appropriate for your region, Washington and Oregon are grass seed country where much of the grass seed we use in the US is grown, I'm sure your local University Extension or Soil and Water Conservation office can get you on the right track.

 

[MagKarl]

What are your main priorities? If you're mainly looking to smooth out the bumps and remove the rocks that your mower may hit, that's different than tilling and replanting. I'm in the process of turning rough graded yard into lawn someday. My main tool I've been successful with is my box scraper. I adjust the angle so that it barely cuts in, pretty much level, scarifiers are set above the blade height. It works pretty well to cut off the high spots and collect rocks. When the box has a good load of rocks I back up and scoop or hand load them into my loader and go dump them. It's a slow job for sure, but it's made my mowing a lot easier.

Sounds to me like a box scraper and a big finish mower would be good tools for you. I see some big blades and scraper in your equipment list. Have you had success using them?

 

[Bubbie Corrillo]

What are your main priorities? If you're mainly looking to smooth out the bumps and remove the rocks that your mower may hit, that's different than tilling and replanting. I'm in the process of turning rough graded yard into lawn someday. My main tool I've been successful with is my box scraper. I adjust the angle so that it barely cuts in, pretty much level, scarifiers are set above the blade height. It works pretty well to cut off the high spots and collect rocks. When the box has a good load of rocks I back up and scoop or hand load them into my loader and go dump them. It's a slow job for sure, but it's made my mowing a lot easier.

Sounds to me like a box scraper and a big finish mower would be good tools for you. I see some big blades and scraper in your equipment list. Have you had success using them?

i definately need some practice with the box scraper, but sounds like a pretty good idea, might make the job a little easier. i just picture when the tractor gets on the down side of the hump, the box scraper will be higher than desired, then i assume i will have to fudge the hitch controll lower to make up for the difference, then re-adjust? When i consider the cost of a bag of grass seed, which I have not even considered, ouch! i better rethink my plan...maybe spot grading would be the better way to go. Thank you for your input!

 

[Bubbie Corrillo]

The first thing to do is to check your State University's "agronomy guide" for the seeding suggestions. Climates vary considerably and the seeding suggestions for seed type, rate, and ground prep will change accordingly. For example: in Ohio we're outside of the suggested seeding dates for permanent grass seedings right now, but if you're in western Washington and have influence from the coast your seeding periods will be different. Likewise, the intended use makes a difference, in Ohio we'll seed pasture areas with fescues at a rate of less than 20 lb per acre, if it is a turf seeding the suggested rate may be 300 lb per acre or more.
The roller will probably not push rocks down as well as you'd like, you'll have a "lump" wherever there is a rock.
I'm guessing from your region that "burning" it off with fire is probably a no-no. Consider a chemical burn-down instead. Mow it good now, let the trash break down over the winter and then have it sprayed when about 4-5 inches in the spring.
Either way, see what is appropriate for your region, Washington and Oregon are grass seed country where much of the grass seed we use in the US is grown, I'm sure your local University Extension or Soil and Water Conservation office can get you on the right track.

Great advice..thank you..and yes burning is frowned upon around here, i usually do my burning at night....but those are fairly small burn piles anyway. sounds like you have done your research..thanks for the advice.

 

[Bubbie Corrillo]

4 acres is not going to be cheap either way you look at it. A power rake would be the benificial tool to use. However the run around 7 to 8 thousand new, and by the time you rented one to work over the 4 acers you may have well just bought one. Your tractor should be able to handle a 6 foot rake.

I do agree with Bulldogs idea of buring, but this time of year that may or may not get you in trouble. I know here in my area theres a strict burn ban in effect because of Fall being a dryer season with little to no rain and all the leaves falling.

Not to mention your going to need about 70 bags of grass seed to sow in the 4 acres and with a newly seeded lawn you end up putting down about 50lbs per 10,000 square feet. And looking at the price of Kentucky 31 at Home Depot $76.98 a bag you're looking at roughly $4,617.06 just for grass seed alone.

WOW!!! i have not even considered the cost of the seed...i had better re-think my plans! I have looked at getting a rake but was hesitant on shelling out another grand or so, but i guess if i gotta play, i am gonna have to pay...i am starting to get a little discouraged. i should probable pick out a small area that needs attention and practice my plan there to see the outcome/ cost for seed, rake rental, labour intensive, ect. Thank you for your suggestions and bringing to light some costs that i have not even considered...for some reason..call it stupidity/ignorence...i wasn't even thinking seed was sooo expensive..i hadn"t even looked

 

[Iowan]

Hello from north Ia.
I do lawn and garden tilling, this is the primary use for my tractor and equipment.
Over the years I have tried different types of drags, chain harrows and rollers and have found that dragging after tilling gives the best results. I fist make what ever changes in the landscape needed then till followed by dragging. The dragging compacts and levels the soil. After only two passes with the drag the tractor is up on top of the dirt and its time to remove the rocks and other debris from the aria.
Now you can do your final drag and get your lawn as perfect as you'd like.

My drag is one I made some years back, 6'x 6' over 200lbs, with a tongue on one end and a mount for the three point on the other. I pull it from the draw bar, one side of my quick-hitch or even of the back of the tiller.

I hope this helps.

 

[Bubbie Corrillo]

i definately need some practice with the box scraper, but sounds like a pretty good idea, might make the job a little easier. i just picture when the tractor gets on the down side of the hump, the box scraper will be higher than desired, then i assume i will have to fudge the hitch controll lower to make up for the difference, then re-adjust? When i consider the cost of a bag of grass seed, which I have not even considered, ouch! i better rethink my plan...maybe spot grading would be the better way to go. Thank you for your input!

i do have a 72" brush hog...a buddy told me i should get a "Flail Mower"? but i question the ease of re-sharpening a unit like that...but hopefully in the future..my plan is to get some type of finishing mower to make my "lawn time" much shorter...like i said earlier, mow time now is anywhere from 8 hours to 16 hours with my craftsman yts3000...which is a piece of junk by the way! i have used the brush hog when it gets real long..makes quick work but doesn't look that nice .

 

[Bubbie Corrillo]

Hello from north Ia.
I do lawn and garden tilling, this is the primary use for my tractor and equipment.
Over the years I have tried different types of drags, chain harrows and rollers and have found that dragging after tilling gives the best results. I fist make what ever changes in the landscape needed then till followed by dragging. The dragging compacts and levels the soil. After only two passes with the drag the tractor is up on top of the dirt and its time to remove the rocks and other debris from the aria.
Now you can do your final drag and get your lawn as perfect as you'd like.

My drag is one I made some years back, 6'x 6' over 200lbs, with a tongue on one end and a mount for the three point on the other. I pull it from the draw bar, one side of my quick-hitch or even of the back of the tiller.

I hope this helps.

sounds interesting...you wouldn"t have a picture of this set up? when you say drag..is it similar to using chain link fence with weights like they use on baseball fields or am I way off? how do you get the weight..ie 200lbs. thank you for the idea..sounds cheaper than other options.