Proper implement for field prep

[drjay9051]

I am looking to prep about an acre for grass seed come springtime. Right now it is just some scattered grass, weeds and bare earth( mostly sandy soil). I did attempt to prep the area with a chain drag but not much happened except some scratching of the surface. Whats the best way to go:
1. buy a disc harrow
2. scrape with my box blade
3. use the FEL
4. rent a walk behind self propelled roto tiller for $85 for a weekend of hard labor
5. Buy a tiller for my PTO (very expensive option)

I have been told the disc harrow will only work for soft earth previously planted and the tiller is best to turn over the soil to a good depth for decompacting it. I suppose for the same price of the PTO tiller I could pay to have it done but thats no fun.

Should I spray roundup or just turn it all under and let the existing vegatation rot?

Thanks for the help.

 

[john_bud]

If it's just an acre, use what you have. Adjust the scarifiers all the way down, tilt the box foreward by shortening the top link a lot. Add as much weight to the box as you can and drag it around. If the weeds are tall, mow it down tight and mulch up as much of the growth as possible first so it won't foul the scarifiers.

It would be smart to do a soil test first. You may need a pile of lime. If you do, determine the lime requirement from the test and apply 2/3 of it BEFORE you disturb the soil. If it needs fertilizer, add 1/3 of the needed amount now too. Then break it up good with the box blade. You can make a cheap smoothing drag with a 25' roll of chain link fence wrapped around a log. Screw in 1/2" lag bolts to the ends of the log and attach chains from it to the 3pt. Then just drag it around. The weight of the log and the roughness of the fence will break up the cods. For a smoother finish, you can unroll 8-10' of the fence and let it flop along behind. This is best done when it is dry and dusty. I would plant a fast growing clover or oats and till that in in the spring. You may not be able to do that easily without a disc, plow or tiller.

Before you seed in the spring, spray the field with roundup, add again the same amount of lime you did and the full amount of fertilizer you need. Then turn it again with the box blade. If you can wait, let the weeds come up, spray and turn then seed. You will need to keep on top of the weeds as there are probably millions of seeds per sq foot in the seed bank.

 

[Greyfields]

I'm going through this now myself. A disc harrow is something you will use forever, so it's not a bad investment. For the initial roughin-up, I have used both a plow and a tiller (set with the shoes as far out as they'll go). Then it's disc, disc, disc until everything's dead. After it rains, weeds will regerminate, then disc disc disc again. I don't spray, so I won't comment on that.

For 1 acre, liming will be pretty cheap and it's worth doing it.