Which Attachment Lawn Installation ?

[iflywhatevr]

I have a Kioti CK3510SE with loader and am looking to turn some land into nice lawn. The two acres or so directly behind our house currently under construction was wooded until last winter the rest is all open farmland as you can see from the pic. We clear cut it and had a contractor come in a pull the stumps and rough grade with a bulldozer. We’ve been mowing the area all this year (basically mowing weeds).

What I am looking to do is turn the area into a nice lawn. To do this the soil definitely needs to be turned I think as well as deal with some minor roots that may be in the ground still and level out the area as much as possible. No issue there with rocks just nice loam a little on the sandy side. I am leaning toward a Harley Rake based on what I have been reading although a buddy says just buy a tiller and till it up that way. So what is the best attachment to do this? Biggest bang for the buck? Is there one attachment this will do the whole job?

Thanks,

David

 

[jeff9366]

The two acres behind our house was wooded until last winter. We clear cut it, then had a contractor pull the stumps and rough grade with a bulldozer. The rest is open farmland. We mowed the area this year, basically mowing weeds.

I want to convert the area into a nice lawn. To do this the soil definitely needs to be turned I think as well as deal with some minor roots that may be in the ground still and level out the area as much as possible.

Start with a soil test. Amend per soil test results. Inform analyzer turf is your goal.

Why do you believe the soul should be turned, which would mean using a plow or an offset disc? Soil needs to be turned if covered with dense sod, if soil is compacted, or if crops have been taken off for several harvests, which depletes micro-nutrients. Woodland soil, which you have, is usually pretty rich.

Usually, TRACKED equipment does not compact soil very much. Rather than using a moldboard/turning plow, I suggest a Field Cultivator which cuts the soil but does not turn it.

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VIDEO: field cultivator small tractor - YouTube


No issue there with rocks just nice loam a little on the sandy side. I am leaning toward a Harley Rake based on what I have been reading. A buddy says buy a tiller and prep that way. Is there one attachment this will do the whole job?

Harley Rake would be good if you had rocks, but you have rock free loam. A PTO-powered Roto-tiller would be fine but probably more $$ implement than necessary.
For smoothing 2" ridges which result from tilling with a Field Cultivator I would pull a Chain Harrow around and around. A framed Disc Harrow will allow you to shake out collected debris easily. Framed Disc Harrows are available from several sources or you can improvise a four foot width lift easily.

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VENDERS: 3pt EconoDrag Harrows (4' " - 6' 5" widths - 5' long harrow)

3 Point Chain Harrows ::ABI Attachments::


If you plan to seed the land, you will need some type of roller to press the seed into solid contact with the earth. Poly rollers are cheap and readily available from TSC and Big Box store web sites.

 

[TheMan419]

We took about 10 acres that was corn. It then became weds. Wanted it to be pasture for the horses. I bush hogged it short. Sprayed w roundup. Waited 2 weeks. Hit it with a tiller. Then chain harrow. Then broad cast spread seed. It grew very well.

It is not as smooth as I would want it for a hard, however I think that would have been fixed by dragging several more times and in different directions.

I bought s county line tiller from TSC. I bought new because I could not wait for the right used one to come in the market. I believe I could sell it at a loss of only a couple hundred bucks.

In the spring I will add nitrogen as well as weed kill.

 

[s219]

I probably wouldn't turn/till the soil if it's already settled a bit and growing something (even weeds). Hard to say without being on site to see for myself. I know that for my property, what I did was kill the weeds, then bring in a couple piles of screened top soil to help level out the ground with a box blade. With nice dry screened topsoil and a box blade, you can have it beautifully smooth in no time. Then aerate with a core aerator and put down any needed amendments, fertilizer, and seed.

Really depends on the native topsoil and subsoil and what you want to put down. You don't have to deal with clay like I do here in VA, so that makes life a lot easier. But I definitely think that you'll create less work for yourself, and get a better result, if you don't turn/till the soil and put yourself back at square one with roots, clumps, rocks, etc to deal with.

 

[TMGT]

I've put in a few lawns and my go to is a Harley rake, i have a rental company that I rent a 5ft 3pt one from. If you already have the the bulk of the prep done the Harley makes for fast work of making a nice seed bed.

Typically if I don't have to add top soil or do and ammendment then I'll use the Harley to finish level and create the seed bed, lay the seed down, run a light drag harrow to help cover the seed and then cover with straw (from a straw blower) and then roll it.

I've tried tillers but they go too deep and create problem and when you try to do a shallow/light pass they aren't nearly as effective as a Harley/power rake.

 

[npalen]

I like the tiller for incorporating vegetation for green manure. The problem with a tiller is that it fluffs the soil and then needs to be settled back down. I do that with a 5' two row coil tine harrow on the three point hitch. The same harrow, which is very similar to a dethatcher, works great after broadcast seeding.

 

[iflywhatevr]

I guess I probably don’t need to turn the soil based on what everyone is saying. I was just trying to find the best way to get all the inevitable clumps from the weeds mixed in and broken up.

I don’t plan on adding anything to the soil other than lime as the composition is decent. I did find a good deal on 200 yards of good loam and local contractor was trying to get rid of at $8 a yard I couldn’t pass it up so if needed I can spread that with the loader in areas that might be a bit too sandy or need to be raised up a little.

How does the Harley Rake work with minor minor roots that might be in the soil left over from when we rough graded and stumped the area? Any issues there? How deep do those rakes typically go?

David

 

[jeff9366]

Spend $15 for a proper soil test. Do not guess your soil is optimum for grass.

If you establish turf from seed you will need supplemental nitrogen for sure.

 

[Piston]

If you already had a rototiller I’d say try it out, but it’s not the right tool for the job.
The one single correct tool for the job is the power rake (Harley Rake). I use a 6’ Woods model power rake and this is exactly what it’s meant for.
Roots won’t hurt it at all. Depending how “live” they still are it may not pull them out of the ground, but if the roots are dead a lot of times it will break/pull them right up and either windrow them all or collect them at the end of the run if you use the side plates.

You won’t get all of them, and you may have to spend some time with hand clippers to get some stubborn ones, or power rake right over them and let them rot in place for a while as your lawn gets established.

Power rakes are truly amazing tools. If you can’t rent one, you could likely buy/sell one for the same amount. I ended up making my money back very quickly by doing some side jobs, so at this point it’s completely free, plus some.

 

[jenkinsph]

Spend $15 for a proper soil test. Do not guess your soil is optimum for grass.

If you establish turf from seed you will need supplemental nitrogen for sure.

I agree with Jeff and would recommend a soil test initially as some amendments need time to work.

I would recommend you get the lime out now so it has several months to work before spring or fall planting next year.