How to smooth a rough yard

[jcummins]

I currently mow about 4+ acres. Front/back yard, bands along a long driveway, and around an 7-8 acre pond. There is one section that I started mowing "yard like" that was pasture and it has rough spots that beat the snot out of you mowing. It looks ok...in fact pretty nice...but it would be nice to smooth it out.

How best to go about that?

 

[DKCDKC]

Same question. I did my own yard when I built this house, and it is bumpy as heck. I hate to disk it all under and start over. Hoping to spread some loose, screened fill over it and scree it smooth. If I do no more than an inch at a time, the grass should come through it. A couple years of that should smooth it out - I hope.

 

[Chuck1234]

Same question. I did my own yard when I built this house, and it is bumpy as heck. I hate to disk it all under and start over. Hoping to spread some loose, screened fill over it and scree it smooth. If I do no more than an inch at a time, the grass should come through it. A couple years of that should smooth it out - I hope.

That will probably work. I would use a drag of some sort to help make sure the fill ends up smooth. Old mattress box springs (without any fabric, typically they've been burnt or stripped) work, spiked tooth harrows work, I've even seen people drag a fence panel with a few concrete blocks wired on top for weight used.

 

[JMER]

I had the same problem. I scraped it all with box blade, added some top soil (not much) and then drug my spike tooth harrow over it several times until it was smooth. threw out my grass seed, took harrow off tractor and drove over ground to get good seed to soil contact. threw down some wheat straw and let it rain.

 

[Ed of all trades]

My place is all old pasture and is kinda rough as well. I just keep filling in the low places with what ever extra dirt I come up with doing the work around the place. It gets better every year and with just filling in small places the grass soon fills in. Been doing this for 5 yr and I am running out of places to put the extra dirt.

 

[sweettractors]

A box blade or a disc harrow with a pretty heavy drag on the back. Ken Sweet

 

[jenkinsph]

I use landplane grader scrapers for this work all the time. Shaves off the high spots and fills the depressions, will leave most of the grass in place. You could also make a wood box to drag to lay down a 1/2" layer of screeened top soil which could help fill in and average out the holes and depressions too. You can use your fel to keep the dirt loaded in the box, while it is easier with two tractors it is doable with one.

 

[jcummins]

I use landplane grader scrapers for this work all the time. Shaves off the high spots and fills the depressions, will leave most of the grass in place. You could also make a wood box to drag to lay down a 1/2" layer of screeened top soil which could help fill in and average out the holes and depressions too. You can use your fel to keep the dirt loaded in the box, while it is easier with two tractors it is doable with one.

That wood box is a good idea.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Core aerator and drag.

 

[paulemar]

I currently mow about 4+ acres. Front/back yard, bands along a long driveway, and around an 7-8 acre pond. There is one section that I started mowing "yard like" that was pasture and it has rough spots that beat the snot out of you mowing. It looks ok...in fact pretty nice...but it would be nice to smooth it out.

How best to go about that?

Well, I'd need more information to make a good recommendation. Are the rough spots high ridges or ruts? It makes a difference because generally you need to remove high spots and fill depressions. If there are high spots, will cutting them down create an overall low spot in the yard that will collect water and be a Spring time mess? The first thing I thought of when reading your post was that possibly someone in the past took a tractor into that area while it was waterlogged and just left a rutted mess. I'd usually suggest tilling when dry enough in different directions and it will pretty much self level, but without a tractor your options are very limited. Depending on how large an area we're talking about, you can get a load of topsoil and fill in the rough areas by hand. If you do this, allow for some settling of the soil. A better option is to ask a neighbor with a tractor for his/her opinion and advice. They can look at it, evaluate it, figure out what equipment is needed to fix it, and probably be willing to help you out for minimal cost if they can. I'd do it for nothing if it wasn't of an unreasonable size just to be neighborly.