Compost spreading with York rake

[LoneCowboy]

I do this all the time
FEL
get a batch, go forward slowly dropping it out
after a while you'll get pretty good at putting it down at an even rate
shouldn't take more than 1/2 an hour if your pile is reasoanbly close (14 yards is a pretty small pile)
then till it in.

 

[RichNJKubota]

I also do this.
Twice a year I spread several yards of compost on the garden. It's about 3,000 sq ft. Once in the spring before tilling and once in the fall. Takes about 1/2 hr.
I just use the FEL and make several trips. I drive into the garden and then back up while dumping. Spread it around 6" thick.
Yeah, there are clumps and some bare spots. If I have a few more minutes I back drag the high spots with the FEL.
Having a rake would help allot.

 

[hazmat]

If you don't have a toothbar, now is the time to get one....

Dump bucket load of compost on ground trying to spread it out a bit.

position bucket at proper angle such that there is desired distance between ground and bottom of bucket letting teeth ride on ground.

Backdrag, spreading compost at desired depth.

Use rake with guage wheels set at tine height to fill in mini "ruts" caused by toothbar.

method works best when ground is "hard" - ie not freshly tilled.

 

[SuburbanMD]

Thanks everyone for the input. The real issue seems to be distributing the stuff around the area before spreading it, and I don't have an FEL. So looks like I'll be wheelbarrowing it, and from there might as well spread it by hand. My tractor will come in handy for tilling it in (Frontier PTO tiller), and then for smoothing it with the rake. The wife thinks it's a better idea to leave it in tilled condition. Certainly better for the seeds, but it's hard to walk across ground like that.

 

[VABlue]

Seed beds should be fairly firm. Maybe rent a roller once its all tilled? That would pack in the seed, too...

 

[LoneCowboy]

Thanks everyone for the input. The real issue seems to be distributing the stuff around the area before spreading it, and I don't have an FEL. So looks like I'll be wheelbarrowing it, and from there might as well spread it by hand. My tractor will come in handy for tilling it in (Frontier PTO tiller), and then for smoothing it with the rake. The wife thinks it's a better idea to leave it in tilled condition. Certainly better for the seeds, but it's hard to walk across ground like that.

After you till, if you run a sod roller over it (even a push one), it will compact it enough to walk on it and not disturb the grade, but not enough to keep seeds in.
Besides, grass seed likes a firm seedbed.

 

[daTeacha]

You could try a trick we use in pouring concrete in a large barn.

Get some wooden stakes and drive them into the ground in a set pattern so you know where they and won't puncture a tire driving over them. Set the top of the stake at the height you want the compost to be. The just spread it around until you can see tops and nothing else. If you see a lot of wood, bring more material in there. If you don't see any, take some out.

I would use a double or triple ground mulch that is pretty uniform in consisitency if I was you. I presume you're going to be making a lawn out of the area, so also check to make sure the stuff is biologically clean. You can get a lot of fungus spores, weed seeds, and other nasty stuff in mulch. Especially interesting is the one descriptively known as "dog puke fungus" in some mulch and you might also find some slime mold, which is less than attractive, but neat stuff from a biologist's standpoint. Mulch is also a great way to bring carpenter ants, termites, and other pests to the house -- keep the mulch at least a foot or two from the house or other buildings.

 

[SuburbanMD]

Up until now, after tilling (w/out amending soil) my practice has been to lightly rake with the York Rake. Driving the tractor over the ground while raking has been enough to compact the soil. So I don't get much use out of my lawn roller. Of course, if I rake after tilling in amendments, I'll have to be especially careful not to rake the amended top layer completely off a segment of ground.

I'm not trying to establish a lawn here, rather a sort of "herb meadow".

 

[daTeacha]

Ever think of using a small disk to mix things in? I've seen them as small as about 3 feet wide.