Equipment to do lawn restorations???

[dqdave1]

You do not need a large cut to pull a Harley rake; they make different sizes. Price is high on Harleys.

 

[Dirthog]

Most of the time all we use is a Rototiller in fact just a new reverse tine one two or three passes and it brake's every thing up and levels out any ruts and you are ready to seed we doo hand pick out the large rocks though

 

[teeravis1]

Since last spring (2006), I have been working on putting in my yard. It was all trees when we started. Had a dozer come in clear it and do the rough grade. The issue is I have a lot of rocks. Now I am done except for a little corner. First I used a land scape rake to drag roots, tree branches, & rocks sitting on the surface out of the yard (and somewhat level it). Next I got a bed spring put 2 old grader blades on it for weight and dragged it to level it and pull some of the rocks out sticking above the surface. Then I hand raked it to get all the little rocks and gravel out. In the process of the hand raking I dug out the big rocks above, at or just below the surface and filled in the holes. This was way too much work over the last 2 years (my yard is about 2 acres), and I'm not even completely done yet! So my question is this, in case I ever have to do it again - How could I have made it easier on myself and eliminated the hand raking and maybe the digging out of big rocks? Is there any implements that would have made my life easier? Here are some details on the ground I put my yard in: red staining clay mixed with gravel & lots lots lots of rocks small big & very big. I put a thread out there somewhere showing some of my rocks. I would like to get any advice for the next time. Thanks -Trav

 

[teeravis1]

Oh and by the way, my whole yard is on a hill, so any time we get a good rain after I just planted a section of it, it washes it out with run off trenches, and also washes all the rock free soil on top I just raked clean out so its all rocks on the surface again. Then I have to re-hand rake it, out dig more big rocks that popped up, & fill the runoff trenches and rake them smooth -not good, rework is bad and I have done a lot of it over the last 2 years. I mulch it with straw, but the big rains still get the best of it. Couldn't afford to haul the black dirt to cover the yard, or the sod to sod the yard, so I bought the tractor and have donated lots of my time to it. Any suggestions on what I could have done that would have been better/smarter?

 

[FULLPULL]

The Harley rake will handle rocks and win row them and pull them into piles if there not to big .They told me football size at the factory is ok . On a hill if you cant afford sod the next thing for me would be stake straw on the edges in rows this will slow the water till you get a stand of grass . It also works good for deep ditch work if you leave room for the water to pass then offset the next row. On new yards we usally tend to get topsoil in place if it is to rocky to work . If the rock arent to big you might rent a Harley rake and try it . You can see one like the Harley at Woods equipment website in a video if you want.

 

[Patriot]

teeravis1,

I did a job very similar to what you’re dealing with.
For starters try a rockhound, it’s made by the same people that make the harley rake or Bobcats. The rocks are collected in a bucket which then can be dumped in a truck or in the woods, etc. You can usually find them wherever the Bobcat skid steers are rented.
After that, wait for a week without rain in the forecast, or at least 4-5 days then hydroseed it using extra mulch and tackifier, the required amount of grass seed of your choice, plus the same amount of quick grow annual seed.
The annual seed comes up fast and will help stabilize the soil while waiting for the perennial seed to sprout , otherwise you may need to use seed germination cloth on the slopes.
I know you said you have a big area to do but this is the best way I’ve found to get grass to grow on steep slopes and avoid washouts.

Brian

 

[Jay4200]

So my question is this, in case I ever have to do it again - How could I have made it easier on myself and eliminated the hand raking and maybe the digging out of big rocks?

That's easy. After the dozer was finished, I'd pick any big rocks out with my backhoe, then hire a landscaper to come in with a harley rake. I might consider renting a rake and running it on my tractor, but it might not be much more expensive to have someone come in and do it. They would run the rake over everything a couple of times, hand picking whatever big rocks you missed. You probably would need to have a couple of truckloads of loam brought in too, which would be spread and leveled by the aforementioned landscaper (I've noticed that tractors don't spread loam very efficiently).

It would probably take the better part of a day to do the raking part, maybe two if it was really bad. Once all of that is done, they would spray down the entire thing with a hydroseeder and that would be it.

It would take a weekend, and two weeks later you'd have a golf course.

JayC

 

[teeravis1]

It would take a weekend, and two weeks later you'd have a golf course.

JayC

A weekend, two weeks, and about $25,000, which is why I opted to buy the tractor and do it myself!