Field Leveling

[Hattereno]

I've been working with a landscape expert for over a year now tending to 11.5 acres of old farm land. He's cross plowing and used a harrow rack to smooth the majority of ruts out of the land.

However, the land still has many, many bumps and ruts. What else can I do to level out the property? I's like to be able to mow smoothly and have the kids run through the yard without twisting an ankle.

Thanks!

 

[AchingBack]

A field is always going to have ruts unless you stay off of it with heavy, mechanized equipment. Think about it.

 

[Richard]

I'm certainly no expert but have wondered this myself.

I dont know the definition of 'big' machinery so don't know if a utility tractor is considered big...

The field in front of my house looks nice, I keep it mowed. It however is rough from the perspective of little divots that will snag your ankle.

I've come to the (uneducated) opinion that if I wanted to really level this land and make it smooth... I'd need to get a tiller out and simply chop up the rough spots.

Again, I don't know if that's accurate, just my presumption

 

[flusher]

I've been working with a landscape expert for over a year now tending to 11.5 acres of old farm land. He's cross plowing and used a harrow rack to smooth the majority of ruts out of the land.

However, the land still has many, many bumps and ruts. What else can I do to level out the property? I's like to be able to mow smoothly and have the kids run through the yard without twisting an ankle.

Thanks!

After plowing, run a disc over the field several times. Tow some kind of heavy drag behind the disc to break up the clods and smooth.





That old Towner disc was a gift from a neighbor. The tires were freebies from another neighbor who was cleaning up his sheds. I added about 400 lb of concrete weight to get the disc to work better.

 

[kthompson]

Stay off of it when wet. Work when dry and crumbles. Do work in more than one direction, even when mowing. If you have access to a "field cultivator" or have a farming neighbor with one they do a good job smoothing out a field. Also working it with big equipment (wide disk and plows) normally gets a piece of ground more level than narrow equipment does. Overlapping often helps. Wet ground will not hold the load dry ground does and will rut.

 

[Hematite]

I would say that shallow tilling, blading, and rolling would smooth and firm the soil and make for a very nice lawn. That's an uneducated guess, however.

 

[AchingBack]

You can do all of the above, and obtain temporary success. The problem is, you aren't working with a pool table. Under ground there are burrows, tunnels, and runways inhabited by all types of creatures moving around, creating air pockets, loosening stones, shifting soil, etc.. My advice, beat this endless battle by living with imperfection.

 

[Baby Grand]

Just my opinion, but it's a field, for cryin' out christmas! Teach you kids that a field isn't a lawn and they have to think about it and treat it differently. Teach them to appreciate the field for what it is and what it can provide. You'll be teaching them something that they'll never learn in school. Tell them why you don't want an 11.5 acre lawn to maintain - either in terms of the time or the money that you'd rather spend with them. Let the field grow up a bit and take them for walk thru it and point out all the different plants, bugs and other critters that live there. Make note of how the field changes with the seasons. Look for trails, tracks & spoor. Having a field, even a small one, is a luxury that I would never trade for the sameness of more lawn. Your kids can learn a lot from a field 8^).

Enjoy,

Jim
(Out standing in his field)

 

[taborekle]

I would say that shallow tilling, blading, and rolling would smooth and firm the soil and make for a very nice lawn. That's an uneducated guess, however.

I've found with my reversing tiller, that as it tills it moves ahead of itself a pile of loose dirt that fills in small depressions and holes, evening out the ground. I have a field next to my yard with a drainage ditch between them that I have to muck out from time to time with my FEL. My FEL work leaves much to be desired, and the ground afterwards is rutted and stepped in places. Running the tiller over it set at a shallow depth tends to smooth it all out. If I had a roller for followup, I could easily make it yard quality smooth in no time.

Larry

 

[Farmwithjunk]

While I was still involved in the construction industry, we had the opportunity to build a few different sports facilities. (Inc one minor league baseball stadium that has since received numerous awards for the condition and appearance of the playing surface) They required EXTREMELY "level" (read SMOOTH w/SOME drainage slope) fields. Of course, all were sodded after grading, but the grading was done with a VERY critical eye.

Tilling will give you a bunch of loose dirt. You CAN level that short term, but nothing says that dirt will settle evenly. Discing, grading (w/ a box blade, ect) or even the beloved HARLEY RAKE can't give you a firm, perfectly level field ON A PERMENANT BASIS once Ma Nature takes over. The ground HAS to be a FIRM base. (Loose, fluffy soil such as would be the results of a tiller are NOT the best solution) Then graded with the proper equipment. A conventional "road grader" (with an expert operator) will give you great results. But when even better results are required, go with something simular to the item shown below....

First to introduce the technology of Laser Land Leveling for Farm Fields in India. Level Master (also knows as Field King, Laser Land Leveler, Laser Leveler) is an Agricultural Machine used by Farmers worldwide to level the farm field using Laser Tec

We hired a sports turf installer to grade (using above equipment) and sod the fields. They were PERFECT when finished. From that point on, they required an occasional plug aerification followed by top dressing with a sand/soil mix to maintain that degree of consistancy. (Just like a golf course would do)

THere would be an additional source for info.....IF you play golf. Ask the local course superintendant how they maintain smooth and level fairways and greens. (after hackers like me get done destroying their course..... )