Extremly flat lawn beds

[GreatWhitehunter]

I need to get my backyard even grade for my new lawn. I want to get the dirt as close to even as possible before I spread my loam so I don't waste any. I've got york rake a rear blade and a box blade. I can't seem to get it as even as I'd like with an of them. I'm thinking a chain harrow would work well but figured I'd seek the advice of the TBN guru's before getting the harrow. So any thought on how exactly to get the results I'm looking for would be great.

Matt T.

 

[sandman2234]

This is the reason a lot of people add training wheels to their boxblades, to make a short "land plane".
David from jax

 

[RedDirt]

Have you tried towing around a wooden pallet? Long boards at right angle to direction of pull. Worked great on my lawn prep. Added some concrete blocks for weight at first then removed the weights for finishing. Used chains to connect to the tractor and could angle the drag. Some folk like to drag with a section of chain link fence. Haven't tried it myself but it should produce good results too.

I drag in criss-cross and diagonal patterns.

The drags are used after the ground is roughly in shape with back or box blading.

 

[Blagadan]

I second using a wooden pallet. We did the exact same as RedDirt when we were levelling my brothers yard. A large wooden pallet, a few concrete blocks and some chain. Did a great job.

One thing about using a wooden pallet, if you have too many blocks on the pallet, it will dig in and put a hard shine on the surface of the soil. Dont be tempted to overload your makeshift leveller. We found that using 5 or 6 blocks at the back of the pallet were more than enough to shave the high spots and fill the low spots. Our best result was using an 8ft X 4ft pallet.

Maybe once the whole lot is levelled, you could use your york rake to pull off any big stones and roughen the surface before seeding?

I'm sure if I had a box blade I would have used that but we had pallets of various sizes and blocks to hand.

Have fun!!

 

[Egon]

As stated, the drags will probably do the best job. Make it as long as you can pull as the longer it is the less variations you will have on the finished product.

 

[3RRL]

I would use the boxblade to finish it too.
Do you have it "roughed in" to where it's close but not perfect yet?
If there are high and low spots, there's no reason you couldn't cut the high spots only to fill in the low ones. Or bring more dirt if there isn't enough to fill the low spots. You might even have to cut in reverse like a bulldozer, using the rear of the boxblade to knock off some high spots. Be careful not to bend your drag links using that method. Once you get it acceptable, tilt the boxblade back so it smooths with the rear blade. I would use the landscape rake or drag harrow after I got it level, and that is only to get it soft for seeding...to mix in loan, compost or topdressing.

I've done a number of projects like that...all without gauge wheels. Some were large and some smaller, but they all turned out really flat and smooth that way. The first photo is of a couple small areas I just did last week, getting ready for planting grass like you. The others are from when I was building my barn pad. You can actually see the barn in that first photo in the top left corner. That pad was about 80' x100', so it can be done with a little patience and effort. Just stay after it and get really good with those implements.

 

[charlz]

I think a pallet would work better than a chain harrow. I have a chain harrow and it 'dips' along with the ground. The pallet being stiff would help it to dump its accumulated dirt into the low spots.

 

[JMER817]

A york rake with gauge wheels really helps. The best tool would be a harley rake. You can should be able to find one to rent. Run about $200 a day, but you will be amazed at the job it does.

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

I've got the rack with wheels but still can't get the smooth finish I'm after. The pallet idea is interesting I was thinking of using some large 8x8 timbers in the same way. I'll try it this weekend and see how it turns out. I was thinking of trying a harley rake. Is does the harley rack level or just remove clumps and rocks?

Matt T.

 

[ray66v]

Dragging around a heavy wooden ladder laying flat, sideways, works well.