Need Advice on Smoothing Field

[BoylermanCT]

After everyone's suggestions, I am thinking about finding or making a heavy 6' roller and trying to smooth the bumps out that way. Rototilling might address the problem quicker but reseeding the field would be a real challenge.

 

[jeff9366]

Gandy is a producer of professional quality rollers: Lawn Rollers | Gandy

There are not many.

 

[Creamer]

I am thinking of trying the diamond tooth drag section on mine. The roller did some but it surely not where I want it to be.

 

[Joe Malovich]

If you want golf-course fairway smooth then use what a golf course uses, a verticutter. This is like a flail mower that has vertical knives that go down into the thatch/dirt pulling up material. High spots will be dug deeper than low spots leaving the sod intact. It depends on the verticutter used but with some you can leave the evenly distributed tailings in place, others will clump up the tailings requiring you to collect them up with a lawn sweeper or mower with vac and a short cut. There are also verticutter mowers that have built in collection bins. These are also called scarifiers which I understand is a deeper cutting version of a verticutter.

 

[Slippy]

Just a follow up to this post even though it is 4 years old. I have the same issue with a rough hay field. I have done part of it by rototill, chain harrow, and seeding. Lots of time and work with mixed results. I am now going to purchase a roller. As mentioned above, Grady does have rollers, but I have located a company that will custom make a roller more applicable to a agricultural use rather than a lawn type roller Grady shows on the web site at a reasonable price. BoylermanCT, would be interested to learn how your project ended up. Did you go the roller route?

 

[alexebdra453]

Turf specialist Dave Minner says the re-establishment of a healthy, thick grass will help alleviate this problem. But if the thought of ripping up the yard and planting a new lawn sounds daunting, you can build it up gradually by spreading a half-inch of top dressing each year.

"You could go out and top dress with compost, with sand and soil, with sand and compost, any of that combination, and you just basically keep filling it," Minner says. "Don't bury the grass completely, but about a half-inch is about the most you'd want to put on at a single time and the grass will grow right up through it."
"Scalp the lawn as low as you can and then you can see all the bumps," Minner says. "And it's easier to spread the materials and drag them around and do leveling. When the grass is 2 1/2 inches tall, you can't drag the half-inch of material around because it just gets stuck down there in the grass."

If you have access to a drag implement that can be hooked up behind a lawn tractor, try using it as an easy way to pull the material off the high spots and drop it in the low spots. Minner says this is also a good time to verify the soil, and drag the plugs around, too.

One thing you do not want to do is try to flatten the yard with a heavy roller. It will take care of some of the roughness, but it also damages the turf by compacting the soil, which is what you're trying to avoid.

 

[alexebdra453]

deleted post

 

[BoylermanCT]

Just a follow up to this post even though it is 4 years old. I have the same issue with a rough hay field. I have done part of it by rototill, chain harrow, and seeding. Lots of time and work with mixed results. I am now going to purchase a roller. As mentioned above, Grady does have rollers, but I have located a company that will custom make a roller more applicable to a agricultural use rather than a lawn type roller Grady shows on the web site at a reasonable price. BoylermanCT, would be interested to learn how your project ended up. Did you go the roller route?

I never found or bought a large heavy roller, but I did get a heavy zero turn that weighs 1100 lbs and I used my 3' 24" roller behind it whenever I mowed after it rained. With that I was able to roll a 5' path between the zero turns large rear wheels and the roller. Over time the field has definitely smoothed out, and I can mow it in 45 minutes if I push the pedal to the metal. Still not full speed for the mower, but it no longer shakes my insides to pieces when I mow. I think if I want to smooth it out further, I would use sand to top dress the lawn and fill in the low points.

What roller company are you looking at?

 

[Slippy]

First, let me point something out. I am working on a patch of about 10 acres of hay field, so although it is not ideal to use a heavy roller due to compaction issues, it is better than the alternatives to get a smooth field so that hay can be taken off without damaging expensive equipment. Also, when I get this field done, I have another 250 acres, which about 50 of needs smoothing. I have pulled a 10ft drag over the area multiple times, and it is not the answer. Yes, it helps get the excess thatch out, and yes it helps aerate the soil, but it will not smooth the ruts, depressions and high points. Top dressing 10 acres is also not an option, at least not around here. The cost of the amount of top soil you would need is just not economically feasible. So, turf specialists Dave Minner, while I respect and agree that it is not ideal to roll a yard due to compaction, I do think it is an option for acres of hay fields. Also, after the field is rolled and smoother, I will run a core aerator over it hopefully this fall and again in the spring. To till up all these acres, destroy a good mature crop of established orchard grasses, and start over, although I originally thought was the answer, I have now concluded it is not.
So, my plan is to roll this field out so it is reasonable to mow and bale at 4-5 mph, aerate, slit seed, which will hopefully provide a hay field that will be productive. This will take substantially less time, get the field smooth, increase production, eliminate the need to destroy an existing mature stand of crop, and provide a better crop sooner.

The roller company is Grahl Manufacturing. 1-888-732-7789 Ask for Jerry. He is the owner, American made, small business owner. Very helpful. I ordered a 36” by 72” roller. They also have spiked rollers for aeration, but I prefer core aeration.

 

[alexebdra453]

Turf specialist Dave Minner says it would help to alleviate this issue by re-establishing a healthy, dense grass. But if the idea of digging the yard up and planting a new lawn sounds overwhelming, by spreading a half-inch of top dressing each year you can gradually build it up.

You could go out and top dress all of that mixture with compost, with sand and soil, with sand and compost, and you just basically keep filling it," Minner says."
"Don't absolutely bury the grass, but about half an inch is about the most you'd want to put on at the same time, and the grass grows right through it."
"Scalp the grass as low as you can and then all the bumps can be seen," says Minner. "And spreading the materials and dragging them around and leveling them is better. If the grass is 2 1/2 inches thick, you should not drag the half-inch of material around because it just gets stuck in the grass down there."
Try using it as a simple way to pull the material from the high spots and drop it in the low spots if you have access to a drag system that can be hooked up behind a lawn tractor. This is also a good time to check the dirt, Minner says, and drag the plugs around too. Trying to flatten the yard with a heavy roller is one thing you do not want to do. It can take care of some of the roughness, but by compacting the dirt, it also destroys the turf, which is what you are trying to prevent.