Will a Land Plane work on turf?

[rfc143]

I have a relatively flat field, about an acre in size, that I currently mow. It's very uneven, with "pot holes" from stones I've dug out and hills and valleys...total variation in "elevation" from highs to lows is about a foot or so. Mowing it is like riding in an old buckboard with busted springs...not very comfortable. Some time ago, when digging a test pit for a possible septic system, the soil looked like...Vermont dirt...quite a few stones; not much clay. My neighbor says corn was grown there years ago.

I was going to rent a box blade with scarifier teeth to try to level it but have held off due to the admonishment of many here who say it takes a lot of experience to know how to use one. Well, as luck would have it (or God's grace), my neighbor just bought a brand new Land Pride GS2572 Land Plane and told me anytime I want to use it, I can. Everything I've read about them says they're super easy to use...no fussing with the 3 pt links etc., but most of these talk about using them in the context of gravel drives.

But will they work on turf? What happens to all the turf? Presumably I'll have to re-seed, but will the attachment level things out (I can finish the job with my LP rake). I'm certainly happy to experiment but don't want to mess up a reasonably good looking field If I can avoid it. Not looking for Augusta National; just a smooth, level grassy field.

 

[shui5612]

I have no experience with a land plane on turf but I feel like it will not work simply due to the turb coming off in chunks and not allowing it to do its job properly...

If you want a nice job then I would find a harley rake, they are pretty easy to use as the rear wheels dictate depth, pass over the field and tear the turf into pieces, the Harley rake does a good job of evening everything out, however the soil left over is very loose and needs to be spread out better or slightly compacted.

I would then use a land plane to even and compact things a tiny bit or even a chain link fence that's weighed down with 4x4s.

Hopefully this helps.
Ian.


On a second thought, it depends on what your turf is growing, half of my turf is growing over sand which may make the landplane more suitable, however if you have earth or topsoil I only imagine it coming off in chunks that will get over the 2 land plane blades.

With either method you will have to seed new grass..

 

[Texasmark]

Gravel is loose and can easily ride up and over the wedges and fall down nice and even. Maybe sandy loam with no vegitation would do that too. Maybe dry pulverized clay with no vegitation would do that also. My guess anything other than that and it will bounce along on top of your vegitation and waste your time. I just finished doing what you are talking about and about the quickest thing I can suggest is a 3 pt. roto tiller with a spike toothed harrow pulled behind.

 

[jenkinsph]

I would agree with Texasmark on a tiller and spike toothed harrow. I do use a landplane grader scraper to smooth tilled ground with success.

It is much easier to smooth out the entire lawn area and then reseed rather than patching small spots all over the lawn.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

You can always give it a try, but I dont think it will do much good on turf, land planes don't cut and dig much.

I would just for the fun of it, buy an old 6 or 8ft disk and get to work, won't be as fast as a tiller most likely with vegetation but still would be fun.

 

[daugen]

I agree with others that the land plane would likely ride up and just slide on top of grass, maybe digging in once in a while. Just not designed for grass; think of using a woodworker's
block plane on a piece of wood with the knobby bark on it. It would bounce along on top, and likely get clogged promptly.
I rototilled an acre and did not use a leveling drag behind me, big mistake. Now makes for bumps while mowing in one spot. I used a roller on it after a rain but still not enough
to flatten out nicely. So if using a rototiller don't turn in the middle of a field. Makes a permanent "wake" like a boat... Common sense but I found out how poor
tilling strategy left me unhappy.

Using a disc harrow behind a tractor really is great fun, but if you are only going to do this once, maybe you could borrow a neighbor's. You would still need to drag for smoothness.

Land planes are used extensively around here in coastal sandy soil, work beautifully on sandy driveways, very well on gravel, and huge versions are seen in the fields leveling off areas for
some purpose.

 

[MF283]

A pulverizer would work better than a land plane, then they do make them with sacrificers.

 

[oosik]

I have a land plane grading scraper with manual scarifiers - Land Pride GS2584. Just for the knowledge gained, I tried it on some of my virgin, untilled land. The plot was covered with native field grasses and weeds. I didn't have to pull it more than 50 feet to see that it was creating a TOTAL mess - with scarifiers UP or DOWN.

It pulled up great chunks of sod, bounced over the pulled up chunks, totally skidded over many areas and was NOT going to make anything level or smooth. So - I borrowed the neighbors PTO driven rototiller and tilled an area about 60' x 100'. The LPGS STILL had trouble dealing with the chewed up sod. Well, nobody I knew had a landscape rake, so I ended up manually raking & removing all the chewed up chunks of sod. Then, after the remaining dirt had dried, the LPGS did a respectable job. It did even better after the smoothed ground had dried another week or so and I used the LPGS a second time.

My experience shows that the LPGS will do just fine on a gravel driveway or on DRY dirt with little or no combined sod. The scarifiers will loosen gravel on a driveway or hard packed dirt in a field. The scarifiers will create a MESS on unbroken ground with most any depth of sod. The LPGS will not fix this mess.

Its kind of what I expected but I had to try........

 

[TSO]

Use a disc today. Let it dry out. Use the disc again tomorrow. Let it dry out. Use the disc a third time. Letting it dry each time will help you break up the turf clods. Once it's turned into loose soil, you can use the land plane.

A Harley does a great job. But it will also need to dry out between uses, otherwise you'll be moving around clumps of grass.

 

[daugen]

well, that's as close to an unqualified NO as I've ever read here...
nice when there's a clear answer and all of us without land planes learn more about how they work
You need a better/different tool for the job.
Have fun and then smooth mowing.

wanted to add: borrow/rent a disc; if you have never used one, it's a great experience. And you can go around enough times until
you get it just perfect. And then you won't want to come in....

 

[Egon]

Cultivation with whatever means at hand. It has to be done over a period of time so the sod/turf dries up and the clumps break down. After that it's levelling time which again be done with different equipment. If possible something that will remove many of the rocks will really help.

There are times when the proper equipment is not available but other types can be put to use and will do the job for you at affordable prices.

 

[rfc143]

Thanks all for the input. I guess I don't understand why the ripper teeth, set 4" or 5" deep wouldn't rip the daylights out of the sod, and then if done so repeatedly, why it would not just dry out and get turned back into the soil. But I defer to the experts here. As the thing is next door, and at my beck and call, I will probably not be able to resist trying it on a small section to see what happens with the teeth.

 

[Egon]

The sod/turfs will break down into smaller clumps that only dissapears when they dry out and get moved around. Scarifiers do not provide the prop action.

 

[oosik]

Sod is a real PITA. Alway has been, always will be. Borrow your neighbors LPGS - give it a try - let us know how it works for you. Just don't expect it to perform miracles. The LPGS is not designed to be a "sod busting", land preparation implement. I suppose you can make it do the job - its going to take work, patience and a lot of seat time.

 

[TSO]

Thanks all for the input. I guess I don't understand why the ripper teeth, set 4" or 5" deep wouldn't rip the daylights out of the sod, and then if done so repeatedly, why it would not just dry out and get turned back into the soil.

It will.... But only for short distance, then the clumps will pile up in front of the tines hindering further progress.

 

[CADplans]

Thanks all for the input.
I guess I don't understand why the ripper teeth, set 4" or 5" deep wouldn't rip the daylights out of the sod,
and then if done so repeatedly, why it would not just dry out and get turned back into the soil.

The landplane will do a great job,, if the project is done in the right order,,
no one has mentioned Roundup herbicide ,,,, YET,,,,
Kill the sod, let it set a while, hit it with the ripper teeth,,, you will have nice soil to landplane grade.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

The landplane will do a great job,, if the project is done in the right order,,
no one has mentioned Roundup herbicide ,,,, YET,,,,
Kill the sod, let it set a while, hit it with the ripper teeth,,, you will have nice soil to landplane grade.

I looked up how much weed killer it would take to kill 1 acre, some reviews say 7-9 GPA, others say 12-15 gallons per acre, either way it's quite a bit.

Best price for roundup I found was rural king at $54 per 2.5 gallon jug Roundup PRO Concentrate Herbicide, 2.5 Gallon 524-529 by Monsanto Company for $54.99 in Herbicides - Agricultural Chemicals & Fertilizers - Agricultural Sprayers & Chemicals - Agriculture : Rural King
and second was Amazon at $74 Amazon.com : Round Up Pro Concentrate 5.2% Glyphosate 2.5 Gallon Jug Systemic Herbicide : Weed Killers : Patio, Lawn & Garden
,TSC was $89.99. But you can get the powder ready to mix roundup for cheap, 5 gallon worth for $12.
Amazon.com : Roundup QuikPRO Non-Selective Herbicide, 5 (1.5-Ounce) Packets : Plant Seed And Flower Products : Patio, Lawn & Garden

 

[teg]

I looked up how much weed killer it would take to kill 1 acre, some reviews say 7-9 GPA, others say 12-15 gallons per acre, either way it's quite a bit....

That is the Application rate NOT the chemical rate. First link you had say 2.5 gallons will treat 10 acres! (435600 ft2). So that is a quart (32oz.) of product per acre mixed into whatever amount of water you need to spray an acre.

Application rate is the amount of water and chemical coming out of the sprayer... for herbicide (around here) it's usually 15-20 gallons per acre... but it's based on what your sprayer put out...

 

[fried1765]

That is the Application rate NOT the chemical rate. First link you had say 2.5 gallons will treat 10 acres! (435600 ft2). So that is a quart (32oz.) of product per acre mixed into whatever amount of water you need to spray an acre.

Application rate is the amount of water and chemical coming out of the sprayer... for herbicide (around here) it's usually 15-20 gallons per acre... but it's based on what your sprayer put out...

An extra zero there!

Acre = 43,560 Sq Ft.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

That is the Application rate NOT the chemical rate. First link you had say 2.5 gallons will treat 10 acres! (435600 ft2). So that is a quart (32oz.) of product per acre mixed into whatever amount of water you need to spray an acre.

Application rate is the amount of water and chemical coming out of the sprayer... for herbicide (around here) it's usually 15-20 gallons per acre... but it's based on what your sprayer put out...

Thanks for pointing that out, I didn't look at the chemical rate, the 2.5g bottles say 435,600 sq ft. The powder says 1000sq ft per pack/gallon after its mixed.

I have only ever bought roundup ready for the driveway.