How Do You Get Driveway Gravel Out of Grassy Areas?

[bdhsfz6]

It's that time of year again when the snow has melted leaving the gravel that was plowed off the road in the grass. This is an age old problem that normally isn't a big deal but I plowed so much this year that there is more stone in the grass than on the road in places.

Usually, I wait until it's dry, put the stone rake on and drag what I can back into the roadway. This does a fair job with the larger stuff but most of the stone 1/2" and smaller is left behind. If I get too aggressive with the rake, I tear up the grass and drag it into the road along with the stone.

For areas near the house, I use a fine bladed hand rake which does a pretty good job. I maintain 1.25 miles of gravel driveway and private road though and hand raking is out of the question. I thought about getting a power sweeper but I'm afraid it will also tear up the grass. Can anyone offer tips or tricks to ease the problem?

 

[i7win7]

I've used a shop vac in the past. I have a Stihl power head, looks like I need a new attachment.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I notice way too many people are waaay to **** about this. Sure, knock down and get rid of the worst and of course BIG stones, but it's amazing how totally the gravel disappears when the grass grows. Can there really be that many people looking for something to do?

Every spring the concession road in front of my place is covered with tons and tons of gravel and sand. Looks like it will never be grass again! If it's badly damaged and rutted, I level it with a Harley Rake, but it always grows grass again, and you would never know. Besides, I figure, the agregate will give the grass shoulders a bit of resilience against vehicle traffic in wet conditions.

 

[Muhammad]

I've used a shop vac in the past. I have a Stihl power head, looks like I need a new attachment.

I want need that.

 

[Captain Dirty]

Too late. The answer was not to plow the stone off in the first place (facetious grin).

I have a power broom for my 2-wheeled tractor. One of its listed tasks is de-thatching a lawn. I will attest that if I try to wisk stones back into my drive, I also lthrow a lot of thatch along with the stone. Theoretically there may be a sweet spot in the adjustment, but I haven't found it. You might rent a skid steer with an angled power broom to see if sweeping is any different than aggressive use of your rake.

Back to prevention. If your "gravel" is mostly loose stone, you may add fines (coarse sand, fine sand, stone dust). Portions of my driveway where there is just the right mix look, and behave, like exposed aggregate concrete.

 

[the old grind]

I move snow with FEL bucket and Edge Tamers (TM) to better place what's moved for spring melt away from vs back onto the lane. That said, the Combi is what I'd use to replace scraped gravel. Plow + gravel = 'curbs' erelong. Once I removed those I moved into into and crowned I've never got them back. (prevention)

As for brooming thatch onto the d'way with the gravel, I'd just drag with LR or chain link fence to separate/clump it and or use a leaf blower to blast it off. (I do that with pine straw after touching up edges with the LR.) Expect a lot of dust either way, esp if gravel does contain plenty of fines.

btw, I get good results adding fine crushed 'crete for le$$/yd than crushed limestone. There will be bits of colored ceramic in a load and lot of metal bits. (usually cyclone fence wire) I walk or pull by golf cart a 30" 'floor magnet' between leveling and dragging passes to catch metal as I prep for rain & seasonal settling.

 

[gasman1075]

I use a Stihl power head with the paddle style power sweep and although tedious and dusty it does a good job on my 1100 foot gravel driveway.

 

[MossRoad]

How Do You Get Driveway Gravel Out of Grassy Areas?​

A child and a bucket. Tell them it builds character(they won't understand until they are 40).

I use a metal-tined leaf rake and a flat-nosed shovel. But I only have about 60' of edge to do of crushed limestone.

 

[deezler]

I use a landscape rake and rake it by hand until I feel like I'm gonna puke. Then rest and repeat for a few days until all 1000" feet of my driveway are done on both sides. Ugh.

Then I remember that feeling whenever I am plowing snow, and I watch my snow rolling off the rear blade like a hawk. Best bet is to keep it on the driveway, haha.

 

[Aquamoose]

How aggressive do you plow? I barely have gravel on my grass yet I know how much to plow. I don’t plow aggressively when the ground isn’t frozen. Instead, I flip the back blade around only when needed and after compacting the first snow layer.