I enjoyed the talk about the mower deck yesterday. Thought I would start a new one. My wife and kids are kind of complaining about me spending all my free time on this new tractor. Anybody got advice on this project, my yard is rough and the grass is clumpy. I want to make it much smoother, without tearing it up to much. Would rolling it with a waterfilled roller be the way to go? I have also considered knocking high places down with a landscape rake?
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- Thread starter danboy
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JClark
Silver Member
My spare lot/ ballfield is the same way and I have also wondered if a big lawn roller could smooth it out. My experience with landscape rakes wouldn't lead me to encourage you to try one, at least not on grass.
One option is to kill off all the grass with Roundup, run a power rake over it and replant.
One option is to kill off all the grass with Roundup, run a power rake over it and replant.
BillG_in_TX
Veteran Member
Here's a prior discussion on lawn rollers.
Pay particular attention to "The Compactation Preacher". /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Pay particular attention to "The Compactation Preacher". /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
bigpete
Veteran Member
I'm kind of a "compaction preacher" myself. My experience after having used a good, professional aerator for a few years is that you would be better off in the long run either burning it down with RoundUp and starting over, or trying to aerate and topdress your way into a smoother, softer lawn. IMHO, just packing down the high-spots with a roller will inhibit a healthy lawn. You will certainly notice thinner grass and quicker dormancy and mortality during drought periods with a compacted lawn. During spring and fall, water and nutrients have a tougher time getting into the soil, too.
Step one is always to get a soil test. Your local University Ag Extension Office should be able to do the test for about $10 bucks and give you specific steps to take to balance your nutrients and soil pH.
The quickest way of the two ways I would recommend would be to wait until this August and kill off all the vegetation--just burn it all down with Round up. The pros will tell you to do it twice if you have the money, time and wearwithall. After the first burn-down, you would till and rake your way into a smoother and properly graded terrain. If you need to amend your soil, add lime, etc., now is the time to do so. Typically, there is enough weed seed in the soil to germinate a second time within a few weeks. If you don't mind the expense and time, burn those weeds down again. Apply your fertilizer and incorporate the seed of your choice. Do a rain dance each week for the rest of the fall, and hope for the best. Make sure you seed well after the recommended down time after using Round Up.
The second way takes a longer time but works pretty well, unless your entire lawn, or a very large area of you lawn is really rough. I've been doing this for a few years and I only have a few rough spots left of my 4 acres, or so, of turf. Basically, I aerate my whole lawn every fall, and really double up on the rough areas. I have thrown out some blended topsoil and mulch in the worst areas after aerating and then overseed. I use a de-thathcher to essentially rake in the topdressing and incorporate the seed. The plugs pulled by the aerator dissolve a become part of the topderessing as well.
Ultimately, a lawn that breathes well is healthier. Most of my neighbors have between 3 and 5 acres of turf and we all band togehter to purchase our fertilizers, etc. They always comment on how my lawn greens up faster in the spring and holds its color in August even though we apply the same fertilizers and pre-emergent herbicide. When I mow, I don't have to wear my seatbelt so tight, either /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Step one is always to get a soil test. Your local University Ag Extension Office should be able to do the test for about $10 bucks and give you specific steps to take to balance your nutrients and soil pH.
The quickest way of the two ways I would recommend would be to wait until this August and kill off all the vegetation--just burn it all down with Round up. The pros will tell you to do it twice if you have the money, time and wearwithall. After the first burn-down, you would till and rake your way into a smoother and properly graded terrain. If you need to amend your soil, add lime, etc., now is the time to do so. Typically, there is enough weed seed in the soil to germinate a second time within a few weeks. If you don't mind the expense and time, burn those weeds down again. Apply your fertilizer and incorporate the seed of your choice. Do a rain dance each week for the rest of the fall, and hope for the best. Make sure you seed well after the recommended down time after using Round Up.
The second way takes a longer time but works pretty well, unless your entire lawn, or a very large area of you lawn is really rough. I've been doing this for a few years and I only have a few rough spots left of my 4 acres, or so, of turf. Basically, I aerate my whole lawn every fall, and really double up on the rough areas. I have thrown out some blended topsoil and mulch in the worst areas after aerating and then overseed. I use a de-thathcher to essentially rake in the topdressing and incorporate the seed. The plugs pulled by the aerator dissolve a become part of the topderessing as well.
Ultimately, a lawn that breathes well is healthier. Most of my neighbors have between 3 and 5 acres of turf and we all band togehter to purchase our fertilizers, etc. They always comment on how my lawn greens up faster in the spring and holds its color in August even though we apply the same fertilizers and pre-emergent herbicide. When I mow, I don't have to wear my seatbelt so tight, either /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Core aeration (not strar wheel) with top-dressing is the way to go to make a uniform, smooth, soft lawn.
If you think of how a typical golf green or fairway is maintained, you will see that it is actually a combination of rolling (with the rollers on the cutters and flotation turf tires) every day or other day or so with a few core aeration cycles per season. The rolling helps keeps it smooth, and the coring keeps the compaction to a manageable level. There is also quite a bit of top-dressing involved with sand and other materials.
The core size can be fairly small, as long as there is material being pulled up out of the ground to reduce compaction.
I am not sure if the high pressure water-injection aeration systems actually reduce compaction that much, but they are less disruptive to the surface.
- Rick
If you think of how a typical golf green or fairway is maintained, you will see that it is actually a combination of rolling (with the rollers on the cutters and flotation turf tires) every day or other day or so with a few core aeration cycles per season. The rolling helps keeps it smooth, and the coring keeps the compaction to a manageable level. There is also quite a bit of top-dressing involved with sand and other materials.
The core size can be fairly small, as long as there is material being pulled up out of the ground to reduce compaction.
I am not sure if the high pressure water-injection aeration systems actually reduce compaction that much, but they are less disruptive to the surface.
- Rick
