Attachments for lawn restoration

[jtette]

I have a lawn of about 5 acres. 2 years ago I had a friend plow, disc, and cultipack the back 3 acres. It came out nice except the ridges the cultipacker left make mowing a little bumpy when going in an east west direction. I just bought a JD 4400 tractor, and I want to get a couple of attachments for the sole purpose of redoing the remaining 2 acres of lawn that is close to the house. I don't know whether to buy a rototiller and box blade or a 2 bottom plow, a disc and a box blade. Or should I be buying a landscape rake in combination with some combination of the above. I guess I'm not sure what attachments work best. I basically want to till up what is there, then level it off nicely and reseed. Some parts of the soil are rather gravelly. Grows great grass though. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[kennyd]

I am sure you are eager to use that new tractor...But the best way to do your lawn is to rent a SSL (Skid Steer Loader/Bobcat) and either a RockHound or Harley rake. They will remove rock and debris, level, and leave a perfect surface in one pass. The RockHound is my favorite because it collects the spoils in the bucket vs. windrowing them to the side like the Harley.

 

[Lindy]

I didn't try a harley rake, but it sounds like that's the way to go. Haven't had much luck finding the right equipment to rent around here, so I didn't even try that route. I managed to pick up some old implements cheap, so I'm able to put them to use at my leisure -- will do so over the next few years.

That being said...............

Here's what I did. I'm in the process of redoing about 5 acres myself, and I plan on taking 2-3 years to finish it off. Horses used to run in the areas I'm redoing, so it's really rough and the soil needs to be worked and smoothed off.

1. Spray with roundup and wait 2-3 weeks
2. Respray as necessary
3. Scalp with mower and rake off excess vegetation
4. Till
5. Pulverize (to break up clods, pack/firm and level)
6. Rake, if needed, to remove rocks, tilled up roots, excess vegetation, etc...
7. Flexible tine harrow, aggressive direction, as final seedbed prep
8. Seed (I used an older Landpride overseeder, but a broadcast seeder would work too).
9. Apply starter fertilizer

It seemed necessary to pulverize after tilling because the ground was too soft and spongy for seeding in most areas, and other areas had chunks and clods of dried, balled up clay that didn't till up very nicely.

There are probably unnecessary or redundant steps in there, but it seemed to work pretty good for me. It gave me a lot of seat time anyhow

Now, we're just waiting to see how it turns out. It's got to be better than that bumpy plot of nasty weeds that I've been mowing for the last 6 years.

 

[pitt_md]

I have a lawn of about 5 acres. 2 years ago I had a friend plow, disc, and cultipack the back 3 acres. It came out nice except the ridges the cultipacker left make mowing a little bumpy when going in an east west direction. I just bought a JD 4400 tractor, and I want to get a couple of attachments for the sole purpose of redoing the remaining 2 acres of lawn that is close to the house. I don't know whether to buy a rototiller and box blade or a 2 bottom plow, a disc and a box blade. Or should I be buying a landscape rake in combination with some combination of the above. I guess I'm not sure what attachments work best. I basically want to till up what is there, then level it off nicely and reseed. Some parts of the soil are rather gravelly. Grows great grass though. Any advice would be appreciated.

Get the tiller and a landscape rake. I have done this same thing and it comes out nice and smooth. After I seeded I pulled a section of chainlink fence over it to keep the seed from blowing away in the wind.

 

[AlanB]

We usually Till,

Harley Rake etc. is better but more costly and less useable for other tasks.

We seldom use the landscape rake.

 

[jtette]

Thanks for all the advice. The tractor was a bit more versatile for my needs than a skid steer, but I did consider one. I was initially thinking an ATI preseeder, then the harley rake, but both are too expensive to justify them on my lawn. Any thoughts on the advantage of a landscape rake vs. a box scraper?

 

[JMER817]

Can you rent a harley rake or other equipment somewhere near you? I used to install lawns on the side. A harley rake is the way to go..

 

[jtette]

I can't find a harley rake rental in the buffalo area at all.

 

[jtette]

We usually Till,

Harley Rake etc. is better but more costly and less useable for other tasks.

We seldom use the landscape rake.

What do you do after tilling for soil compaction and leveling?

 

[Lindy]

I can't find a harley rake rental in the buffalo area at all.

I'm a little east of you, and I had the same problem. Very little in the way of rentals around here. An overseeder? Maybe a walk-behind unit, but certainly not a unit for 3pt use behind a tractor for larger projects.

That's why I wound up buying older used implements. I'll just sell them when I'm through.