best implement for the job

[Anonymous Poster]

I have a lot which is in bad condition. It is uneven, rutted, and bumpy. Mowing it with my TC25D and 3pt bush hog finish mower takes a lot longer than it should because of the roughness. I would like to break it up and level it, then plant new grass seed. The dirt in my area of NJ is very fine. almost clay-like dirt, which gets very hard and dry in the summer. I'm not sure what implement to use to do the job. Should I disk it, then use a york rake or harrow drag; or should I use a box blade? Something else?? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mikim]

That's what I use my boxblade for - well, one of the things I use it for anyway -
mike

 

[MikePA]

How big is the lot? I'd be surprised if a disk that a TC25D could pull would be heavy enough to break things up. Our 3 acre field was somewhat similar to yours and we had to have a farmer with a full size tractor and a huge disk first disk the field (to chew up the remains of a corn crop), then plow the field then disk it again to get it level. We then had the field limed (based upon a soil test - highly recommended). The farmer will be back soon to plant the grass seed using a seeder.

If the lot isn't too big, I'd think the box blade would be best, then a drag harrow, lime (if indicated by a soil test), seed, then drag harrow again to cover the seed.

 

[djradz]

If you are going to seed it, I think you eventually will want to use a york rake to finish it and prepare the bed. I've used a disk myself in a similar situation, but if the ground is at all hard-packed you end up spending a lot of time going over it. If you break it up with a disk, will you be able to level it with the rake or do you think it's uneven enough you'll still have to use a blade? Don't know if you've raked much, but my experience is it creates the perfect seadbed. Try to find a rake with gage wheels however, otherwise it's a little trickier and not nearly as easy. Good Luck nomatter.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

The lot isn't too big. I'd say about 1 acre.

 

[RobS]

I will be faced with the same thing once our house is finished. All sorts of ruts from the construction traffic. I was going to suggest a disc then drags and finally the rake but if your lot is only an acre how about tilling the whole thing then the rake? If I didn't have so much area to do, that would be my plan.

No matter what you do, the moisture content will play a huge role in your success. You may have to try under various conditions to get the best soil "workability" /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[MODiesel]

Howdy!

By virtue of default, I recently did something similar. We had a bunch of large oaks die on us last year, and we made the decision to cut them down and make a nice grassy area of it.

With the trees down, I was left with a really unlevel, uneven area. So, I just took to working it with the toothbar on my loader. What I did was to point the teeth down into the dirt, and drive backwards. Some areas dug in nicely -- some took a few passes. When I had the whole area "roughed up," I then went and backdragged the bucket using the heel of the bucket to create a smooth finish. This really smoothed out the tooth bar furrows, but didn't smooth things out so much that the seed didn't have a place to stick. Then, I broadcast a strudy kentucky fescue seed, and left it alone.

That was in February and the new "yard" is starting to really green up. My wife is pretty pleased and it was a more accurate and controlled process than a blade or box blade.

Just a suggestion...

Best Regards,
Jay

 

[BeeBop]

Here's what I do when faced w/an undertaking like you have. I use a cultivator or let down the scarfires on my boxblade and rip the place to pieces. I then follow up w/my tiller as you will get a much better result w/it after the aforementioned step. I then use my rake to get any rocks or roots out of the way. Last but not least it's pulverizer time and wallah...you're through. I didn't go into detail about the proper method for seeding but if you'd like to know just ask away.