Box blade for this project?

[dodge man]

I have a couple areas of my yard that are very rough for mowing. Probably around 1/3 of an acre total in two areas. I have fair soil, often described as timber soil in my area. Not clay but not prime top soil either. I have a JD 2025r, FEL, and a 72 rear blade now.

Both areas are rough because of moles. Also because an area is where my geothermal was installed and 4 fruit trees that were taken down years ago. They are fairly flat and are in the better part of my yard in terms of how the grass grows.

Would a box blade with the scarifiers set shallow, driven back and forth loosen the soil, level it and allow me to reseed it? What happens to the clumps of old grass? Ideally I would use a Harley rake after using a tiller but those are expensive attachments for a one time deal. I might be able to rent a Dingo with a Harley rake. I could borrow a tiller but hate to borrow something like that.

I am looking for any and all ideas.

 

[coobie]

I have a couple areas of my yard that are very rough for mowing. Probably around 1/3 of an acre total in two areas. I have fair soil, often described as timber soil in my area. Not clay but not prime top soil either. I have a JD 2025r, FEL, and a 72 rear blade now.

Both areas are rough because of moles. Also because an area is where my geothermal was installed and 4 fruit trees that were taken down years ago. They are fairly flat and are in the better part of my yard in terms of how the grass grows.

Would a box blade with the scarifiers set shallow, driven back and forth loosen the soil, level it and allow me to reseed it? What happens to the clumps of old grass? Ideally I would use a Harley rake after using a tiller but those are expensive attachments for a one time deal. I might be able to rent a Dingo with a Harley rake. I could borrow a tiller but hate to borrow something like that.

I am looking for any and all ideas.

How about just scuffing the service with a (rental) 3pt rototiller then a heavy lawn roller?

 

[dodge man]

Might work, I don’t know.

 

[Redlands Okie]

I would be concerned that a the rippers on a box blade would provide a lot of grass roots and root balls to deal with. Tilling the area would give you more loose soil and the roots would be ground up and mixed in. Easier to level up with the tillers material.

 

[s219]

Just low spots or high spots too? If low spots, I have found it's simple enough to just add screened top soil to level the spots, then reseed. Much less overall disturbance to the yard. If you're like me and just growing weeds, they will take care of themselves without reseeding if you're within the growing season. I have a couple spots around my septic tank that need filling this fall.

If you have high spots then a box blade will do a good job shaving them down (I'd skip the scarifiers) but it will not smoothly redistribute material if there are chunks of turf collecting in the box. So it somewhat cripples the function of the box. The chunks of turf will not flow through the box and will get stuck under the rear edges, causing ruts as they get dragged along.

 

[dodge man]

Sounds like the easiest thing would be to just find the low spots only and fill them in. Yes, my yard is as much weeds as anything else.

 

[dodge man]

Bringing back this thread. I have decided to just add dirt to the low spots. I doubt any place would need more than a inch or two. Most areas maybe no bigger than a basketball. I think most are from moles. Any advice on how to find them? They get lost in the grass. You sure feel them when mowing. I experimented some and just felt around with my feet. Is there a better way?

 

[Redlands Okie]

When first learning to use a box blade for fine grade work we would mow the grass short, then lightly spread the fill material around the yard. Then we would take a 2x6 board a couple of feet longer than the box blade and set it on the ground. Would then hook the board with the lip of the box blade cutting edge. Then just drive around and the board / box blade would spread the fill material around. The board prevents the blade from digging in and the box holds and move the excess fill material around. Method still works fine even with more advanced skills now.

To much grass laying around will ball up and cause problems.

 

[shooterdon]

Error | DNS Resolution | Northern Tool + Equipment

This is what I used when I lived in the burbs and had mole problems. It seemed to work. I started with one, then the little bastards move to another area. I eventually had three installed at the interface closest to the wetlands. Cured the problem. I likely drove them to my neighbors yards...but...

The only downside was having to replace the D cell batteries periodically.

 

[DMW]

Had a bunch of ruts caused by dumpster boxes/trucks and an excavator in the front yard from a partial demolition, when the ground was soft. Excavator operator tried to smooth out everything as much as possible. There were still a lot of ruts 4" deep, and a high ridge along the paths from the truck tires sinking in. A lot of the ridges were smoothed out by driving the tractor along them when the ground was soft.

Cut the grass as short as possible around the ruts/holes to identify them. You will find them when mowing. Use dirt that breaks up easily, fill the shallow spots and gently back drag with the bucket. Wait for a heavy rain to compact the fresh dirt, go back and repeat. Better shaving off the high spots with a loader, the boxblade does not like sod. Took 3-4 times before the ground lost the bumps while mowing.