field to yard

[BrettW]

OK, I'm finally ready to do something with my tractor, 20 HP at the PTO, and about 2000 lbs. I've got about 2 acres to make into a yard, it has ruts from house construction and blackberry vines, fire ants, saplings, ect. So, what do I really need to to this? I have a nice tiller and that is it. I'm planning on buying implements soon. I've also read about dragging chain link fence weighted down with rail road ties for smoothing. Thing is once I do this, I don't think I'm really going to use implements like a box blade, much or ever. I can resell them I suppose.
I'm going to definately buy a finish mower, 6' rear blade, and a 44" bush hog. Thanks once again for all the help. brett w

 

[zuiko]

I would seriously consider a box blade and a proper drag harrow.

A box blade can be had for as little as $299 if you go the king kutter route and would be the tool of choice for smoothing out the ruts etc.

A drag harrow runs $275 or so in an 8 foot width. A drag harrow will do a much better job than a chainlink fence with timbers on it... the savings in seed would probably pay for a nice chunk of it.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I would skip the rear blade and get a box blade instead if you want to grade those lumps out of the yard that the contractors left you.

We reclaimed old pasture by simply mowing it for several seasons. It is not the perfect lawn, but it does look pretty good. This year I plan on spraying the weeds for the first time (because I am finally building a spray rig) but it has been pretty nice looking even with the weeds.

You might also want to RENT the bush hog to knock down the field and then simply maintain it with the finish mower, it will save you some money. You may find that you want to bush hog it twice, to get it down as low as possible, but once it is down, the finish mower should have no problems with it (unless you have lots of branches, rocks, etc) at which point you'd want to rake the field before using the finish mower on it.

 

[KiotiJohn]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I have a nice tiller and that is it.)</font> Is this a 3 pt tiller? If so, I've read a lot of posts where people have used only the tiller for prepping the lawn and then sodding/seeding. They do a great job of knocking down bumps and usually leave a good surface. Of course, you must go slowly and make sure you have removed stumps and the like. You can use a good strong rope and pull out the saplings that are too hard to pull by hand. The tiller will do in the blackberries pretty well as it will dig up their roots. I don't know what your rock situation is, but they could be a pain with the tiller. Keep in mind that if you brush hog, some of the larger trees will leave stubs that can puncture your tires, don't ask. I am a true believer in owning a decent boxblade with rippers. This is a tool which can be used in so many different ways that it's like having several. I have used a chain link gate for smoothing with very good results. I'm not going to pay the price for a harrow when what I use works fine. Good luck and keep us posted. John

 

[gbpackerfan]

Keep an eye out for a good used (no rust in hopper) or cheap priced 3pt. fertilizer spreader. Light duty will do as you will probably only use it 3 or 4 times/yr. Keep it washed and coated w/ used motor oil. It will last for yrs. You will use for seeding, overseeding, applying granulated lime, fertilizer, herbicide, and soda. Your local ag. ext. office probably offers free soil testing which will help you in preparing your seedbed w/ the proper nutrients.

 

[Egon]

The three point hitch and a chain may enable you to pull out the saplings.

I'm assuming you are talking about a rotatiller. It will break up the sod but at first you may need several weeks or more to let the root clumps dry out between tillings. Cross tilling at different angles will really help smooth out the ground. A drag can be made from so many different things just do it with what you have at hand.

Egon

 

[BrettW]

Thanks everyone for the replys. I found a walk behind bush hog that is 62.00/day, I'll go that route for now. Will also stick with the Midwest 5' box and 6' rear blade and Midwest 5' finish mower. Looking forward to seeing what the combo of box and tiller will do on the field/yard. thanks again, brett