Many Questions - Crop Field to Lawn

[fishheadbob]

i would also say the previous crops were sprayed with roundup and maybe a pre-emergent herbicide as well. That stuff will be giving up the ghost pretty soon and some weeds will be moving back in. By the time you get around to seeding a lawn the herbicides shouldn't be a problem.

 

[BubbaJr]

I was in your shoes back in 2001. We bought 23.5 acres of woods and corn field in western Ohio. First I mowed the weeds, then I used my tiller on the 5-acre homesite. Then I raked it with a HD rake and smoothed it over with some chain link fence attached to an 8' 2x4. Then I rented a Brillion seeder from my tractor dealer and seeded the lawn the second week of Sept. Nature took care of the rest.

18 years later the moles and raccoons have taken their toll on the yard, so I may have to repeat the process in the near future. ullinghair:

 

[joeu235]

The area that will not be your lawn, just let nature take care of it.

 

[RalphVa]

Six acres of green grass is an ecological nightmare. Won't support hardly any kind of life, particularly if you put chemical fertilizer on it. You'll even kill the worms and nematodes in the soil.

The neighbor plowed his acreage down along the creek because (he said) last May's storm brought in a lot of weed seeds. He'd had mainly just fescue there. He first plowed, then disced and finally smoothed it some with some sort of gizmo he had in place of his FEL but on the FEL lift arms and all, similar to the old harrows we used to use on the farm. This is the old method of doing things and still works but requires a lot of diesel fuel with many trips over the land by tractor.

Now, you can buy planters that deposit seeds through the stuff that is shown on your field. The neighbor put in wildflowers. That was be MUCH better for the environment than ecologically inert green grass. There's all kinds of stuff you can plant. I once googled it. You'll find lots of choices.

Ralph

 

[Handloader109]

I've only 3 acres and I spend about 2 to 2 and a half hours to cut with 60 inch belly mower on my 25hp tractor. I usually do the yard acre and half and then the pasture acre and half opposite weeks. Still a pain. 6 acres, nope, get an acre tops looking good around the house. Rest is deep pasture

 

[joeu235]

or put up a good fence and get some goats

 

[PA hayseed]

I bought an old farm house and about 9 acres of land, it had been worked pretty hard and had rows you could still see. In the front of the house I tilled it and leveled it. In the back not so much. I cut it all, I like it that way, plus it keeps the ticks, snakes, and mice away. Tons of birds come onto my field after cutting and eat the snot out of the bugs.

My .02, just make sure to cut and cross cut it when mowing. The clippings will eventually start to fall into the ruts and before you know it the ground will level out a bit. Fill in any large holes. Just take down any real high points. The first 2-4 years cross cutting was like mowing a washer board. Now I have more issues with my tractor rutting up things than anything else. Get the biggest mower you can if you cut it all, I started of with 6, went to 7 and wish I had 10. I also have a zero turn that flies across that field.

One other piece of advice was given to me, guy said rather than buy topsoil, go to the back edge of your land and scoop out the top 3" about 10' wide and use it on your field for small areas to fill in or level out. He said it would regrow in several years. He was dead on the money and saved me a lot of money on buying soil. I live in the mountains and all we have is clay, shale, and sandstone. Ohio is a little more fertile flatland, so topsoil might be cheaper there.

Good luck.

 

[Dynasty]

OP here again.

Just wanted to post some updated pictures as time has passed. Anyone know what these are? Some type of weed? This is what majority of the lot is mixed with some grass and left over crop material.

 

[fishheadbob]

If you really had to know what kind of weed you could call and find the right person at your local extension to identify the weed after you sent a picture. Why bother. You ID'd it perfectly when you said "some kind of weed."

 

[ddbackhoe]

The neighbor put in wildflowers.

Ralph

That could be a good choice. A 1/2 to one acre of lawn is, IMO, enough for most people. A well thought out landscape plan for a large lot is usually last for most people. Not too early to plant some shade, fruit or nut trees. As was suggested, a buffer between the road frontage can be good but without, “curb appeal” would be a higher priority. We try to use as many lower maintenance perennials as possible and then “pop” color with lower cost annuals.
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