I just put in about 1 1/2 acres of lawn in an area that was previously trees. Initially, I went over it with a landscape rake. This picked up a ton of sticks, vines and rocks. After then using the box blade I went to using the Gill. That worked great. It picked up even more sticks, vines and rocks. Plus it broke up any dirt clods left over. After spreading seed and fertilizer, I went over it all with a 5' piece of chain link fence that I weighted down in front with a 5' piece of 2'x 10'. That worked perfectly. It covered up the seed just enough to keep it where it needs to be. Hope that helps.