Prep land for grass seed

[Alan0043]

I need help or suggestions in how to prep the land for grass seed. I know that it might seem strange that someone is planning to plant grass seed in the middle of the winter, but I want to be ready for when the ground temperature is right for
planting seed. Half the battle of doing any project is in the planning.

The land is about 1 acre in size and is rough and bumpy with a small hill, and a real pain in the neck to mow because the ground is so uneven. There is a mixture of different kinds of grass and weeds.

I own a NH TC24D tractor and have a 52" rototiller and also a
6' rear blade. What kind of equipment will I need ? Is there any other equipment that can help ? Looking for all suggestions or help.

 

[RalphVa]

I'd use your back blade to take off the high spots. Then rototill it. Maybe see if you can drag a section of something like chain link fence behind the rototiller to smooth it out as much as possible. Then I'd at least get soil samples (4 to 6" deep, about a cup full, several places, mix in plastic bucket and then do your own pH test or get kits from your extension agent and send in). VERY likely you'll have to at least lime it to get pH to 6.2-6.5. You'll likely find it to be around 5-5.5, too acidic for good grass growth.

Won't be able to spread seed until around late March or April.

Ralph

 

[PineRidge]

<font color="blue"> I'd use your back blade to take off the high spots. Then rototill it. Maybe see if you can drag a section of something like chain link fence behind the rototiller to smooth it out as much as possible. Then I'd at least get soil samples (4 to 6" deep, about a cup full, several places, mix in plastic bucket and then do your own pH test or get kits from your extension agent and send in). VERY likely you'll have to at least lime it to get pH to 6.2-6.5. You'll likely find it to be around 5-5.5, too acidic for good grass growth.
</font>

I agree with just about everything that Ralph said with the exception of pulling the chain link fence behind the tiller. If it gets wrapped up in the tiller you will wish you has taken the extra time and effort to pull the chain link fence by itself after you have tilled. Just my suggestion. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[RonR]

We tore up and re-seeded our backyard this fall. Our ground is hard clay and not very good. Here's some things I discovered:

Playing with the tiller when I first got it, I tilled part of the yard very deep, like 6-8 inches in multiple passes. That area stayed lose and never resettled for several months, when we were able to seed it.

For the rest of the yard, which was a poor stand of fescue, I rototilled it about 2 inches deep and made several passes, so the skid plates were maybe close to 4 inches deep. One week later, and after a rain, I re-tilled that area.

It was much easier to plant fescue in that ground than where I tilled it deeper.

I made a 3PH harrow to scratch the ground, then spread the seed and fertilizer, and harrowed again. It came up great! We watered it per recommendations and it looks nice.

That's my experinces anyway. From that though, it changes my long held belief that one should till very deep prior to planting. Tilling it shallow and leveling it seemed to make a great seedbed for the fescue.

Best wishes,
Ron

 

[Alan0043]

Can a box blade be used to help level the land ? Is the rototiller the best way to break up the ground ? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[rambler]

Well, I would plow it in fall letting the lumps mellow over winter, field cultivate it in spring, harrow it several times to level & pack it with fert going on at this time, and seed it, harrow it again.

But, I have big tractors & all that equipment. Since you have a tiller, the tiller is the best way to go on just an acre & your time frame.

Most of these small seeds prefer a good firm seedbed, not light fluffy soil, so you want to kinda pack it back down after tilling it _if_ it's dry.

--->Paul

 

[Phred]

Alan,

In Arkansas a soil test is free. Its paid for by a fert tax. So it makes sense to get a soil test. Even if it costs you something its the smartest thing you can do.

Look at the PH. If you need to add lime to get the PH up now is the time to do it. It takes a few months to work if you apply it on top of the soil. Works faster if you work it in.

Fred

 

[Junkman]

I can't speak for your neck of the woods, but here in Ct, I planted large areas of grass by first getting the ground turned over. This wasn't hard, because we buried a lot of large boulders with an excavator and then the entire surface was leveled with a bulldozer. I went over the entire surface with a York rake and pulled out most of the rocks. Then I spread triple 15 fertilizer and put down my grass seed. Rolled the surface and watched the birds have breakfast, lunch, and supper for a couple of weeks until the grass started to grow. Now I have a good looking lawn and everyone wants to know how I grow grass in gravel. It is simple. I use fertilizer in the spring and lots of lime also. I have my share of weeds, but as long as they are green, I don't get too upset with them.

 

[trkbldr]

I have to agree with your planning ahead theory. My advice, from personal experience, would be to prep the ground this summer and wait until late summer (mid August to late September) to sow the grass seed. Seed sown in early spring germinates well but the lack of moisture and extreme heat of summer will take it's toll on those new grass seedlings. If you can water deeply and water often, you may be OK. If not, your hard work and money will dry up and die. Seeding in the late summer / early fall allows the grass to develop a better root system. No heat stress involved and usually enough rainfall to keep watering to a minimum. Yes, I know people who could throw grass seed on a concrete driveway in the middle of July, go on vacation for two weeks, and come home to a beautiful stand of grass. I'm not one of those people, which is why I recommend sowing in the fall. Am I correct in assuming that this is going to be part of your lawn?

 

[art]

The tiller will loosen it up for you but don't go any deeper then you need to to level the soil. Later it might settle out and not be level. Do as suggested with lime and fertilizer to assure a good growth. The york rake or hand rake will help with a good level finish to seed.

 

[KubotaSteve]

My brother just had his house built and they loosened the soil with a box blade (tiller would be fine) then used a landscape rake to smooth it and take out the rocks.
The guys that built my house rented some kind of machine that went through and leveled the soil, then spread the seed and a blew straw on it. They only did this to the 1 acre surround the house but you can tell a big difference in that and the rest of my yard.

 

[JASTN70D]

A box blade and Tiller would work great for leveling this is what I used on my new lawn. In your neck of the woods by the way.

I do have to agree that fall planting is better but if you use straw spring is fine if you get lucky enough to have no rain in the spring long enough to work the soil. don't work it wet if at all possible.

A York rake is nice but that depends on your soil and rock situation. Yes use starter fertilizer it will save your seed purchase. I like to roll the seed after laying it down or somehow work it in a little with something like a drag.

The biggest factor for success assuming your soil is ok is weather. Anything you can do about water the better off you will be. If you do not need to grade everything you could do an overseed using a rented over seeder or a pluger to open the ground enough for seed. Last year everything that was graded washed away because of the heavy rain we got.

Last choice is to grow the grass you have in places that do not need leveled just use weed and feed and the bluegrass will take over after a few years.

Good luck and have fun. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Alan0043]

All of the advice that I am getting is going to be a big help. The piece of land that I want to work borders the east side of my lane and will be part of my lawn. The land measures 60' x 700' .

To summarize; Get soil samples and find out the Ph of the soil. Use lime to adjust the Ph. Use the tiller to till the dirt to be about 2" to 3" deep of tilled dirt. Drag a chain link fence behind the tractor after tilling the dirt. If the soil needs to have the Ph adjusted, this would be the time to put down the lime. Prep the soil this spring and plant the grass seed in the late summer to early fall. Is there anything that I am missing ? What is the best size of chain link fence that you need to drag ? Is there any weight on the fence when you are dragging it ? Thank you for all the help.

 

[keeney]

Are you talking golf-course fairway quality turf, front yard quality, or highway right-of way quality turf?

For a high quality lawn, it is very important to get rid of all rocks larger than baseball size in the top six inches of soil. Even rocks buried an inch or two down will make a dry spot where the grass will always be dryer because that patch has a rock, not soil underneath it (unless you water every day).

Several overlapping passes with a landscape rake in a couple of directions will help a lot with the rocks and other debris. You may want to make a couple of alternating passes with the tiller followed by the rake to get as many of the rocks out as you can. Some people call tillers the ultimate rock-finding tool - every tiime you till, you will tend to stir more rocks up to the surface.

After spreading the seed, you will want to roll or otherwise compact the dirt somewhat to get good seed to soil contact. Most purpose-designed seeding machines have rollers to push the dirt back tight against the seeds. You could use a rolling drum or just drive over the area repeatedly with the tractor (turf tires recommended) several times under the right moisture conditions.

Straw spread over the area will help hold surface moisture, control erosion slightly, and at least make you think you are keeping the birds from getting too much of the seed, but it can also blow around and make a mess.

- Rick

 

[thcri]

Alan,

What I do and has worked great two times is to use a box blade to get it level and then till it up good with your tiller. I put fertilizer down and then tilled it one last time. Then I took my fertilizer spreader and broadcasted seed in the area I wanted seeded. Then take a drag or a chain link fence and go over the top again with the goal of working the seed a bit into the ground. If you can get it worked in a bit then you will protect it from the sun or being too dry. In the two areas I have done I pretty much have allowed nature to water these areas, but if it is dry watering will go a lot further due to the seed being buried some. Both places the grass has come up so thick. Fall is the best time because your ground is still warm with cooler days. Spring the ground is usually colder so it is just a bit slower. Another thing is to broadcast a final shot of nitrogen over the new grass once it gets started. Young new grass just loves nitrogen. If you tilled though your tractor will end up leaving some good ruts. I had a hand broadcaster I just walked over it and spread the nitrogen.

murph

 

[txdon]

Alan0043, I planted 10 acres of native grasses last spring (April). The advice given so far is good. I planted native grasses because #1 I like the way it looks, #2 the wildlife love it, #3 it is drought tolerant, #4 requires no fertilizer, #5 I only mow it once a year, and flash graze it the rest of the year.
After dozer root plowing and limp & root raking and large disking the land (all of which you can skip) my dad disked the land and drug a 10’ railroad rail behind the disk with his tractor. See attached photo. To get the land more level I should have drug cattle panels around the field like I did in the back 5 acres but there were too many mesquites in the field and I was getting tired of flats. I like dragging the cattle panels in the back 5 because they were more rigid than chain link fencing and really knocked down little hills and mounds and made the ground smooth and level. I had extra cattle panels around so for extra weight I stack three on top of each other.
After planting the seed (by hand) I rolled the land with my Farmall A and a homemade roller made of a heavy steel pipe surrounding by used golf cart tires. I’ll attach a few photos of the front 10 acre native grass field, during planting and the fall after planting. Good luck with your grass field!
TXDon

 

[txdon]

Early Spring grass field.
TXDon

 

[txdon]

Late Fall grass field.