Pulverizer Questions

Charliebrn · Apr 4, 2002

Ok, I bit the bullet and bought a 4ft Gill Pulverizer for my BX. I want to re-do my backyard, which is mainly 7weeds and field grass where there is anything growing at all in our hard clay.

My question is whether anyone has any suggestions on how to best use it. Should I pull the tiller across the top first to break up whatever is growing, or sshould i just start hitting it with the pulverizer?

Any suggestions at all will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance...

BKColeman · Apr 4, 2002

No suggestions, but would you mind sharing how much one costs? I just picked up the brochure on them last weekend at the dealer's but all the salesman were too busy to get a price from. Looks like it would certainly do the job.

--Brad

DDT · Apr 4, 2002

I would use the pulerizer and leave the tiller parked. this way you won't need to refirm the soil.

Anonymous Poster · Apr 4, 2002

I had a 2 acre area like that, and I wanted a nice dog training field. I borrowed a 6' pulverizer and 8' rake. First problem: neither the pulverizer nor rake would deal well with the sod (they clogged up). I tried tearing it up with the box blade scarifiers, but that didn't really get the job done. So my friend brought over an 8' disc, and I disced the heck out of the field. Then I raked off the remains of the grass and weeds. Then I worked it up with the pulverizer and raked the rocks out. Fertilized and seeded just before several days of gentle rain and everything came up great. Your experience may vary.

Charliebrn · Apr 4, 2002

Brad,

I do believe the model I bought sells new for @$650 or so. I bought this one lightly used (in truth, it looks brand new) for $450. My intent is to sell it once I am finished with my yard. I think I should be able to get $400 back out of it this fall. We shall see.

Charliebrn · Apr 4, 2002

Well, I don't have a disk, and don't know anybody that has one small enough to work with my tractor, either, so I hope that I could use the tiller just deep enough to remove the sod (weeds). I was afraid that the sod would be a problem, and you kind of confirmed this. Did you try angling the pulverizer forward or rearward?

What kind of grass did you plant? I'm in northern Ohio, and have large dogs that love to run...The areas that I had tri-plex take hold didn't hold up to the dogs well at all, so I'm going to have to try something new....something that has decent color, handles tough clay and temperatures and still deals with heavy use. Any ideas?

It's going to be interesting for sure.

Anonymous Poster · Apr 4, 2002

> Did you try angling the pulverizer forward or rearward?

You mean with the top link? Probably not. I had other options and it wasn't doing the job for me. Try it. Maybe your ground is different enough for it to work better.

I waited for the ground to thoroughly dry out before I even attempted to work it in this way. I was redistributing powder with the rake at the end. Of course, then you need water for the seed to take...

> What kind of grass did you plant?

I planted the standard Great Lakes mix of Perrenial Rye, Creeping Red Fescue, and Kentucky Bluegrass. I had about 300 pounds left from a previous landscaping project. If I had to do it again I would consider using one of the turf-type tall fescue products (e.g. Rebels).

> something that has decent color, handles tough clay and
> temperatures and still deals with heavy use. Any ideas?

Start with a soil test. The pH is very important. My soil's pH was a little over 6, so I didn't need any lime. I did use starter fertilizer, but no mulch (I did run a partly full roller over the seed before the light rain started).

Try some of these links for more info.

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/4000/4011.html>Turfgrass Species Selection</A>

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.msu.edu/user/karcherd/turflinks/turflink.html>Ultimate Turfgrass Links Page</A>

DDT · Apr 4, 2002

My pulverizer works well in areas that have thin vetitation. moderate or more then the tiller is faster followed buy the pulverizer to level and firm the ground. I have a landpride 6' model and it can stop my 4400 if I get it too far in the ground.

micromike · Apr 4, 2002

From what I have read on lawnsite, it's a good idea to kill the weeds with Roundup before you pulverize/till or whatever. Spray 'round up, wait a week, and water the heck out of it. When the new weeds start emerging spray with roundup again. Wait two weeks before you pulverize and then plant grass. Otherwise you risk having a lot of weeds coming back up in your grass. Just a thought.

Mike

Anonymous Poster · Apr 4, 2002

The people who sell these products certainly do tell you to do this. In some areas it might be important. In my case I did not care about a few weeds, but did not wind up with an objectionable number.