rough 4 acres

[paultri]

Hi, i have about 4 acres of land that currently has grass but it used to be a horse pasture and it is really rough/bumpy, i would say in places its probably has at least 8 inch divots and this is over the entire 4 acres.

What i want to do is level/flatten so that the whole area is smooth. I have an old Ford 9n that i use to brush hog and such and was wondering what the best method is to get this land smooth. box blade? Discs? I dont care about the current grass that is on it, i just want the land to be less rough.

Any suggestions are welcome! Thank you in advance!

Paul

 

[BeezFun]

Any suggestions are welcome! Thank you in advance!

I'd bring in black dirt and spread it with a chain harrow to fill in the holes, then pay someone to come in and drill till in the fall. That way you won't be starting from scratch with grass. Throw in an annual like rye for a cover crop the first year to help it get going. Not sure what your climate is like, I like to put in grass seed in the late fall before it freezes but with an early snow. Helps it get a start when there's plenty of moisture and it's cool. Better chances of success in the spring if it gets hot and dry.

 

[radioman]

Do you want the fast and easy way but abusive or long and best way?

What I have done on less then one acre is bush hog it, wait couple weeks and then use a cheap ridding mower and set deck as low it will get. This scalps the high spots making it semi rough then it was before. Then I would keep mowing it for rest of season at regular cutting height and come spring, I would roll it while its still soft before yard drys out. This is not the best way, compacts the soil from rolling in spring, abusive to riding mower while scalping but it gets er done.

The best way if it truly bumpy is till the 4 acres and replant new grass.

There are other ways and it all based on budget and time, with 4 acres, there is no best way.

 

[sam5570]

if the groud in your area is moist and nnot dry and hard i would just disc it this will take some time but when you get it disc up then re seed with what ever your choise the rain will beat the dirt back down that is what i do to my deer food plots works well for me just takes patience and time.

 

[boggen]

disc would really cut up the top layer of dirt. and even things out. you may need to make extra passes over ugly areas. and around the ugly areas to bring the dirt into the area and get things smoothed out.

box blade, could work as well. problem would be getting dirt from different areas if you had a pile of dirt to work with, box blade may be nice.

regardless, you may have some problems with grass that is already there. and getting caught up on the disc or cutting edge of box blade.

i suppose if you could get your hands on a 3pt hitch, 2 or 3 bottom plow for hard dirt, to break things up, and then take disc back over everything that would smooth things out. fairly good. and if you have some low spots, get the box blade out and drag dirt around.

you might try a chain harrow, if you want to smooth things out nice. and help drag out chunks of dirt / roots / etc... perhaps a 3pt hitch rake.

4 acres is pretty large area, make sure you have some sort of plan of attack. for when you get the gushers of run off water from storms. that you do not get mini pools of water or major washouts.

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in past, i have used 2 bottom plow, to break up the hard dry dirt, then disc the area about 4 to 8 times, to help even the hills out, tossed grass seed out, and then went back over everything twice with disc. to work grass seed in. i ended up having a couple spots that did not grow grass, but within the next year it all filled in and looking good.

 

[pacerron]

if the groud in your area is moist and nnot dry and hard i would just disc it this will take some time but when you get it disc up then re seed with what ever your choise the rain will beat the dirt back down that is what i do to my deer food plots works well for me just takes patience and time.

I second Sam5570 method.
We don't know what type of topsoil you have, how deep it is on average, whether it is flat or on a hill, whether the soil has been tested for lime and fertilizer requirements, and a number of other things relative to your location.
If you disc it in the late fall after it has received some rain to soften it, overseed it if you want, and since you are in NY, let the winter freezes and thaws do the main job of leveling it will certainly be much smoother next year if you don't put horses or cows back on it.
You will need to stay off it with your tractor next spring until it hardens up some, particularly in areas that have damp spots or springs.

 

[boomer1025]

Disc it, set the disc so it cuts about 4 or 5" deep the first pass, then widen it by half , make a pass, then set it straight and make 2 passes. Re-seed it and roll it.

 

[foreman Etexas]

I dont use my disc much anymore now that I have my 72in.tiller. I make a fast pass not a slow like you would a garden and it breaks up really nice level bed,seed it, then take my 12ft drag on the less aggressive side over it once to get any holes the tiller didnt even out and cover the seed some,then use my 12ft roller to slick it off.....

 

[Western]

I would disc it, then "cross disc" it several times.

 

[the6shooter]

disc it:thumbsup: