Smoothing a bumpy yard?

[the old grind]

First I learned that the Box Blade levels a bit better when backing up but also that going back and forth can do wonders at the same setting on the draft control. (doesn't take much to find/set it ..)

I suggest finding a height-setting for such, then lowering/reversing the scarifiers, say 1-2 'notches', and going after the high spots like you're in a demolition derby. Step two, drag every other day following to allow grasses/weeds to dry and with a chain link fence or LR reversed to fluff excess matter to top to dry out and be dragged off with the LR later in std mode. This should also help high-spot dirt to settle in low areas.

Rolling will never fix everything (mole hills/tunnels, mowing 2 sandy acres here w/61" ZTR) but IMO it cannot be overdone. If there's any advice I'd share after 30+ years of grading lawns it's to consider all options and to be patient while finding which work best.

btw, IMO by 3 years-in anything you do will seem worth it but please don't wait that long to let us know how it's going. WIMI each little investment will add up after a while. It only gets better with time.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I was going to build a Harley Rake for this kind of a job. I'll lurk on here to see if someone post a better idea.

 

[CoyPatton]

I live on an acreage, and need to smooth out a real bumpy yard (about 2 acres total), in preparation of upgrading to a zero turn mower. Tools I have: compact tractor w/loader, box blade, landscape rake, chain link fence drag, hand tools, large pile of dirt (to fill in the low spots).

My question is, which/what is the best approach? I don't want to tear it all up and have to start over...

Tell us more about your bumpy yard.
Is it bumpy from ruts from building a house, or just normal gopher/mole/ground hog tunnels?
What type of soil? Both your yard and your dirt pile.
How quickly do you want a smooth yard? Putting loose top soil in low spots will over a period of time settle unless you have a means of compaction not indicated by your list of implements available resulting in still having bumps just more shallow and needing more fill.
Unfortunately the list of issues continues, my experience is 1st bite the bullet and and work the entire yard. 2nd it is a process that will need regular attention—the above mentioned critters will create ongoing issues, other critters will dig holes, tree roots will rot and holes will happen and on and on snd on.
You can put the sacrificers on the BB down as low as possible, shorten your top link so they bite in deep without the blade scraping soil over all the yard then drag the fence section with weight all over the yard. This will leave some grass still present due to spacing of sacrificers. Buy a broadcast spreader, tractor pro based, pull style, walk behind push style, or even hand held and seed the yard once you get it near where you want. Plan to do more fill as yard settles and low spots happen.
If your yard is a high clay content, have lots of top soil loads delivered and add soil everywhere working toward 6+ inches of top soil.

 

[gstrom99]

have you tried a roller?

The ground is real hard, but may be an option after a good rain. The SIL has one I can borrow.
I used up most of my 20 yard dirt pile yesterday, using the backwards rake method to smooth it out. 20 yards disapeared pretty quick. Need another load.

 

[Cougsfan]

I have a 3 acre pasture for my horse that was extremely bumpy when I bought this place two years ago. Early each Spring I have ran across it with a chain harrow when it still has a lot of moisture in it. It has not affected the pasture grass, in fact it is much healthier. And it is a LOT smoother now. Don't know this is what you would do if you wanted a lawn, but it sure worked good to make a rough pasture smooth. I can now mow sections of it with my riding lawn mower, although i do the majority with a bush hog.

 

[Buxus]

If you can rent a Harley rake and have enough hp/hydraulic flow to run it you can make it golf course smooth and a perfect seedbed. Start spraying it all with round up now. Use Harley rake in September. Then seed. I did this last year and it was incredibly easy. Plan to do more of my property the same way moving forward.

 

[jeff9366]

I'm a big fan of the BOX BLADE, ... I would start with that.

TPH mounted Box Blade is rigid. In this application every time the tractor front wheels elevate crossing a bump, the Box Blade will gouge. Every time the tractor front wheels drop into a swale, the Box Blade will deposit a mound of dirt.

An implement with inherent flexibility is needed to spread dirt without tearing up existing lawn.

First have your soil tested, then amend per test recommendations.

Then level top soil with Landscape Rake oriented backwards so tines will not tear, or level with fence drag.

 

[greenerdreams]

I agree with buxus. a harley rake or power rake, whatever you want to call it, will do the best job the fastest and easiest. You should be able to rent one and potentially get the job done in one long day. they don't take much time to learn to use. Depending on your horsepower, you don't even need to kill the grass first. I would say depending on how bad the bumpiness is, the next best bet may be just dumping dirt into holes and backblading with float on your bucket. that option would be least disruptive.

 

[CH4Ohio]

The ground is real hard, but may be an option after a good rain. The SIL has one I can borrow.
I used up most of my 20 yard dirt pile yesterday, using the backwards rake method to smooth it out. 20 yards disapeared pretty quick. Need another load.

It doesn't go very far when you start spreading it out, does it?

Without tearing things up, a roller is the only thing that's ever helped me. And you're right that you need to do it when things are a little bit soft.

Otherwise, the best luck I've had is to just till up the problem area with a tiller. Then drag it out good and smooth and then roll it. (This is the tear-up option. )

 

[defed]

my yard is uneven, lots of stump holes have settled over the years. i always wondered if there was such a device as a box blade/grader w/ a hopper that you could fill with dirt. then, as you pull it behind you, it would scalp off the high spots and deposit dirt into the low spots. don't know if such a thing would even work, would probably have to be wide and run on some sort of wheels so as not to be affected by 3pt fluctuations when the tractor goes over bumps/into holes.