Tilling question

[netwayne]

I will be having somebody till about 3/4 ac for me tomorrow to get some recently spread nutrients down into the ground in preparation for some grass planting probably in September. The person doing the job feels like a tiller would be more appropriate than a disc harrow in this instance. For those of you experienced with this, what am I looking at in terms of work after the tilling is done. I envision the ground that is fairly flat now to be all broken up and me needing to flaten it back down a bit before sowing grass seed. I have a drag harrow that I can pull over it but not sure if this is the best way to deal with this situation.

Appreciate your feedback!

 

[bigtiller]

Mother Nature will git those nutrients in the ground without our help, so if that is the only reason for tilling I would go only 2 inches deep at the most. If the ground is flat and smooth enough for you then I would just use the drag harrow after broadcasting the seed to get a quarter inch of dirt mixed up with the seed. Grass seed does not like deep fluffy soil like in a vegetable garden.

 

[MarkV]

Also depends on your soil type and moistness. Wet clay tills in clods where dry soil will till to powder. I have had good luck with a drag to smooth things out before seeding and re-dragging to bed the seed. Grass seed does not want to be deep and wants good ground contact to germinate. I use a small roller or just run over it with the tractor tires.

MarkV

 

[Highbeam]

A tiny area like that is much much easier with a tiller. It would take most of the 3/4 acre to turn the disc around.

The tiller will leave a flat and smooth, though fluffy, surface that will settle and compact over time or by using another implement like a roller. You could just about use a walk behind roller on a piece that small and then reseed.