What would you use?

[Tscott9330]

Here is the situation. I have about 8 acres of land that we had cleared so we could build a house. We got a Branson 4220 with FEL and BB. The weeds are now about 2' to 3' high and I need to start thinking about getting the land smooth and ready to take seed. What implements would you use to turn sandy weed infested earth into nice smooth grassy pasture? I need to decide what implements I need and I am trying not to buy anything I don't need. Would you mow it? would you drag it? let me know

Tom

 

[Grrrr]

Here is the situation. I have about 8 acres of land that we had cleared so we could build a house. We got a Branson 4220 with FEL and BB. The weeds are now about 2' to 3' high and I need to start thinking about getting the land smooth and ready to take seed. What implements would you use to turn sandy weed infested earth into nice smooth grassy pasture? I need to decide what implements I need and I am trying not to buy anything I don't need. Would you mow it? would you drag it? let me know

Tom

First, I think you need to cut it down so you can see what you are working with. I would cut it as low as possible and let all the cuttings die away.

You could probably then use the BB to start preparing the ground, loosening upo the top soil and levelling out any ruts etc.

You would then probably want something to make the soil a bit finer. A drag would work well but an old bed spring would do the same job.

Then seed it, either by had or with a broadcast spreader behing the tractor and finaly roll it in well.

Grass does not need a very deep tilth at all and only wants to be pressed in and in contact with the soil, not buried.

Hopefully someone else will chine in on this.

 

[RonMar]

How rough is the ground? The boxblade would/should work at putting the high spots into the low ones(I think a set of gauge wheels would help with control of the box). If it is relatively smooth, then as suggested, build a drag or buy a chain harrow to breakup the topsoil. Add some seed and drag again to cover it/mix it in. I like the chain harrow I have now as it can be used 3 ways. Teeth down and forward for an agressive cut. Teeth down and rearward for a less agressive cut and upside down with no teeth and more of a smoothing action.

You could deal with the weeds now or later, but you will deal with them eventually. It would probably be better to spray the whole place with roundup and get the weeds killed before you begin. their offspring/seeds that are in the ground now will be comming up with the new grass so you will need some 2-4D or weedbegon at some point to keep the weeds from overpowering the new grass. You will need to spray from time to time anyway as the weeds have the home field advantage(pardon the pun) and will eventually win over the grass.

Where are you at Scott? What kind of climate are you dealing with? You might just want to nuke the weeds now while it is warm and again later to get the new ones whos seeds are in the ground now. Then do the smoothing. Save the grass plant for later fall or spring when the new seeds will have the available moisture to root quickly then drag, seed and drag again.

 

[Egon]

Put down the rippers on the BB and have at it. Use the bucket and BB to fill and cut the obvious spots. Then make a drag from solid square timber [ 8in. x 8in. ] or so. Set this drag up so you can angle it in either direction and use it to level the area. Repeat with BB and drag till you fell the ground is nice and smooth and will ride well for mowing.

Broadcast your seed and then drag with the bed spring.

 

[3RRL]

Yeah, I'm with Egon on this one.
If all I had was the boxblade and fel, I'd drag the boxblade through there and cut all the weeds off. Especially if they haven't gone to seed yet, I do it right now so they don't get a chance to re-seed themselves. I'd have the rippers only slightly down at first, maybe not even at all until I ran it across everywhere I wanted.

That will tell you what's under those weeds. You'll collect any logs or stumps and can drag them into a pile. Then use the fel to dump it or stack it. Once you see what the field is like, put the scarifiers down a little ways and hit the high spots. Then use the fel and box blade together to get/drag that dirt into the low spots. With a little time and elbow grease you'll have that pretty level and smooth in no time.

Then later you can invest in more implements as you see fit. Like a drag harrow or make one to really smooth it before planting grass. Then a rotary cutter to keep the grass down etc.

 

[MrJimi]

I'm still wondering where he lives or did I miss something here
dif areas of Country are very dif

 

[Tscott9330]

Hey guys, thanks for the advice I really appreciate the input. I am in North florida just outside Gainesville. The ground is mostly sand clay mix, more sand than clay though. I think there may be to many weeds to spray. In the past dealing with weeds was always a matter of mowing the weeds enough too keep them in control and giving the grass time to catch up and choke them out. I was expecting to be told I needed to buy a disc harrow, it sounds like I can get by without one. Keep the ideas coming i will be watching.

Tom

 

[MarkV]

Hi Tom, welcome to the forum. With the soil you have in your area the Box Blade should work just fine. It will be hard to do much shaping of the soil until the vegetation is removed though. The roots and such just clog up the blade and make it hard to accomplish much. Personally I would spray but you can just start dragging and pushing until you get to clear soil for smoothing.

Given that you are starting from scratch it would be a good time to talk to the county extension service for a soil test and recommendations on types of grass for your area.

MarkV

 

[Tscott9330]

Glad to hear, The weeds do tend to clog the blade after a while, but its not to bad. I did a soil test for my wife and her garden, turns out the ground is very neutral. Most of the grass here is Bahia of some variety or another, not sure anything else would grow.

 

[MrJimi]

And if you have some scrub oaks, just push them over, they will come out real easy, we had some land at Georges Lake and lots of those and you will love our Florida sand