Which is most similar to a garden rake

[nyone]

I have a landscape rake that I removed every other tooth in. It leaves well rooted plants. When you remove every other tooth they act alot less like a back blade and more like an actual rake. I did this years ago and will never put the teeth back in. It also gave me a **** load of spare teeth.

 

[BlueKnife]

BlueKnife - In our country (picture S. Idaho), thick layers of bark really isn't so "natural". Probably take about 10 years to break down too. It isn't a very large area....maybe 50' x 70'.

True. Generally if the bark is that thick, the vegetation under it is already smothered out. What about just using a back blade? Scrape the bark off, burn it and let the vegetation come back, or plant some.

 

[gstrom99]

I have a landscape rake that I removed every other tooth in. It leaves well rooted plants. When you remove every other tooth they act alot less like a back blade and more like an actual rake. I did this years ago and will never put the teeth back in. It also gave me a **** load of spare teeth.

Yep, should work just fine that way. A bit of ground disturbance is a good thing, anyway.

 

[oosik]

So....... you are restoring a plot "back to nature". I just wonder - which branch of nature uses mechanical devices in its restoration program.

On my 80 acres - I just leave things alone and let Mother Nature handle restoration.

Lets be honest here. It's not a simple "back to nature" restoration. It's being groomed in a manner consistent with the way the OP wants it to look.

 

[BlueKnife]

So....... you are restoring a plot "back to nature". I just wonder - which branch of nature uses mechanical devices in its restoration program.

On my 80 acres - I just leave things alone and let Mother Nature handle restoration.

Lets be honest here. It's not a simple "back to nature" restoration. It's being groomed in a manner consistent with the way the OP wants it to look.

He pointed out, correctly, that a thick layer of bark, left over, presumably, from a deck of logs, isn't "natural", per se. It smothers everything out underneath it and, especially in a dry, high desert environment, takes a very long time to decompose and allow the plants to come back. In a wetter environment, like where you and I live, (I'm a couple hours from you) the bark decomposes and allows thing to grow again much quicker.

 

[oosik]

Sorry - I DID get a little off topic. Have a neighbor down the road that converted his 20 acres - "back to nature". Everything was raked up and lawn grass planted on all 20 acres. He patrols the property daily and removes any/all weeds/sticks/limbs - etc. His 20 acres is so sterile - you could perform a successful major operation right on the ground. He calls this - back to nature. We all chuckle.

 

[tacticalturnip]

A pine straw rake is going to be the easiest on the land, it's the lightest in both weight and impact on the ground.

I think if you pick one up and practice a bit you'll be happy with the results.

 

[Bendboater]

Thank you for all the comments and suggestions.

Oosok is actually correct.
I am using "Nature" to mean somewhat groomed with dead materiel removed (juniper trees don't self prune like pines so they have dead branches all the way to the ground) and partially raked (yup, I have hand raked most of the 10 acres multiple times over the past 30 years) to "reduce" fire potential (this place would still go up like a torch). And folks from most places in the country would still think it looks pretty wild and unkempt.

From the sounds of it, neither tool will really do what I want without tearing out the remaining grasses, sage, and bitterbrush and/or being a pain in the rear to clean out the tines. So I think I will just hand rake the area and be patient while God brings the vegetation back (not likely in my lifetime). Besides, having just ordered a SSQA snowplow (from BXpanded), my wife probably wouldn't understand my getting yet another attachment in the same month

 

[RayIN]

Thank you for all the comments and suggestions.

Oosok is actually correct.
I am using "Nature" to mean somewhat groomed with dead materiel removed (juniper trees don't self prune like pines so they have dead branches all the way to the ground) and partially raked (yup, I have hand raked most of the 10 acres multiple times over the past 30 years) to "reduce" fire potential (this place would still go up like a torch). And folks from most places in the country would still think it looks pretty wild and unkempt.

From the sounds of it, neither tool will really do what I want without tearing out the remaining grasses, sage, and bitterbrush and/or being a pain in the rear to clean out the tines. So I think I will just hand rake the area and be patient while God brings the vegetation back (not likely in my lifetime). Besides, having just ordered a SSQA snowplow (from BXpanded), my wife probably wouldn't understand my getting yet another attachment in the same month

I now understand your goal. Almost all of the California fires rage out of control because of the thick ground covering, some even burn underground.

 

[ruffdog]

Thank you all.
It sounds like neither a landscape rake or a pine straw rake is the right tool for that job.
So I will probably just hand rake it.

Being that you are mostly raking debris and not just leaves or dirt, the Groundskeeper 2 rake is a handy tool. The neighbor had a big old tree cut down and the crew was using these rakes. The rakes do good getting twigs and chunks of bark out of the grass. After helping the crew do some clean-up, I found that the rake was much better than a dirt rake or leaf rake and had to buy one. They are light AND durable. Check around on a good price too as there are sales.

THE GROUNDSKEEPER II