Will a Land Plane work on turf?
- Thread starter rfc143
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The only exercise I get is jumping to conclusions!!! {said Fred}
I think I'm going to go in a different direction. My wife would kick my butt if she saw me come home with 10 gallons of Roundup! A small plot farmer down the road has a monster rototiller--looks like it has some kind of roller behind the tines to flatten things out after tilling. Also, in my neighbor farmer's old barn is what looks like an ancient spike harrow; it looks pretty cool, and I can probably borrow that too. Stay tuned...
BrokeFarmerJohn
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You would need less than a gallon of the concentrated roundup and 10 gallons of water.
If your goal is just to level, a tiller wouldn't be the best choice, it will just loosen the dirt up to be leveled by a diff drag, I feel a tiller would take a very long time also. But it would depend on how unlevel the ground is to begin with.
Disking the field - YouTube
Dadnatron
Veteran Member
If you really want to address your issue, I would recommend moldboard plow. Then disc. Then reseed. I don't think you are going to make much headway if you are leaving the sod 'as is' and unless you have a monster PTO, you are going to be having trouble making any headway with a rototiller, in sod growing in rocks.
This also will allow you to put in exactly they type of grass which you want to have from now on.
I know it sounds harsh, but I don't think you are going to have much luck without either a huge number of passes with a disc or a single 'plow/disc/reseed' cycle.
Good luck.
This also will allow you to put in exactly they type of grass which you want to have from now on.
I know it sounds harsh, but I don't think you are going to have much luck without either a huge number of passes with a disc or a single 'plow/disc/reseed' cycle.
Good luck.
Egon
Epic Contributor
Roto tiller will work well but depends on how many HP are in front of it. It will probably take two to three passes with time in between for sod clumps to fully dry out and disintegrate. The ancient harrow will do a nice levelling job. Again multiple passes from different directions for each roto tilling.
There are many a sod field (pasture) that has been converted to grain with use of plow, disk and harrows. Guaranteed to work and does not require the high HP a rotatiller does. ( rotation of field, grain, grass pasture, grain.). Note that plowing sod goes better with the proper moleboard.
A disk or cultivator with proper shovels will also work well but again requires a lot of HP. The small six foot three point types don't cut it. A little extreme but an example of a disc that will work.
[video]https://www.google.ca/search?q=breaking+disc&client=safari&hl=en-ca&prmd=ivn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwijkavj0rXTAhWFOSYKHaEEBfkQ_AUIBygB&biw=1024&bih=681#imgrc=-3BRZDqW67x6PM:[/video]
Will this thing work? A neighbor owns it. It's a rototiller but on the back are some monster spike like blades sticking out of what looks like a segmented roller. Couldn't find much on it on the web. It's a Kuhn EL 81. Is this a "Cultivator"? It's got hydraulic cylinders on the roller thing to lift it.
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Dadnatron
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The roller is to firm up the bed prior to seeding. If the seedbed is too soft, the seeds won't germinate well. The 'spiked roller' is basically a 'cultipacker' attached to the rototiller. If you have enough HP, that setup just might work. Take it slow, and let the tines really chew up the sod. The cultipacker will just firm up the 'soft fluff' you are creating by going slow with the tiller. It is a good thing.
Try it and see what happens. If the rocks are bogging you down, or you aren't getting the results you desire, I would NOT press on with the tiller. But if things are giving you what you want, get after it. BUT... have a plan on how you are going to seed and with what, FIRST. If you till your pasture, then leave it for any significant length of time, you will have an eroded field of weeds before you get the tiller off. Line up your drill or broadcast spreader, or whatever. Make sure you have purchased your seed. Then get after it. If it doesn't work, just look to borrow a plow. That will work for sure.
Try it and see what happens. If the rocks are bogging you down, or you aren't getting the results you desire, I would NOT press on with the tiller. But if things are giving you what you want, get after it. BUT... have a plan on how you are going to seed and with what, FIRST. If you till your pasture, then leave it for any significant length of time, you will have an eroded field of weeds before you get the tiller off. Line up your drill or broadcast spreader, or whatever. Make sure you have purchased your seed. Then get after it. If it doesn't work, just look to borrow a plow. That will work for sure.
Egon
Epic Contributor
The sod may not be killed by rota tilling. There will be little rootlets that will take root. To eliminate this problem either chemical means or regular cultivation is required. As a side benefit many weeds also sprout which in turn are killed by cultivation. Preparing the seed bed may be an extended operation for quality results.