Another large yard project completed by a BX2230

[KeithInSpace]

Hang in there with the weather change it only a matter of time.

A) Sortof kicking myself for not putting down straw, but we've had 30MPH winds for 24 hours now and I think it would have been all in the neighbor's yard by now anyway.

B) The weather just broke from 90+ degrees on Wednesday, so perhaps I have some hope yet. We'll see how the weekend goes.

Been feeling the prayer chains...thanks to all. Will keep advised.

 

[crabjoe]

Rye doesn't like cold and that's the reason it might be taking longer then usual for it to sprout. And if you haven't gotten anything comming up, you can still put some straw down.

A few months ago, I prepped an area to seed. But because I didn't have any straw, I didn't seed. It worked out well because a week later, we got a nasty down pour and half my dirt washed away. After I was able to get some straw, I reprepped the area and seeded.

The seed I used was a Tall fescue/Kentucky Blue grass mix. I watered it for an hour in the morning and an hour around 6pm with a sprinker. And with that, it only took about 8 days to sprout. Now the grass there is growing like crazy! I did get some barley coming up from the straw, but it's not a problem because it's not an annual and it'll never get big enough to seed. Next year, that section of my yard will look great!!

So with that said, I suggest you get some straw down, if at all possible. It's a PITA to put it out by hand, but the straw will help the seed stay moist and keep rain from washing everything out.

Good luck with your yard!!

 

[KeithInSpace]

See, this site is good for much more than tractors!

I purchased and spread 6 bales of straw hay today. Need to get two more tomorrow to finish. I thought I could get away without the straw, but the blanket it provides is just too important. I'm starting to think of this as a 3 year project rather than one year. Hopefully I get a good stand this year, but I can already see that it will be far from perfect...just "there". Something to start with. I'll need to spread more dirt to smooth things out...lather...rinse...repeat...

I hear you on the cold and Rye...evenings have been a little chilly. Starting to get some nice hair poking out in some areas. Just wanted to be safe and figured that it still couldn't hurt to spread the straw. 100% agreement with Mr. Crabjoe...thanks for the suggestion. Definitely a PITA, but probably worth it. Good looking blanket.

I threw some additional seed in areas where I think it may have washed away. Shouldn't hurt anything.

I think this could be a good week...will keep posted.

 

[Bob_Vineyard]

There's a lot of info on the net about the optimal time to plant grass seed for whatever are of the country you are in. I studied long and hard for what kind of grass is best for my area (just outside Seattle) and what time of year to plant. Planting in the late summer early fall is best around here, vs. springtime. Soil temps and air temps have a lot to do with germination for grass seed, and optimal rooting, etc. Certainly keeping the top 1/4" of soil moist is a MUST - any drying can kill a germinating seed right away. Besides hay you might choose a layer of peat moss which holds moisture pretty well.

 

[KeithInSpace]

In case anyone cares, I have grass. It finally germinated and I patched some areas with hay and additional seed. I went from watering 3 times a day to 2 times, then 1 time, to avoid rotting the roots in place.

After a summer of hard drought, we got many inches of rain from Tuesday to Saturday this past week. Thankfully, everything was well rooted and I can see no negatives effect of the rain.

I am now battling leaves. I doubt my topsoil fills will support my tractor this season (hasn't supported my 190#s very well yet), so I am resorting to blowing leaves off the new lawn. The rain matted quite a few down, so I'm heading out in a few minutes to try and blow them off so it doesn't kill what's underneath.

We're expecting a frost tonight, so I hope everything goes OK. If I can get through fall, I will try to mow and bag leaves once the ground firms up or freezes...probably not before December.

I don't have very good "before" pictures, but I found some from the front yard not too long after I moved in. Not much had changed from then to when I started this project. Off to the left of the "New Front Yard" picture is the house (and dead, barren ground) you see behind me in the "Old Front Yard 1" picture. That is indicative of most of the front yard...under heavy shade and formerly acidic soils that are native to forest. Never got a blade of anything to grow there...UNTIL NOW.

Now I just have to figure out how to make it live!!!

 

[asylum575]

Nice lawn Kevin. I'm looking forward to my BX24 delivery. I have a list of projects in store for it. I hope to finish my windows and siding by the Thanksgiving. It's getting kinda cold at night. Last night dipped to low 30s. I figure I should just have enough seat time to get familiar with the machine. Spring 08 should be busy.
Once again Nice lawn

Ed

 

[samofsweden]

Nice lawn Kevin. I'm looking forward to my BX24 delivery. I have a list of projects in store for it. I hope to finish my windows and siding by the Thanksgiving. It's getting kinda cold at night. Last night dipped to low 30s. I figure I should just have enough seat time to get familiar with the machine. Spring 08 should be busy.
Once again Nice lawn

Ed

Me to...end of november my new BX24 arrives to the habour in Sweden
And Richard at Bro-Tek have send me Thumb front/rear skid plates! Just hope that our -20 celcius winter will wait...Want to test the BH!

Very nice lawn and house, looks fantastic!
/Sam

 

[Texas Dodge]

Purdy lawn

 

[rpoage]

Looks real good. Amazing even seed distribution compaired to what I got.
I have been stopped in my project by rain on the weekends so I still have a 4' x 300' section done with no seeding. We had a strong frost this morning so I guess I'll test the limits on how late one can seed if we have a dry weekend this weekend.

 

[BigE_]

Wow, the transformation is very nice! Good work!

I need to do the same thing to my lawn, but I'm thinking the TC33D might be too heavy for it. I have one area that is just completely weeds, with a few bits of grass thrown in for kicks. I've hit it with some Speed Zone and will be tilling / replanting this Saturday.

I hope you bought shade grass for under the trees. During the spring/summer when that canopy fills up, I don't see much sun getting in. I'm guessing you'll have to go back through this spring and fill in some of the areas.

-Steve

 

[KeithInSpace]

Re: Seed Distribution

I went over and over and over and over and over the whole yard in several different directions with a tow behind seeder. Figured I didn't care if I was making a few extra figure eights in the yard with a beer in my hand, so I took my time. There are some spots that didn't take because of the settings I had on the sprinkler heads before I fine-fine-tuned them (couldn't see the deficiency until the seed germinated), but overall coverage has been exceptional.

Re: Shade Mix

I actually did buy a wonderfully expensive shade mix from Lesco for under my tree canopy. At $140 per 50#, I really hope I don't have any issues in the spring. Put another way: I had better not have an issues!

Around the house, along the road, and in other high-sun areas, I put down a $90 per 50# mix, also from Lesco. For areas where I wasn't sure what would take best, I put both mixes down.

The germination rate has been quite good. I applied a solid 8# to 10# of seed per 1,000 sf and applied starter fertilizer at a similar rate. I've been very pleased by how well it has bound to soil that wasn't even particularly soft when I applied the seed. As I said before, I am now battling a few wet spots where the grass is getting choked out and also a small leaf issue. The seed was of very high quality and weed free. I am very pleased with it.

Just wanted to encourage someone out there...GRASS IS POSSIBLE! If I can grow it, anyone can.

 

[canoetrpr]

Wow. Looks awesome.

I was inspired by your landscaping project and it almost talked me into buying a hoe. Next year is landscaping for me and I haven't quite decided if I should get a hoe, contract out or rent a TLB. I'm not generally a DIYer but hey... I do have a tractor... bet I can dig up the existing crappy flower bed and re-do it MUCH easier with a hoe than I ever could with my FEL.

I've also been toying with the idea of getting a box blade. Do you have a top-n-tilt setup or do you manually adjust your toplink?

 

[LBrown59]

Me to...end of november my new BX24 arrives to the habour in Sweden
/Sam

Don't forger to have lots of fun with new BX 24 when ya get it !

 

[LBrown59]

Nice lawn Kevin. I'm looking forward to my BX24 delivery. I have a list of projects in store for it. I hope to finish my windows and siding by the Thanksgiving. It's getting kinda cold at night. Last night dipped to low 30s. I figure I should just have enough seat time to get familiar with the machine. Spring 08 should be busy.
Once again Nice lawn

Ed

Probably worse than you think.
Them tractors have a way of putting you to work.

I just bought 2 BX1500s so it looks like i'm really in for it.

 

[LBrown59]

Nice lawn Kevin. I'm looking forward to my BX24 delivery. I have a list of projects in store for it. I hope to finish my windows and siding by the Thanksgiving. It's getting kinda cold at night. Last night dipped to low 30s. I figure I should just have enough seat time to get familiar with the machine. Spring 08 should be busy.
Once again Nice lawn

Ed

Ya gotta watch them list.
Once you get one they never go away,
I still have mine from 2004 when I got my bx23.

 

[KeithInSpace]

Do you have a top-n-tilt setup or do you manually adjust your toplink?

Thank you all for your positive comments.

Re: Hydraulics:

I wish I had a hydraulic setup. It would be SOOO easy to add now that I have the hydraulics run to the rear of the tractor for the BH. Guess I've been too busy in the yard to consider it.

Winter is creeping in and I think I may be able to do a few things in the garage, this project among them. As much as I LOVE my BoxBlade, its utility would be further enhanced by this addition.

Re: Boxblade:

But even without this setup, I would strongly recommend the purchase of a BoxBlade. I put it up there with the FEL as a tractoring "essential". Even if used as nothing more than ballast, it has made many a job easier.

Re: Backhoe:

It is one of those things that may end up in the garage, disconnected from your tractor for a month or two waiting for a project. But if you plan on doing ANY type of landscaping work, it is a MUST HAVE. Just get it before you do your first project, then consider how much you would have paid someone else do do the same work. It will pay for itself quickly.

Thinking back on my flower bed project, I could not imagine doing that with only the FEL. Sure, I could have moved the clay out and the topsoil in without much delay, but the real positive came when transplanting existing trees into hardpan and making 15 gallon holes for the new trees. Digging a few of those holes with a shovel would have taken a good chunk of time and a lot of energy...with the BH, it takes 15 minutes while sipping your Latte. The very reason I finished the project in ~16 hours WORKING ALONE instead of it spanning several weekends.

I'll always advocate the BH purchase. If you plan on doing stuff yourself, it is as fundamental to these tractors as the FEL and BoxBlade.

 

[samofsweden]

Don't forger to have lots of fun with new BX 24 when ya get it !

Agree! Loads of fun
Today I just recived my package from Bro-Tek, thumb, front and rear skidplates! Havent got the tractor yet Top man Richard at Bro-Tek.
/Sam

 

[LBrown59]

Re: Backhoe:
It is one of those things that may end up in the garage, disconnected from your tractor for a month or two waiting for a project.
But if you plan on doing ANY type of landscaping work, it is a MUST HAVE. Just get it before you do your first project, then consider how much you would have paid someone else do do the same work. It will pay for itself quickly.

I'll always advocate the BH purchase. If you plan on doing stuff yourself,
it is as fundamental to these tractors as the FEL and BoxBlade.

.

Never had that problem:
That's why the BH has never been off my BX23.
Keep it to busy to take it off.


Exactly why i recommend the BX23/24 over the BX2230/2350.

 

[LBrown59]

Agree! Loads of fun
Today I just recived my package from Bro-Tek, thumb, front and rear skidplates! Havent got the tractor yet Top man Richard at Bro-Tek.
/Sam

Just bought 2 BX1500s - should add bunches more fun to the BX23.

 

[canoetrpr]

Re: Boxblade:
But even without this setup, I would strongly recommend the purchase of a BoxBlade. I put it up there with the FEL as a tractoring "essential". Even if used as nothing more than ballast, it has made many a job easier.

Trying to figure out where to best spend my money. Ideally it is better spent on stuff that hooks up to the tractor rather than the tractor itself as I think that I will trade in a couple years (one reason I've been pushing off on getting rear remotes and a BH installed).

I imagine then that you are probably manually adjusting your rippers (or top-link) after you have ripped to level?

I've never used a BB. How much effort is it to manually adjust the rippers anyway - is it one at a time?... sorry if these questions sound dumb.