best attachment/s to maintain baseball fields?

kch · Jan 11, 2003

What would be the one best 3 pt. attachment or attachments to maintain all dirt or crushed brick baseball and softball fields? Each spring grass needs removed, the dirt turned, leveled, smoothed and raked. Also need it to maintain them in playing condition through out the season?

rdbrumfield · Jan 11, 2003

Re: best implement/s to maintain baseball fields?

We use a 6'york rake. By using it regularly it keeps the weeds down also.

MossRoad · Jan 11, 2003

I've been remodeling a T-ball diamond.<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=projects&Number=182332&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1> Click here to see</A> There are lots of pictures and great suggestions from lots of people.

What I would really like to get is a good drag mat. <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/NTESearch?storeId=6970&catalogId=4006970&langId=-1&PHOTOS=on&KEYWORDS=harrow&kw_fmt=harrow> Northern has a few.</A> Our little league park is low financed(we spend all the money on the kids and have little left for infrastructure) and the mats that I would like are several hundred bucks. Old fence works pretty well, but it doesn't get down below the surface.

Tags · Jan 12, 2003

Kch,
I maintain a few ball fields,and over the years of doing it I have found that a Harley rake (power landscape rake) does the best job,hands down.Nothing else even comes close,the power rake will level,turn,smooth,rake,and remove grass all at the same time,then during the season,just hit the fields once in a while with it and it'll shape it right up! The biggest downfall to it is the cost, a six foot Harley pro rake will run somewhere between 6-7 thousand dollars,I know it is a sticker shock but mine has paid for itself 1000 times.Having one of these rakes gives you lots of potential for lawn intstallation,driveway grading,lawn renavation,ans maintaining ballfields.Since I've had mine,I sold my york rake,and my box scraper just keeps gettin' rustier,once you have one you'll wonder why you didn't get one sooner!

MossRoad · Jan 12, 2003

How do you turn over the field in mid season? I'm new to this, and have been told by many "who know how its done" (read, couch potatos that come to one of their kids' games all year and never volunteer to help) that the field will be too soft to run on.. I kind of agree with them, because someone did the church's diamond, and now, everyone just bunts because the balls sink in right in front of home plate.

Can you adjust the depth to less than an inch or so? They definately seem like they would do a great job at the end of the season, when the diamond could sit over the winter and compact a little before the season starts.

Any help would be appreciated. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

popeye · Jan 12, 2003

When I took care of the Little League field I talked them into getting a Landpride Soil Pulverizer. It did a real good job of keeping the soil loose on top but with a firm base. Really worked well drying fields after apply a drying agent. You can adjust the depth the tines dig down as to how deep you want soft dirt.
Mike

Tags · Jan 12, 2003

MossRoad,
The working depth of a Harley rake is adjustable,it has rear caster wheels that are adjustable,I think the deepest it will go is 6",but you can set it to just skim the surface also,the distance between the 2 working rollers is also adjustable,to either allow more material to pass through or less.So if you want you could maintain a field weekly with it by just skimming the surface,the end result being that it smooths out the lows and leaves surface fluffed,like it was raked out,it really works very well.I have never had a complaint of it being too soft to play on,just compliments on how good it looks /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Gfranklin · Jan 13, 2003

I have never maintained a ballfield so I don't know really what is involved but I do have a Gill Pulverizor that cost me about $300 used I think. It is fantastic for finishing prior to seeding grass or smoothing a gravel driveway. I also used it to prep my friends landing strip prior to seeding. Hard to see in the picture but right behind the Large I-beam with teeth is a 4 to 5" dia. floating roller with studs for smoothing and breaking up clods. Lots of dead vegetation will slow things down a little but I just drag that stuff off to the side using the pulverizor like a rake early in the job. I believe this is what popeye is talking about. Maybe it could work in this case I just don't know. I have seen them used in rodeo arenas too.

Greg

Soundguy · Jan 14, 2003

I have used a boxblade / ripper teeth, disc harrow and drag harrow. The disc was for extreme comditions... the box / teeth are decent in combination with a heavy drag harrow.

I have seen a rotary harrow that turns the soil and 'rakes' it more or less.. is unpowered.. but rotates via ground contact similar to a disc. Great on horse track / arenas.. might work on a ball field.

Soundguy

kch · Jan 14, 2003

Ok, the harley rake sounds great but way to much $$$ for a totally volunteer ran league. I plan on also using it on the side for other jobs but even doing that it is still way to much money. So my question is what will a York rake do that a pulverizor will not do or what will a pulverizor do that a York rake will not?? or maybe both would be good? Which one would be better then the other and why?? Where can you purchase a Gill pulverizor? How much does a landpride pulverizor cost?