Need advice how to do prepare the soil for seeding around the pond.

[rogerius]

The snow is gone now and the pond is filing slow and nice. Unfortunately the landscape around the pond need some work before I start seeding. The contractor tried to level the soil as much as he could back in December but now I can see that I have to put some work too, in special to cover the road which he did it to haul the soil on the hill; the soil sinked almost 1' and lots of stones are everywhere. I never done landscaping before, but I'm willing to try. I've got a L3940HST with a 6 box blade and some time. I'm not sure if this is enough or maybe is better to rent a small dozer to do it? Also, I've got R4 tires which I'm afraid will leave some marks during the process. Do I need a landscaping roller after seeding or before? Do I need to fertilize before? I really appreciate if somebody can give me advice how to start and maybe some steps which I need to follow.
Thank you.

 

[Western]

A drag harrow may help you immensely to smooth it out, may have to pick out the larger rocks as you go. I'd fertilize before I ran the harrow over it, then plant your grass seed.

Nice looking place too.

 

[whistlepig]

Do a soil test. Fertilize, lime/or no lime as recommended. Wait a couple of weeks. Smooth with a harrow. Broadcast the seed. Roll the seed to insure contact with the ground.

Rocks grow. They always, for some reason, seem to come to the surface. A Rock Hound on a skid loader works very well.

 

[jeff9366]

If you want your grass to be productive, by all means get a soil test and tell the testing service exactly what you intend to grow. Testing service will steer you to the right nutrients and micro-nutrients you may need. In north Florida, for instance, Boron is frequently in deficit, but our soil is full of lime rock. You will have to use judgement taking your soil samples as the ground has been stirred up.
Soil service can guide you.

Are you planning to seed some sort of pasture grass or native prairie grass? Rolling in small seed is important for good germination. A Cultipacker is the best implement; it is a roller that also creates shallow ridges.

I have a Kubota L3560 with FEL and air-filled R4 tires. I drive across residential lawns with attachments on the bucket and implements on the Three Point Hitch regularly without marking them. Industrial tires are wide.

A drag harrow and a chain harrow are the same thing. Depending on which side is up and from which end it is pulled, a chain harrow offers three increments of aggressiveness. $300 new.

Do you still have the grapple? Are the tines spaced sufficiently close so you can rake out rocks with it? The rippers on a Box Blade generally will loosen rocks so they can be "picked". Or you can replace the grapple with a "Rock Rake" temporarily.

 

[EddieWalker]

Will the rocks affect your mowing? You could buy or make a rake for the rocks. What type of grass are you wanting to grow and how short are you going to cut it? If just bush hogging it, I wouldn't worry about the rocks at all, but if you are wanting the grass to be manicured short, I'm thinking you will have to pick them up by hand as they work their way to the surface.

The easiest way to smooth out your dirt is to make a drag. Here is the link to the one I made http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/141756-my-super-duper-drag.html?highlight=drag It works great on something like what you have.

I don't think it takes to much effort to plant grass. It will grow if you do nothing. I just smooth out the dirt and broadcast the seed by hand just like Mother Nature does. In a couple of months it's all grown in and ready for mowing

Eddie

 

[flusher]

Grass seed only needs to be planted 1/4 inch deep. Any deeper will waste seed that's too deep to germinate properly. Those big rocks have to be cleared, probably by hand unless you can rig up that attaches to your FEL and functions as a rock rake. Next, you need to level the surface--a piece of chain link fence weighted with old tires/rims and pulled by your tractor would work. Then broadcast the grass seed. Your area is small enough that you could do it by hand with one of those crank-type seeders

"Ev-N-Spred" Broadcast Seed Spreader by Johnny's Selected Seeds | Four Season Tools

The seed has to be pressed into the soil with a roller of some type for best germination. One of those water filled rollers would work. You could also use a cultipacker if you have one or can borrow one.

Brinly-Hardy 18 in. x 48 in. 485 lb. Tow-Behind Poly Lawn Roller-PRT-48SBH at The Home Depot

Good luck