New Yard Question

jvncnt · Aug 31, 2006

Not sure if you folks in this forum can help or not, but here is the dilemma. Sorry in advance for the length!

My wife and I recently moved into a new home that was built on 4 acres of old soybean field. About one month ago, we had the entire property bush hogged, due to the weeds being taller than us. Since that time, we have gone over the land again and chopped up most of what had been cut.

We are now going to try to put in our own "yard" (as opposed to a "lawn"), and have VERY little clue as to what we are doing. We tried to find someone who would disc the land so that we could drag it, but no luck. So... we have decided to rent a Harley Rake and Brillion seeder this weekend. Last weekend we sprayed the entire property with Round-up which will hopefully kill everything that is on the land now.

Finally, the questions:

We have never used a Harley Rake before, but are getting it for the weekend. Do we have to remove all of the chopped up vegetation before Harley raking r will it all get pulverized? Also, we have numerous ruts from the tires of construction vehicles, will the rake take care of this, or are we asking too much?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

AlanB · Aug 31, 2006

You may find more help over on www.lawnsite.com or Lawn care forums for landscape business professionals.

I would say not to do it so quickly after round up. Not sure what concentration / formula you put out etc, but it is probably too quick.

The more old vegetation you can remove, the better off you are going to be.

You have a SS to run the Harley with?

A good operator with a good SS and Harley rake can do wonders in yard prep work. We hire it out when we are doing it, it makes better $ sense for us to hire out some parts of the jobs then to try and do it ourselves.

Soil conditions, as with any dirt work, will determine what can be done.

Are you doing the entire 4 acres?

jvncnt · Aug 31, 2006

Thanks for the links, I will check them out!

We are renting both the rake and the skid steer. I have operated a bobcat before, but it has been a while. We are actually able to get the whole outfit for the next four days for the price of one (due to the holiday), so hopefully, we have time to do it. "Only" doing 3 of the 4 acres (I say "only", knowing that I am WAY over my head!) But, we of course decided that landscaping is where we would save money after building the new house. Plus, it is part of the reason my wife allowed the purchase of a JD 2305 w/ FEL!

I was hoping not to remove the vegetation before hand, but it makes sense that perhaps it should be done. Now to figure out how...

Thanks again.

AlanB · Aug 31, 2006

We would probably get up what we could with a York type rake, and deal with the rest as it came about. Sounds mostly like you are just trying to get something started and going.

This is the wife's site, *** Hanna Bechard *** A Woman's Touch *** Clarksville ***

Call your ag extension agent or similar, usually they can help you get your soil tested free, and help to understand what the results say.

In our area, it says ADD LIME but your area may certainly be different.

As with any tool, I would start back in an "away" corner, and get the feel of it. The Harley can produce very, very nice results. Angled it can windrow rocks in a hurry if that is a problem in your area.

We seed real heavy when we seed. For us, the price of the seed is nothing compared to keeping our customer happy. I have never heard of a problem arising from throwing out too much seed.

We usually put down Rye as a cover grass and KY 31 as a base, sometimes red creeper in shady area's. Again, a quick discussion with your local Ag agent can pay big rewards for what works in your area.

Good luck, hope it works well. They are fun to operate.

jvncnt · Aug 31, 2006

Wow, nice web site! I hope that our results are even 1/2 as nice as the work you folks do!

By the way, york rake and harley rake the same?

Thanks again.

GaryM · Sep 1, 2006

A York Rake is a non-powered rake that is pulled behind a tractor to gather grass, branches, etc. Or to rake crushed rock as in your driveway. They have curved metal tines that might be 3/4" wide.

A Harley Rake is a powered tool that pulverizes soil and can screen out rocks and such as it moves along. As mentioned, it can be angles so all the rocks end up in a nice row, making them easier to remove.