Slit seeder and de-thatcher advice needed

[sixdogs]

I have a need for a commercial quality 3-pt hitch slit seeder as well as some sort of 3-pt or rotating tine de-thatcher to use in preping lawns for seed as well as seeding some lawns that are just thinning out and need a boost. I know nothing of these and what brands are reliable or not, although I plan to learn, and hope others who have knowlege or advice to offer will do it. Any advice appreciated.
Not every lawn needs to be torn up and started over and I figure these tools will help get more grass going with minimal expense and ground disturbance.

 

[PossumHound]

In the red clay around here a decent but thinning turf can easily be improved by using a good core aerator prior to spreading seed, fesecue/blue grass/rye. Seeds that don't land in a hole can be toast, but the ones that land in the holes will make it due to extra moisture retained in the hole and the deep root starting level. Fall is the best time to do this. I've seen red clay banks with nothing but weeds go from a mess to a nice turf over the winter using this procedure. Over do the aeratoring so you there are plenty of extra holes and you don't have so many seeds going to "toast". I can't speak to your specific question since I have not used either of those tools for this type job. Good luck!

PH

 

[leonz]

I have a need for a commercial quality 3-pt hitch
slit seeder as well as some sort of 3-pt or rotating tine de-thatcher to use in
preping lawns for seed as well as seeding some lawns that are just thinning
out and need a boost. I know nothing of these and what brands are reliable
or not, although I plan to learn, and hope others who have knowlege or
advice to offer will do it. Any advice appreciated.

Not every lawn needs to be torn up and started over and I figure these tools
will help get more grass going with minimal expense and ground disturbance.

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A couple of things that you need to think about;

First; a good dethatcher depending on the type will permit
you to overseed lawns without using a slit seeder.

Second you may need-most likely need as the lawns are
never taken care of unless they are on golf courses or
someone knows how to manage thier lawns and take care of them.

A soil test is number one
Pelleted lime
Deep Mined Gypsum - it costs less than chemically rendered gypsum
Good area specific grass seed and lots of it
Plant new seed only in the months with an R in them.

A brillion slit seeder for turf will seed heavily for for you with a simple
dial adjustment and also add fertiliser fro you.




About dethatching:
I am referring specifically to the Dethatching Blade which is
used in combination with a flail mowers side slicer knive
which will mow the turf and slit the turf pulling up the
thatch at the same time.


NOW you can purchase large walk behind motorised dethatchers for
commercial use/golf course and they do work.


The problem is collecting the thatch because it chokes the lawn
if a heavy amount of thatch is evident.


Now about the machinery, I will mention one brand in particular
being the Brillion slit seeder FOR TURF seeding is PTO powered
and the grass seed is delivered by gravity.

The Brillion slit seeder will provide a heavy seeding with new seed
for the turf.

SOME LAWNS ARE NOT SALAVAGABLE and that will be a judgement
call when you cut a section of the sod out to look at before you do anything.

The walk behind powered dethatchers are small and time consuming to use but
if you have the time to do it all you will need is a spinner spreader to cast seed.


Unless you can find a Mathews Company Lawn Genie, of which I know
of two three point hitch PTO Powered Uniuts that were for sale and still
may be available.

The five foot wide Mathews Lawn Genie flail mower collector can dethatch and pick
up the dead grass and thatch and the dump basket is powered hydraulically BUT you have to have
place to dump the thatch. The Lawn Genies are no longer made but they come up for sale
sometimes and maintenance is breeze, the parts are common and easily obtainable.

Mine is not for sale though :^)


You HAVE TO have to pick up the dead thatch before you overseed,
spread gypsum and broadcast pelletised lime with a spinner spreader
if you want to repair existing turf.

Their are several manufacturers in Europe that make three point hitch
mounted flailmower collectors with dethatching blades which have a high
lift capability to dump in a small towed dump trailer.


I can provide you with the names of the italian and british manufacturers if you
would like them as well as the information abou the two new PTO powered five foot cut
lawn genies I mentioned that may still be for sale.

 

[sixdogs]

Wow, that is some serious information ...thany you.
I understand the fertilizer/lime thing and I occasionally "de-thatch" using a chain type drag harrow with the arressive hooks digging in. It really pulls up the thatch--that I sweep/rake and burn and that's OK but it's an awkward implement. My preference is to tear up an aging lawn and start from scratch but there are times with the surface of the ground is pretty smooth and a less expensive way out would be just to slit in some seed. Especially if there are all kinds of trees and obstacles around that make a re-seeding more difficult.
It never occured to me that Brillion makes a slit-seeder and i guess I'll look into that. I have their seeder. Some sort of PTO de-thatcher would be nice because it would be easy sitting on a tractor and letting that machine do the job. Then too, I have hear good things about the plugs mention in the earlier replay and I should look at that. Thanks for the great replies so far. Good stuff.

 

[leonz]

A good spring pressure ejector operated core aerator with
weight on the tray above the aerator for your arsenal is
but one weapon, a dethatcher is another weapon for grass repair.

The core aerator removes the soil in plugs to permit
air and water to enter below the root level if it is adjusted
properly.

Lawns with good turf should have the core aerator run over
it almost year as it permits more water and soil ammendments to
enter the sods root system. BUT a soil test for good turf is a Must have item
your guide and you can purchase soil test kits from Gemplers from what I remember.
Unless you buy a flail mower that can carry the dethatcher
knives at the same time you will need to buy a walk behind
self propelled dethatcher sized for golf course work.

A spring tine dethatcher will remove some of the thatch but not all.


EDIT: If you purchase a PTO powered Stone Burier you can destroy the old lawn in one pass then use your Brillion Sure Stand Seeder and walk away as the job will be done and no straw is needed.

If you have an implement dealer nearby that handles Italian farm machinery they will be able to obtain one for you from
one of several manufacturers that import them here.

Another option is the purchase of a BCS two wheel tractor with the stone burier attachment as well as a tiller and you can do it with the BCS stone burier and have a smooth seed bed as the stone burier uses heavy verticut knives to destroy the soil and then pass it through a set of separators burying the large rocks and unbroken sod.

Something to Mull over is the 13 horse BCS two wheel tractor and the stone burier attachment will cost you less than a PTO powered stone burier for your size of tractor.