[AT] Pasture drag, rake, ???

Wed May 5 11:58:05 PDT 2021

Dan,

You seem to indicate that the area of the state your in has a large quantity of rocks in the soil. If so, somebody in the area might have a rock rake that you could borrow/rent to remove the rocks after you do the leveling. Running a rock rake over the area would also help with the leveling.

Carl

----- Original Message -----
From: jdnut at aol.com
To: deanvp at att.net, at at lists.antique-tractor.com
Sent: Wed, 05 May 2021 11:07:09 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: [AT] Pasture drag, rake, ???

Dean,I am late with my reply.... your rock situation makes me wonder if this version is appropriate??? anyway, we had a rather dry hill of grass and alfalfa ( no rocks) with lots of quite large mounds from ground squirrels, I used one section of something similar to the attached picture, and  to the rear of the spike-tooth harrow we chained either a piece of railroad track or a heavy duty I-beam   (memory is hazy) to the back of the harrow.  
Results were a big improvement, but again, no worry about rocks.  Good luck with your project.  
John Maxwell Ferndale CA

-----Original Message-----
From: Dean VP <deanvp at att.net>
To: 'Antique Tractor Email Discussion Group' <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Tue, May 4, 2021 9:39 pm
Subject: Re: [AT] Pasture drag, rake, ???

Here is one that looks interesting. Not sure if it has adequate pin density

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/loyal-drag-harrow-6-ft-x-8-ft

Dean VP
Snohomish, WA 98290
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery."
..Winston Churchill...

-----Original Message-----
From: AT <at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com> On Behalf Of Dean VP
Sent: Tuesday, May 4, 2021 9:18 PM
To: 'Antique Tractor Email Discussion Group' <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Subject: Re: [AT] Pasture drag, rake, ???

Spencer,

That is it. Drag or chain harrow is the name that seems to work here too. Haven't found a single used one for sale yet.  Tractor Supply and Northern Tool  have some that might be worth looking at.  I wonder if the rental yards have them.  That would be a way to teat to see how it works before purchasing.

Dean VP
Snohomish, WA 98290
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery."
..Winston Churchill...

-----Original Message-----
From: AT <at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com> On Behalf Of Spencer Yost
Sent: Tuesday, May 4, 2021 4:05 PM
To: Antique Tractor Email Discussion Group <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Subject: Re: [AT] Pasture drag, rake, ???

Drag harrow is what I think they’re called mainly around the country. I hear “chain harrow” around here more frequently.  It’s probably your only option if you’re trying your best not to disturb more than an inch or two down and also not kill half your grass.

I can’t even think of anything else that would do the job yet also leave stones unturned.

I use it after disking to create a better seed bed and also in my pasture to de-thatch and scarify the surface after plugging but before fertilizing, seeding and  spreading compost. 

PS:  this is the type of implement that people often buy for a single reseeding project and then resell.  I’ll bet some chain harrows have had dozens of owners.  So  check Craigslist. 

Spencer 

Sent from my iPhone

> On May 4, 2021, at 6:33 PM, Dean VP <deanvp at att.net> wrote:
> 
> I have 6 acres that I mow with my Garden tractor 3 of which is a 
> pasture on a slope which at one time had horses on it.  Now I try to 
> keep the pasture looking nice by mowing it with my Garden Tractor 
> albeit at a slightly higher cut than the rest of the regular lawn. The 
> last couple of years the pasture has gotten really rough from multiple 
> sources including our not so friendly Moles and pocket gophers. There 
> are several old growth stumps buried in the pasture which was well 
> done except will the dirt fill occurs it doesn't completely fill all 
> around the stump down below. So over time and our incessant rain some 
> settling occurs and even some small occur.  I try to fill the gaps 
> with dirt as I find them but each year 2 or 3 more show up. So bottom 
> line is the pasture has gotten rough and beats the crap out of me when I mow it. I would like to use a tool to try to smooth it out a bit and
> thatching the grass mat in places would not be a bad thing.  But our soil
> is terrible and at best could described as glacial till filled with various
> sized rocks.  So I really don't want to disturb the rocks too much since I
> have to mow it later.  So I want to smooth the soil out, not disturb it too
> much.  Known as a quandary. 
> 
> I'm thinking about acquiring pasture rake or drag with short teeth on 
> it to work the top couple inches or so and  try to smooth out the mole and gopher
> mounds which I have manually knocked down a bit prior to mowing,  I have no
> experience with a pasture type rake.  I have experience with a spiked 
> toothed drag we used on the farm in NW Iowa.  But that was used to 
> smooth out  loose ground in preparation for planting corn or soy 
> beans. That isn't what I need. I think I need maybe 4 4' square 
> flexible sections that can flex with the varying terrain and catch the 
> low as well as high spots. I think I can pull an 8' 8' unit with my 20 
> to 22 HP Garden tractors. I'm more concerned about traction but I can 
> put chains on if necessary.  I'm thinking I would want to take several 
> passes at various different directions.  And hopefully I could use this same implement to dethatch the rest of the lawn.
> 
> Some of you surely have experience with something like what I need. 
> What do I need? What are it's critical attributes?  Where do I buy it?  
> I do live in Horse country so there are a few stores that cater to 
> horse owners and of course I have Tractor Supply, Lowes, Home Dept, 
> Grainger, etc. and ???/
> 
> I'm looking forward to being educated.
> 
> Dean VP
> Snohomish, WA 98290
> "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and 
> gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery."
> ..Winston Churchill...
> 
> 
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