Having fields harrowed, rolled and reseeded.

MrA

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Feb 8, 2012
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That might not even be the right order, I know very little about this sort of this. Ales winter field is pretty trashed and so I'm thinking of getting this done in spring and then resting until next winter.

First question when is the best time to aim for to do it, roughly?

Some say that rolling isn't great for the soil, best to just harrow and reseed?

No rye grass, I think that's correct.

It's less than an acre so I'm hoping it won't be too expensive to get done. Plan on putting a low strand of fencing round it to keep little legs out
 
It's who you would get to do the re-seeding if you go down that route. I don't know how keen people are in your part of the world? Sometimes it can be like pulling teeth to get an agricultural contractor to do a small area. Fortunately, we managed to get one of our fields done pretty quickly here. I've just asked Mr trews and he's not sure what time of year we had it done, I *think* it might have been late spring (but things get done differently here due to the weather conditions). But we didn't graze on it until the following year - to give it time to get going and not be trashed quickly. I remember my neighbour warning me not to put her out on it and I'm glad I didn't - I gave it until the following year to grow properly. But that isn't always applicable I know. You can usually get your own seed mixture made up - that's what we did, we went to the place in town that supplies the contractors and told him what we were grazing it with - so he recommended a mixture just for horses (good doers too).
I think rolling might be enough for you though - one of the only reasons we had to begin from scratch is that this particular field was full of lumps, bumps and humungous stones - and it really needed starting from scratch. There was no way you could have grazed anything on it, it was far too dangerous and pot holey. Previously I've only ever had my fields rolled. And topped if the reeds were setting in.
 
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You want the ground to be warm enough (10c plus ideally) and for there to be enough moisture for seed to germinate, when I was in herts on clay we used to seed April/may or September but up here with our sandy soil you’ve got to get it down at the end of feb/early March if it’s warm enough or it’s generally too dry by April so autumn is more reliable. The natural lifecycle of grass is for it to drop its seeds early autumn, if you’ve got the option to completely rest it and let what’s there go to seed it will help itself quite a bit. If you struggle for a contractor, I’ve always done small acreage with a hand pull along seed spreader, you probably have them at work.

Harrowing can be done when ever really, preferably before you seed if you’re seeding, but it can benefit the ground almost any time of year as long as it’s not too wet or dry.

Rolling can compact the ground but a light roller after seeding can really help get the seeds pushed down to the dirt to grow and it can be very useful if the ground has become heavily rutted.

I would avoid rye but it’s a very popular type of grass because it grows really well, is tolerant of heavy use, drought and flooding which makes it ideal for stock, the problem can be that it’s often higher in sugar, that’s a personal preference thing.
 
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Yes agree with above comments. If not to badly rutted you might get away with just harowing. Rolling causes the compaction. If you harrow at the right time the tractor wheels and harrows might pull out the ruts. Without the need for rolling.

Im sure you must have a hand seeder at work. If you buy the grass seed you could reseed it yourself. Just walk up and down behind the harrowing scattering whilst its being harrowed, and then they could harrow straight over again a second time to get the seed in the ground.
We reseeded a bare stretch last year and i just walked up and down with the seeder in my hand turning the handle. Have also used a bucket and scoop and cast that way but you dont get such an even spread. If you are reseeding yourself whilst someones harrowing you might want someone also on foot with you helping with the grass seed bag if you have a little hand reseeder. It doesnt go far before you have to refill. You will benefit from lightly harrowing or rolling in the seed. Too much left on top and the birdies will think its christmas. You also want to do the seeding just before you get a few days light rain to help germinate.
 
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Mine doesn’t have a winding handle on, it’s this type of thing
F89F6FE5-78FA-4092-B1C7-A83452541D6F.png
I picked it up at a carboot or similar for a fiver and it’s been going years, takes about 5kg of seed at a time
 
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Mine doesn’t have a winding handle on, it’s this type of thing
View attachment 105283
I picked it up at a carboot or similar for a fiver and it’s been going years, takes about 5kg of seed at a time
We actually hire these out at work, not sure why I didn't think of that before! Thank you everyone, really helpful input.
 
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Even better than a hand caster. You could easily push that round and cast that behind someone harrowing.

If you got someone into reseed by tractor it would be done in no time but will put the price up a fair bit.
 
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Having lost a horse to grass sickness I never, ever harrow my land. Any mechanical disturbance poses a risk. When I had Bonnie and Toby on an acre I reseeded by hand but did nothing else
 
Having lost a horse to grass sickness I never, ever harrow my land. Any mechanical disturbance poses a risk. When I had Bonnie and Toby on an acre I reseeded by hand but did nothing else
I was thinking about this, maybe I'll just reseed and roll then, just to flatten the worst of the divets
 
Rolling is magical. It turns a lumpy bumpy paddock into a polo field! I think I would only harrow to get rid of damn weeds like the little crawling buggers that are taking over my grass.
 
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Rolling is magical. It turns a lumpy bumpy paddock into a polo field! I think I would only harrow to get rid of damn weeds like the little crawling buggers that are taking over my grass.
Haha yes it’s magic, I remember at our old house we only ever rolled and the result was fab!
 
I bitterly regret having our rented land harrowed and rolled. That's where Bonnie got EGS. And I always wonder if it was us tarting the field up that did it. The only thing I do on my own fields we own now is topping. I just will not run the risk ever again
 
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