Spring rolling

[21incher]

Yesterday my lawn finally dried enough to get the roller out.


 
I do it to push the rocks down and smooth out the frost heaves but when I am done the lawn goes from being spongy to being hard like concrete. I only use a 900 lb roller, but have seen others using small blacktop rollers. Does anyone know if this is good or bad for the lawn?

[thecfarm]

Looks like you got a lot to mow. I would need a bigger roller than that to push my rocks down.  :D
I have seen someone use a small black top roller,like for a sidewalk.

[justallan1]

I'll be watching this one with interest. I bought a Craftsman riding mower a couple years ago and that thing is a rough ride. Before that we would cut it with the swather and get 2 big round bales from it. It's not the size of your golf coarse there, but it's big.

Allan

[thecfarm]

Let a little air out of the tires. Yes,it will affect the height of your cut,but will also affect the ride. We mow the old fields and they are rough. Faster we go rougher the ride too.

[drobertson]

That picture makes me want to go golfing! ;D  If I had a roller I would use it too!  Can't see it harming anything,

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Kobota makes a roller to go on their Zero turn mowers. 500 bucks......I passed. The small rollers just enhance the look of the grass like they do on baseball fields. I think Kobota calls them "Stripers".

[JohnM]

I'd love to have a roller but like Poston not enough to spend money on it.   My winch works surprisingly well at cleaning up the lawn where the snow piles were but it I time it wrong I tear up the sod pretty good, it's gotta be pretty dry but not too dry.  (snow piles = rocks from the gravel driveway)

21, that is a heck of a guard on the front of that tractor.  I'm guessing that's not stock.

[Chuck White]

I have a small roller that I salvaged out of a scrap pile quite a few years ago.  It's about 2 feet diameter and 3 feet wide. For added weight, it's filled with about 20 gallons of used motor oil.

I also have a cast-iron field roller that's been cut in half, it will cover 5-6 feet per pass and it probably weighs around 600 pounds, that'll flatten out the mole hills!  ;D

We just bought a new JD 1023 tractor with 54" mower and a FEL.  Soon as the yard dries out a little, we'll have to get to work on it!

[beenthere]

I roll mine most years, as soon as the frost goes out and it is dry enough. Makes for a much smoother ride when mowing and doesn't hurt the grass that still comes up and needs mowing.

Your lawn looks great and rolling doesn't appear to harm the grass.

My roller is hand made and a water tank filled with concrete, then loaded with silo staves for more weight. Figure 3' swath and about 700 lbs.  Don't get in a spot where it will push you down a hill.   

[petefrom bearswamp]

Makes me feel that i am lazy, could have erolled today but did other stuff.
Holy cow how much do you mow?
Looks like you could sell hay.

[21incher]

I mow about 7 acres and the rolling really helps level it out in the flat areas so I can basically mow as fast as the tractor can go. About 4 acres of it I used to have a local farmer that bailed the hay for his cows but he passed away and I had to start mowing it to keep small animals out of my garden. The first couple of years it was real rough from the tractors and rocks all over then I found the roller on clearance at Tractor Supply and every year I roll it gets smoother ( had to dig out the big rocks ) But it seems to get harder also.

Chuck that 1023 is the tractor I originally went out to buy but the Kubota dealer made me a offer I could not refuse. My other tractor is a Deere.

John M I made the brush guard because I wanted a front receiver hitch, tie down places and it has mounting provisions for a snow plow I will soon build. I also built the bucket holder that was originally for tools and extra weight, but with all the litterbugs around here I use it to pick up all the beer cans and McDonalds bags thrown out of car windows that I find while mowing.

[Al_Smith]

I have a little asphault roller .Case vibramatic .

It probabley goes a ton and half fully ballasted with water .It's slow but it does a nice job .

I may roll the yard tomorrow . I won't tell Mrs Smith she's a typical woman, knows more than me .Probabley say it's too wet .No big deal I've heard it all before . ;)

[Chuck White]

I mow about 7 acres and the rolling really helps level it out in the flat areas so I can basically mow as fast as the tractor can go. About 4 acres of it I used to have a local farmer that bailed the hay for his cows but he passed away and I had to start mowing it to keep small animals out of my garden. The first couple of years it was real rough from the tractors and rocks all over then I found the roller on clearance at Tractor Supply and every year I roll it gets smoother ( had to dig out the big rocks ) But it seems to get harder also.

Chuck that 1023 is the tractor I originally went out to buy but the Kubota dealer made me a offer I could not refuse. My other tractor is a Deere.

John M I made the brush guard because I wanted a front receiver hitch, tie down places and it has mounting provisions for a snow plow I will soon build. I also built the bucket holder that was originally for tools and extra weight, but with all the litterbugs around here I use it to pick up all the beer cans and McDonalds bags thrown out of car windows that I find while mowing.

The first dealer I went to was Kubota and they had a 2001, same category as the one I bought and it had 1,500 hours on it and they were asking $12,500 with 90 day warranty., well, long story short I added $3,000. to it and got the JD with .3 hours on it and a good warranty!