Renovating lawn without chemicals
CTTom
Hi --
I'm a horticulturist in the United States, and I'm interested in
converting my lawn to a type of turf that requires less mowing (a
mixture of fine and hard fescues). The usual method to accomplish that
on this side of the Atlantic is to first kill the existing turf with an
application of glyphosate, wait a couple of weeks, and then use a slit
seeder to plant the new grass seed right through the dead turf.
Howevver, I would like to avoid the use of glyphosate, if possible. I'm
wondering if I could simply use a stone burier on the existing turf and
then plant right away. Would the buried grass re-emerge to compete with
the fescues? Stone buriers are a new kind of technology in the United
States and I cannot find anyone who has used them for this purpose. I
understand, though, that they have been in use in Britain for some time.
Has anyone connected with this forum used a stone burier for lawn
renovation?
--
CTTom
Art
buried grass will re-emerge.
Buried grass WILL re-emerge if you don't kill it, that's just common sense.
Just exactly what do you think a stone burier is going to do differently
that would magically prevent the grass from trying to survive?
Me thinks you may be trolling or setting us up for spam about stone
buriers... Time will tell.
--
Art
Lawn Guy
> I'm wondering if I could simply use a stone burier on the existing
> turf and then plant right away.
WTF is a "stone burier" ?
Art
Is your Google broken?
I suspect you just swallowed the hook and asked this "horticulturist" to
spam the group.
--
Art
Lawn Guy
> > WTF is a "stone burier" ?
>
> Is your Google broken?
No, my google isin't broken - and neither is my usenet.
Is there a new rule that says that you can't ask questions anymore on
usenet?
> I suspect you just swallowed the hook and asked this
> "horticulturist" to spam the group.
Hmmm. ok.
So where's the spam?
Give me a call when it starts.
Still waiting for an explanation for a stone burier.
Pat Kiewicz
>
>
>
>Hi --
>I'm a horticulturist in the United States, and I'm interested in
>converting my lawn to a type of turf that requires less mowing (a
>mixture of fine and hard fescues). The usual method to accomplish that
>on this side of the Atlantic is to first kill the existing turf with an
>application of glyphosate, wait a couple of weeks, and then use a slit
>seeder to plant the new grass seed right through the dead turf.
>Howevver, I would like to avoid the use of glyphosate, if possible. I'm
>wondering if I could simply use a stone burier on the existing turf and
>then plant right away. Would the buried grass re-emerge to compete with
>the fescues?
Lots of weeds would emerge to compete with your fescues as thousands
of buried seeds are exposed to light, along with the possibility of some
of the undesired grass surviving the process.
I can't imagine why you think it would be better to break up and violently
churn your soil than to use what would be a very small amount of a very
much targeted chemical.
*Renovating* a lawn without chemicals would involve improving it using
top-dressing, overseeding, hand-weeding and organic fertilizers.
You are looking to start from scratch, and trying to choose between
methods of destruction.
--
Pat in Plymouth MI
"So, it was all a dream."
"No dear, this is the dream, you're still in the cell."
email valid but not regularly monitored
Ralph Mowery
"Lawn Guy" <La...@Guy.com> wrote in message news:4B2B1DA8...@Guy.com...
A machine that is pulled by a tractor. It looks to be about 5 feet wide.
Tills up the soil and levels it out.
6 ACTIONS - 1 MACHINE - 1 PASS
Cultivates to a depth of 200mm
Buries stones clods, grass and debris.
Creates a fine soil surface for accurate seed depth.
Levels and finishes the surface.
Seeds at exact rates.
Finishes by rolling firm.
Art
> Art wrote:
>
>>> WTF is a "stone burier" ?
>> Is your Google broken?
>
> No, my google isin't broken - and neither is my usenet.
Then you're just to stupid to do a search?
>
> Is there a new rule that says that you can't ask questions anymore on
> usenet?
>
No, you can ask all the stupid questions you want.
--
Art
Lawn Guy
> >>> WTF is a "stone burier" ?
> >> Is your Google broken?
> > No, my google isin't broken - and neither is my usenet.
> Then you're just to stupid to do a search?
So you think that someone who's been reading and posting to usenet for
over 20 years is stupid when it comes to knowing how to find
information?
> No, you can ask all the stupid questions you want.
And you can be a complete asshole and post useless responses all you
want.
Lawn Guy
> > Still waiting for an explanation for a stone burier.
>
> http://www.stoneburier.com/
>
> A machine that is pulled by a tractor. It looks to be about 5
> feet wide. Tills up the soil and levels it out.
> 6 ACTIONS - 1 MACHINE - 1 PASS
> Cultivates to a depth of 200mm
> Buries stones clods, grass and debris.
Technically, it doesn't have to be pulled by a tractor, and doesn't have
to be 5 feet wide.
The defining characteristic seems to be that it scrapes and pulverizes
the first few inches of the soil, sort of like the way a cheese grater
works. Quite a bit different than a roto-tiller or disc tiller.
They come in a variety of sizes, from walk behind (or infront) to
tractor attached.
Like the scarifier, this is an example of a yard product that is not
very common for home or light commercial use in North America, but seems
to be more common in the UK.
Seems primarily designed for turf removal for preparing new lawns or
garden plots. The term "stone burier" is somewhat odd given what it
does and how it operates and the desired result. It would be more
appropriate to call it a soil grader or turf planer.
Now tell me where I could find a concise explanation like that on
google.
Ralph Mowery
"Lawn Guy" <La...@Guy.com> wrote in message news:4B2C17DA...@Guy.com...
I have to agree with Art. You are too stupid to use Google. I gave a quick
explination that was copied and pasted from their website. YOu did not seem
to know what one was and now you want to pick apart the quick explination.
I posted this link at the top of the message I sent:
I found it on Google along with several videos on the first page.
Chas Hurst
"Ralph Mowery" <rmower...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:KeidnTXi5feNvrHW...@earthlink.com...
lawn. The machine shown at the linked wesite seems to be more suited to
atheletic fields and golf courses.
It looks like the perfect way to spread the seeds and rhizomes of
undesirable plants.
I had a friend go over my lawn with a "rockhound" that removes rocks, roots,
clumps etc. The resulting lawn looked good for 3 years.
Oren
wrote:
>You are looking to start from scratch, and trying to choose between
>methods of destruction.
Burn it!
http://www.flameengineering.com/Red_Dragon_Propane_Torch_K.html
Made in the U.S.A.
Lawn Guy
> >> > Still waiting for an explanation for a stone burier.
> >>
> >> http://www.stoneburier.com/
> > Technically, it doesn't have to be pulled by a tractor, and
> > doesn't have to be 5 feet wide.
> >
> > The defining characteristic seems to be that it scrapes and
> > pulverizes the first few inches of the soil, sort of like
> > the way a cheese grater works.
> >
> > They come in a variety of sizes, from walk behind (or infront)
> > to tractor attached.
>
> I have to agree with Art. You are too stupid to use Google.
And you are too stupid to realize that I must have used a search engine
to post the explanation that I quoted above.
> I gave a quick explination that was copied and pasted from
> their website.
I never said you didn't.
> You did not seem to know what one was and now you want
> to pick apart the quick explination.
You stated that it was a machine of a certain size and configuration.
Technically, that was wrong because these machines come in different
sizes and configurations.
So your explanation was incomplete and lacked some important details
which I added.
> I posted this link at the top of the message I sent:
>
> http://www.stoneburier.com/
Yes I know, I quoted it in my reply. Why did you feel it was important
to tell me this a second time?
> I found it on Google along with several videos on the
> first page.
Wow - you deserve a gold star for that.
Art
> Art wrote:
>
>>>>> WTF is a "stone burier" ?
>>>> Is your Google broken?
>>> No, my google isin't broken - and neither is my usenet.
>> Then you're just to stupid to do a search?
>
> So you think that someone who's been reading and posting to usenet for
> over 20 years is stupid when it comes to knowing how to find
> information?
It's not about what I think, it's about what you are proving.
>
>> No, you can ask all the stupid questions you want.
>
> And you can be a complete asshole and post useless responses all you
> want.
Yep.
--
Art
Bob F
Using a sod cutter, and composting the sod will probably result in a better
result, as most seeds will go away with the sod.
4x4rob
use a turf cutter to remove old turf if the ground is good enough then
if your left with a load of stones use a stone burier or if not just use
a stone raker / standard landscape rake (size permitting) then you
could use a seeder roller machine to get a good finish .
--
4x4rob
tra...@optonline.net
Which is one hell of a lot of work and cost compared to applying
glyphosate and using a slit seeder. Glyphosate is routinely used on
food crops, so I don't see the big deal in using it for a one time
lawn renovation.
Bob F
I sure as hell don't use it on my food crops.
4x4rob
to make it abit cheaper then we sometimes just kill the old grass/weeds
with spray (gallup 360) wait till it dies off then rotorvate it , rake
aera out and re seed if you want a good job on your lawn you really cant
try to do it to cheaply
--
4x4rob
Eggs Zachtly
Ever buy fresh corn at the grocery store?
--
Eggs
It's not an optical illusion. It just looks like one.
tra...@optonline.net
> to make it abit cheaper then we sometimes just kill the old grass/weeds
> with spray (gallup 360) wait till it dies off then rotorvate it , rake
> aera out
And how much back braking work is it to rake out clumps of dead turf
after it's all rototilled into one big mess? Geez, why does everyone
want to do it the hard way?
>and re seed if you want a good job on your lawn you really cant
> try to do it to cheaply
>
> --
> 4x4rob
I've re-seeded dozens of lawns by using glyphosate (Roundup), waiting
about 2 weeks until it's all dead, then mowing short, raking up the
debris, then using a slit seeder to apply the seed. Worked every
time, no fuss, no muss.
I can see tilling the whole thing up IF the soil is poor and you want
to add amendments. But for a lawn where the existing topsoil is OK,
the above procedure is effective, easy, and cheap.
Bob F
Rarely. But it would be idiocy to use glyphosate on my home garden if I care,
wouldn't it?
Eggs Zachtly
Are you, yourself, made of plant material? It's a serious question man, not a
smart-assed answer. It's all got to do with how glyphosate works. It won't hurt
you, unless you're actually a plant. =)
As long as the plants you're growing are "glyphosate-ready" (and there's a
shit-load of them available), and you spray on a calm day and/or protect your
other crops from overspray, it'd be just fine to use it in your home garden.
Pulling weeds from a dense block of corn sucks. It makes it a helluva lot
easier.
--
Eggs
A hen is an egg's way of making another egg.
Bob F
Since you believe all the claims of the manufacturer, go ahead and drink it up.
I'll pass.
Pulling weeds takes little time in a properly maintained garden.