# Smoothing old pasture Fayette Co Texas



## Timz (Nov 9, 2011)

I have converted old grazing land into haying ground. I've sprayed weeds fertilized and baled. Just finished up first year. The grass is great and got three good cuttings. The problem is the ground is rougher than a cob. It has big low spots and high spots it's like the surface of the moon( so I've heard). It's all native grass. I need to disk it up but don't want to reseed. I sprigged another field 2 years ago and it's been a slow expensive process. My question is will you kill all the native grass if you disk it? When should you do it? I'm going to renovate but that won't smooth it out. Any ideas?

Tim


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

It is very hard to get ground real smooth without working it up and leveling/dragging and rolling. There are no shortcuts for smooth fields and good stands of grass.

Regards, Mike


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## JMT (Aug 10, 2013)

Would a pasture aerator (one with a big heavy roller and the aeration spikes) level it any? I have never used one, but was tempted to rent one to try on a old field we used to have. Thought if ground was a little wet that an aerator might smooth it out. Would be afraid of compaction though.


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## Bonfire (Oct 21, 2012)

JMT said:


> Would a pasture aerator (one with a big heavy roller and the aeration spikes) level it any? I have never used one, but was tempted to rent one to try on a old field we used to have. Thought if ground was a little wet that an aerator might smooth it out. Would be afraid of compaction though.


No, it won't level at all. All it will do is aerate. I'm speaking of the Aerway I have.


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## Timz (Nov 9, 2011)

I guess my question is does disking kill out the native grasses? I asked the guy at the coop and he wasn't sure.


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

Disking, especially to the extent that you need to do in order to move soil to lower the high spots and fill in the low spots, will kill much of the existing native grasses. With this in mind, you would have had to allow the native grasses to mature seed. May need to wait until next year and allow this to occur before doing the extensive disking required. Even with allowing native grasses to reseed, you likely will have to plant some seed. One exception might be if your "native" grass is Bahia grass, which may not be likely if the soil is alkaline. My $.02 worth.


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## dubltrubl (Jul 19, 2010)

I agree with discing killing much of your desirable grass. Not to mention disturbing the seed bed of weeds sequestered in the soil. When you expose them to some sun and warm air they'll grow with a vengence. Just my $.02, but if I wanted a nice smooth hayfield, I'd plan on starting over. That's probably not what you want to hear, but it's honest. I have had fair success simply smoothing a trouble spot, but it's also taken 3 years or more dealing with the weeds in those particular spots afterward. Best of luck whichever way you go.

Regards,

Steve


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## rajela (Feb 15, 2014)

Tim

If your running a hay king renovator across that pasture it will help to smooth it up some. It will take several years but the renovator will allow the water to penetrate the soil and help to smooth out the cow tracks and trails. It won't help with the deep ruts those will require the disc but it will smooth out some after a few years of renovating and haying. I am on my third year with a cow pasture turned meadow and it has really smooth up compared to what it use to be.


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## Timz (Nov 9, 2011)

Thanks for the info. It's one of those things you know the answer to, but hope someone has a different answer. I'll just work with it a couple years, wear my seatbelt and go slow and see if nature helps me out.

Tim


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