A decent lawn spreader - tow behind style, Any Suggestions?

[dfrisk]

RYAN - I switched to all SPRAY herbicides about 10 yrs ago. I can cover about as much area with My sprayer in the same time as a broadcast spreader plus I have better control as long as it's calm out. DOW Chemical had a pre-emergence crabgrass herbicide approved last fall but I didn't get the right weather to apply it this spring. It's a wettable powder in a water soluble bag, I just need to build a larger sprayer! Each 1/2# bag is enough herbicide for an acre and My sprayer only covers about 1/3 acre per tank of chemical. The new sprayer is going to be MUCH bigger, 50 gal. as opposed to 15!

Since I started aerating My lawn every fall about 10 yrs ago it looks better than it ever did when I used Weed & Feed or Crabgrass preventer fertilizer. I also dethatch about 2-3 times a summer with the 3-point mounted dethatcher I built for the 982 7 yrs ago.

 

[rwilke]

Dennis F.,
Thanks for sharing your procedures!

Funny you should mention liquid spraying because I just was told at the nursery that clover control was better done with a liquid spray treatment than with a dry chemical treatment application.

Regarding aerating my lawn, what type of lawn soil do you have?
It was my understanding that aeration was recommended for heavier soil (mostly clay) types. My lawn soil is loamy-sand and drains quickly. Thus, I haven't given it much thought to performing any de-thatching. It is my understanding that by NOT collecting the grass clippings and doing leaf mulching in the fall may benefit the soil by improving its moisture-holding ability, but what do I know?

Thanks in advance for your additional thoughts & opinions!
Ryan W

 

[kweaver]

I never could figure out why anyone would want to get rid of clover ... it makes a nice yard.
You think 4 leaf clover is made in China ?... well they probably are now

 

[lbaker]

Dennis- On spraying your yard, what are you using? My sprayer is 35 gal and about all you can get is the packets of various things. (In reference to spraying pecans) We have a lot of while clover would like to get rid of. 2-4-D?
Have found out even Roundup isn't what it once was. If I recall, 12 oz per gallon.

 

[dsauve]

I use liquid for almost everything, I can spray fertilizer, inscticides and herbicides all at he same time. The new sprayer I'm working on is the same width as my mower and will be frame mounted for one pass convinience in customer yards. The liquid fertilizers can be more expensive for the high end stuff but the price is worth it they are far more efficent, most can be absorbed by the leaves instead of the roots so you use less product.

 

[dfrisk]

LYLE - For broadleaf weeds like Dandelions, thistle, clover, etc. Ortho Weed-B-Gone works as good as any....I got 2-1/2 gal. of "ACME" (insert Roadrunner cartoon jokes here!) AMINE 400 but I've been told LV 400 works as good which are types of 2-4-D. I got some generic Roundup I used last year, $50/2-1/2 gal. as opposed to $100/gal. I think they "Slowed it down" in the last couple years. It used to kill stuff so fast the roots wouldn't die and the weeds would come back. Now it takes a week or two to kill stuff. Dad used to buy it by the gallon at His local FS ag co-op for $65/gal. in Your own jug from bulk. Wish My local CENEX would do that!
I used to spray Sevin on My birch trees for Borers but that was a liquid. I got some packets of wettable powder this spring of the DOW Dimension crabgrass pre-emergent herbicide but didn't get it applied soon enough so that's why I'm building a Bigger sprayer, higher GPM pump, a HYPRO 4-roller 7 GPM instead of the tiny 1.8 GPM 12V diaphram pump. To mix properly I would have only been able to apply about a third of a packet per tank with My sprayer. Too hard to measure & mix that way with a powder.
RYAN - My top soil is black loam with clay only a foot or so beneath. I can't areate that deep....only 3 to 3-1/2" but without having spread fertilizer in ten yrs and areating every fall most of that time My grass looks lots more even over the whole yard and is more drought resitant due to deeper roots.
I've had decent luck this year mowing every week until this past weekend....rained all weekend so next weekend the clippings will be heavy. I drag the dethatcher across the yard mid-to-late summer 2-3 times and I try to vacuum the leaves & clippings in the fall but didn't get that or areating done last fall. I may have to run the vacuum in about two weeks on grass clippings alone. I want "SOME" thatch to hold moisture but not a lot. I would try areating for a year or two if You can rent an areator. You should be able to see a difference that quick. Worse that can happen is You get More Seat time on a Cubbie!
I'm not as brave as Dean to "Tank Mix" different types of chemicals but I know that's how it's supposed to be done if You need weeds & insects killed at the same time. Co-worker was telling Me Friday that a lawn service He hired for two weeks last summer infected His yard with a FUNGUS when He went on vacation. Chemicals to spray for a 3/4 acre lot cost Him over $200.

 

[dsauve]

Guys I,m not all that "brave" I used to be a custom applicator for a fertilizer company. We used the quart jar method of testing a very small amount of what you want to spray in a container, shake it, if there is incompatability with the stuff you want to spray it will happen in the jar, not in the tank. It solves a lot of problems before they get to the sprayer. I always use the same chemicals so I know what I have to work with. I have seem some stuff like phosphates and nitrates turn to jelly in the spray tank, you wouldn't belive the mess that can be to clean up. 2-4d usually is pretty safe to mix with any fertilizer, malathion works good in the mix as well. That mix has taken care of customer yards quite well for the last 2 seasons. You get the broadleaves (dandelions) ants and grubs and fertilizer in one pass. Just don't get the 2-4d on flower gardens (good-bye flowers). The only thing I won't put in my main sprayer is Round-up or gylsophates, the generic equivilant to Round-up. I don't want to deal with the risk of killing a lawn. The stuff seems to hide in sprayer hoses and filters if you aren't very careful. Any way I look at it liquid is the way to go. Dry stuff is really good for some stuff but one pass application sure cuts down on application time.

 

[rwilke]

<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>quote:</font>

By Dennis Frisk (Dfrisk) on Monday, June 04, 2007 - 11:31 am:

RYAN - My top soil is black loam with clay only a foot or so beneath. I can't areate that deep....only 3 to 3-1/2" but without having spread fertilizer in ten yrs and areating every fall most of that time...

I would try areating for a year or two if You can rent an areator. You should be able to see a difference that quick. Worse that can happen is You get More Seat time on a Cubbie!<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

Dennis F.,

THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR ADVICE & EXPERIENCES!

So, if I'm understanding you correctly, you only aerate your lawn in the Fall?
If that's so, how often in the Fall?
Thanks!
Ryan W

}

 

[dfrisk]

RYAN - Yep, fall only, I try to get it done when it's damp, not wet....and just before the first hard frost. I have areated in SNOW several times. Couple inches of snow doesn't hurt a thing. That way the holes stay open all winter allowing water & air deeper access to the soil.

DEAN - Your comment about Round-up/gylsophates is why I want to build another larger sprayer. All the cans say rinse three times, I do... and it takes almost as long to clean-up as it does to get ready and spray. Plus not all spray pumps are Round-up compatable.

 

[dsauve]

Ryan, the fall areating is something I never thought about but the logic makes a lot of sense to me, I will be changing my maintainance scheduals.

 

[dfrisk]

DEAN - IF I had a really good lawn roller I'd roll the yard in the spring just after the frost comes out of the ground to smooth it down. But I don't have a roller. Yard isn't That rough anyhow. Areating the yard I have always felt was like CHISEL Plowing farm ground in the fall. It opens the soil up without disturbing the cover. Plus My areator pulls about as hard as a chisel plow three feet wide. I carry about 400# of weight on it...and there's seven wheels with six points each about 5-1/2" apart making 3+ inch deep holes. I was going to widen it to nine wheels or 42-45" wide to pull with My 982 so I could use the Cat. O 3-point but I like running My old 72 too much so I pull it with that.
Since Your very familiar with spraying....This morning about 2:30 AM I'm watching "AG Phd" on The Horse channel (RFD TV) and The Boys are talking about spraying Round-up...and trying to get it to work better... They mentioned additives to control the hardness of the water You mix Round-up with....Something about controlling the action of the ions in the water/chemical mix. Since I work for a water softer control valve company I guess I'll have to start spraying with softened water.

This "Precision Agriculture" just keeps getting more & more complicated!

I was reading a thread on The Redpower Forum late last week about people complaining to farmers about damage from herbicides. One old lady complained the spray drift from injecting anhydrous ammonia "Killed Her Garden and some trees" Yes, a direct shot of anhydrous would but the Guy was 500 feet away!

 

[dsauve]

Softened water does help eliminate a variable. When you spray with rreally hard water sometimes it doesn't work as good as it should. Soft water really does help, just compare the difference with the laundry or in the shower. Removing the hardness helps the pumps and filters last longer as well.

 

[rwilke]

UPDATE:
Well, I've been shopping for quite some time now for a decent tow-behind spreader to come on sale or for a good, used one to show up around the neighborhood, but I couldn't find a "trophy" to bring home......

Anyways - my Fall is quickly slipping away so I broke down and peeled off some of my "moldy folding money" and bought a new tow-behind spreader.

It's coming from Northern Tool. It's a good brand name, Agri-Fab and has a 85# capacity. See it here: http://www2.northerntool.com/product-1/743047.htm

I was hoping to get a spreader with steel gears (this has delrin gears - a sort of nylon, I believe), but at least this unit has an enclosed gear box. Hopefully, with adequate care, the unit will last me a while. It was $54.99 + $18 shipping to my door.

Since I figure I'm mowing ~1.7 acres of lawn, it will need to be refilled a few times when I spread pelletized lime next week, but for the price, I can do that without much complaining....
Ryan W

 

[kide]

Ryan:
I don't think you'll have any problems with the gears unless you try to feed something through it that jams the "stirrer" inside the hopper - and that would be pretty remote if you clean it out after use. I think the cheapie that I use is at least 10 years old... I passed up a large one from TSC at a garage sale this summer for 20 bucks - one of the larger ones ... The neighbors needed one to tow behind their ZTR and I got it for them - probably dumb on my part, but they were happy.

Hope you can rig a remote open/close for it - one of the best "home brews I've ever come up with. A solenoid is best - check your local "previously engaged" auto parts distributors for a door lock solenoid if a push/pull can be used on the spreader..

 

[dsauve]

Reading back on the conversation here, My dad bought one of those all plastic agri fab spreaders 20 years ago I'm not sure how long it will last. He over seeds 10 acres a fall and a little lime every few years. Wash it out and it should be fine. His might last another 20 years the way things are going.

As far as the areating, a lot of guys round here do it and many of us thatch in the fall. If you areate first the thatch all the little plugs sweep up nicely and the lawn looks great. It also makes overseeding seem to work better as a finnal step.

 

[rwilke]

Kendall I.,
Thanks for the vote of confidence toward my soon-to-arrive spreader.

One thing that kinda bothers me though is that it sounds like it doesn't have any provision for lubricating the gear box ("self-lubricating delrin"). So I was thinking of maybe looking into the possibility of drilling a small hole in the case and using my needle nose grease gun adapter to push some grease into the box from time-to-time.
Do you think that would be a good or bad idea?

Regarding a method of open/close of the product delivery to the spray wheel -- it is supposedly have a cable-actuated start/stop lever claimed to be within easy reach of the tractor operator....

Ryan W

 

[mgonitzke]

Ryan W.-

Seeing as Delrin is self-lubricating, I don't think that would be necessary. Some types of plastic do not like grease, so I'm thinking that you should just leave it sealed.

 

[rwilke]

Kendall I. / Matt G.,
You fellas were correct...the spreader worked out fine!

Since it was a 85# capacity unit (Agri-Fab Tow-Behind Broadcast Spreader — 85-Lb. Capacity, Model# 45-0315) I had to refill it quite often, but I managed to put a ton of lime through it without any hitches. I noticed that if a leaf was to land on the lime and get pulled down into the auger, it would plug off somewhat and the distribution would suffer, but other than that, it worked great! (I may come up with a cover for it to keep out stray leaves). I think it was a good thing to go with the air-filled tires rather than solid, because it pulled very smooth. The hand-operated shutoff worked out fine and after cleaning it out good with the hose, letting it dry and oiling the moving parts, I hung it up in the rafters for storage.
Anyways -- I want to THANK EVERYONE that commented and shared their advice!
Ryan W

 

[kide]

A TON of lime ????

If I'd known you were going that big I'd have told ya to get a big commercial job.......... (I don't think I've put a ton of fertilizer through mine in all the years I've had it, but our yard is under an acre) ....

I've seen a cover for them that looked like a big shower cap, with elastic around the edge...

 

[rwilke]

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By Kendell Ide (Kide) on Friday, November 02, 2007 - 04:33 pm:

I've seen a cover for them that looked like a big shower cap, with elastic around the edge...<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

Good idea...that would work great!
I'll see if I can locate a cover that would fit my spreader tub! Thanks!

Ryan W