In article
,
Sheldon wrote:

On Apr 6, 10:37?am, "tom " tom
wrote:
I need to fix a yard that has ruts due to moles and erosion that
increased the depth of the ruts to ?be deep enough to twist an ankle.
I figured that I could roll the lawn to decrease the depth of the ruts
and then fill in the remaining crevices with topsoil.

Rolling is not meant to fill voids... it's best to fill and then
roll... and then perhaps fill and roll again.

I do have a septic system, so one question I have is whether or not to
use the roller over the septic, or just avoid that area.

More important is the weight of the vehicle pulling the roller....
septic fields should easliy support the roller but not a vehicle
heavier than a typical garden tractor.

Are the rollers available at the local lawn and garden (280lbs when
full of water) effective or what weight range do I need to consider (I
have a lawn tractor to pull it with)?

Or should I rent a roller from a supply store?

Whether to rent or buy really depends on how often you intend to use a
roller... for a one time use it's best to rent but if you intend to
follow a program of rolling then it makes more sense to buy.

Should I avoid the septic area, or is it all right to roll it once
every x-number years?
Will the roller (at whatever weight) do the job of compressing the
lawn, or should get topsoil first to assist with the leveling process?

When to roll depends on the factors that determine soil condition;
soil type; temperature, moisture content, etc. Obviously you don't
want to roll frozen or muddy ground. And there is no rule that says
the roller needs to be filled to the maximum weight. It's best to use
minimal weight and make many passes, overlapping and criss crossing.

Should I aerate any area prior to rolling, in order to get more
compaction in the trouble areas?

Lawns should always have a regimen of aerating whether rolled or not,
plugging is best.

I have rolled my yard in the past, When the yard was too dry, rolling
did nothing. When the yard was too wet, the lawn mower would create deep
ruts. Those perfect days when just right, still did not do much to the
yard. A 280 lb roller will need lots of rolling. I had a 500 lb water
filled steel roller. A waste of time, money and energy six years ago.
If you do roll, the septic field should hold up, septic tanks ????

What did help, was getting a heavy commercial zero turn mower with two
large tires. Over the years my yard has gotten smoother while mowing. So
no more lawn rolling for me.

I also have a septic field, no problem with the new mower going over
field. I put semi-easy to remove raised patio blocks over the septic
tanks, so I do not need mow over or to dig when cleaning the tanks every
two to three years. If I did it over again, I would use a large fake
plastic boulder instead of patio blocks.

Enjoy Life ... Dan

--
Email "dan lehr at comcast dot net". Text only or goes to trash automatically.