Grass strip help....bumpy.

[fusionfab 14]

Hey everyone.

you can skip right to the video here.

https://youtu.be/yzQIEtw1Imk

sorry for the wind noise in the video.

So in 2015 I made my grass strip. Spending almost a week plowing it, rototilling it, and smoothing out to perfection. Planted about $1000 worth of seed. Kentucky blue grass and rye mix. As instructed by the farmer I rent my land to. Soil is Brookstyn clay or blue clay. 

Grass came up quick and green. But, grew in clusters leaving bare spots. Overseeded in fall of 2015 and both spring and fall of 2016, 2017, 2018. Have rolled it many times, Aerated etc.

Its bumpy and I’m tired of it, i am trying to avoid redoing it. Hoping you guys can help. 

Edited 19 Mar 2019 by fusionfab

[Yamma-Fox 403]

Personally I would go the route of big fat tires with low PSI.

Might not be the idea that you're looking for here, but if you take it far enough you could (impractically) operate off a tilled field.

 

P.S.  I'm jealous of your private Airfield!

Edited 19 Mar 2019 by Yamma-Fox

[Av8r3400 1178]

Rent a large, vibratory roller and smooth it out.

Edited 20 Mar 2019 by Av8r3400

[fusionfab 14]

Personally I would go the route of big fat tires with low PSI.

Might not be the idea that you're looking for here, but if you take it far enough you could (impractically) operate off a tilled field.

 

P.S.  I'm jealous of your private Airfield!

I tried lowering the psi a bit in my stock tires but just slowed me down and I run out of runway quickly lol. 

[fusionfab 14]

Rent a large, vibratory roller and smooth it out.

I’ve had a company come in a couple times to use their big roller. Not sure if it was a vibrating one but it was one out of their fleet they suggested they use. I didn’t help much. Maybe a little but nothing too noticeable. 

[1avidflyer 1983]

If by bumpy, you mean lots of small depressions where maybe the sod isn't as thick, maybe you should add some more black dirt and pull a drag up and down it so you are just filling those low spots.  Would the field be smooth if the grass had all grown in even?  The other way it could get bumpy is if you had moved quite a bit of dirt in some places, and not so much in others.  In time the ground will settle, and the thicker filled areas will settle more and will go down further then the lesser filled areas.  That will lead to more ups and downs.  I've had to deal with both situations on my strip.  If its more of the latter, then add more black dirt and use a drag that will knock off the humps, and fill in the low spots at the same time.  I have a roller that I pull up and down the strip every once and a while, but if the ground is hard, it won't do a whole lot.   I hated to start tearing up the strip also, but I was tired of the bumps as well.  Here is what I used.  The drag is made from an old truck frame, and is 26' long from hitch to wheels.  I pulled it with my tractor and raised it with the hydraulic hitch for height adjustment.  The roller is an old 5' high water tank filled with sand.  Not finding a picture of the roller just now, but I've thought about making another one with a 2' or 2.5' diameter X 8' long sonotube filled with concrete.  It would need some rebar in it as well, and I would use car or truck spindles on the ends to attach the hitch to the roller.  JImChuk

[Yamma-Fox 403]

Turf science is complicated for sure and I bet the plan really would be different for different environmental locations / soil types.

I would look up whoever does a good job taking care of a golf course / ball field / public park nearby for some good advice.

Edited 20 Mar 2019 by Yamma-Fox

[BryceKat 125]

This is a complex subject with a number of variables that would probably be better discussed over the phone. I’ve dealt with this. Give me a call if you want to 615-294-0214. Bryce

[Neil 17]

Hey everyone.

you can skip right to the video here.

https://youtu.be/yzQIEtw1Imk

sorry for the wind noise in the video.

So in 2015 I made my grass strip. Spending almost a week plowing it, rototilling it, and smoothing out to perfection. Planted about $1000 worth of seed. Kentucky blue grass and rye mix. As instructed by the farmer I rent my land to. Soil is Brookstyn clay or blue clay. 

Grass came up quick and green. But, grew in clusters leaving bare spots. Overseeded in fall of 2015 and both spring and fall of 2016, 2017, 2018. Have rolled it many times, Aerated etc.

Its bumpy and I’m tired of it, i am trying to avoid redoing it. Hoping you guys can help. 

Drill in a grass that does not grow in clumps. I'm unable to find the name of the seed but if you google for the info you'll find the seed that will work. It's a much courser bladed grass and more durable.

Edited 20 Mar 2019 by Neil

[marksires 484]

If all you did was plow up/smooth the existing soil, and that soil is mostly clay, then it will always return to its naturally bumpy state.  As BryceKat and Yamma-Fox said, it is complicated, and if you have clay, with rain, and freeze/thaw cycles, keeping it smooth is a never ending job.  The grass strip at our airpark is marvelous, but it is in Florida, with mostly sandy soil.  It doesn't take a lot of maintenance to keep it in excellent condition.

One thing, is the grass is way too tall - that is part of the clumping problem. It needs to be mowed as frequently as your lawn.

 

Mark

 

[fusionfab 14]

Hey everyone,

thanks for all the help. I didn’t think I was going to get this much good advice. 

Between my dad and I we have all the machinery. Tractors, land levellers, rototillers, rollers etc. I spoke to someone today who is a large commercial sod farmer in my area and also a fellow pilot. 

He described helping out a handful of grass strip owners and like everyone mentioned the clay with freeze thaw flashes really messes it up. 

What he feels is the biggest contributing factor to what’s caused the bumpiness is the seed mix I used. He said it grows alright in clay but grows in clusters and compared each cluster to “see urchins”. Which seems spot on. 

Anyways he’s planning on stopping by to take a look. But until then he’s suggest I use my box scraper with shoes and skim screened top soil over and then over seeding with another type he mentioned. 

I will keep everyone posted and again, as usual, everyone was a great help. 

If by bumpy, you mean lots of small depressions where maybe the sod isn't as thick, maybe you should add some more black dirt and pull a drag up and down it so you are just filling those low spots.  Would the field be smooth if the grass had all grown in even?  The other way it could get bumpy is if you had moved quite a bit of dirt in some places, and not so much in others.  In time the ground will settle, and the thicker filled areas will settle more and will go down further then the lesser filled areas.  That will lead to more ups and downs.  I've had to deal with both situations on my strip.  If its more of the latter, then add more black dirt and use a drag that will knock off the humps, and fill in the low spots at the same time.  I have a roller that I pull up and down the strip every once and a while, but if the ground is hard, it won't do a whole lot.   I hated to start tearing up the strip also, but I was tired of the bumps as well.  Here is what I used.  The drag is made from an old truck frame, and is 26' long from hitch to wheels.  I pulled it with my tractor and raised it with the hydraulic hitch for height adjustment.  The roller is an old 5' high water tank filled with sand.  Not finding a picture of the roller just now, but I've thought about making another one with a 2' or 2.5' diameter X 8' long sonotube filled with concrete.  It would need some rebar in it as well, and I would use car or truck spindles on the ends to attach the hitch to the roller.  JImChuk

thanks very much. I have a 10’ land leveler. Not the prettiest but it works well. 

[Kahle76 22]

I would start by having your soil tested. Apply lime and fertilizer according to your test results.  I’ve had good luck using an organic fertilizer on troubled yards. 

[Jenki 70]

What about mulch-laying machine? We are using such machine very often to keep grass part in proper conditions ...

We even don't use mower very often, just this kind of machine. And quality of grass part is getting better in time.

Edited 22 Mar 2019 by Jenki

[Allen Sutphin 705]

Jim Chuk, you have to be part hillbilly!  We have a contraption like that, which works great, if you put the whole family on top of it in lawn chairs. We call it a Sunday drive.

[1avidflyer 1983]

Well I've never lived in the south, but my mother was born and raised about 20 miles south of Mena,  Arkansas.  The grader actually worked pretty good, although it takes a good sized tractor to pull it.  The blade is 9' wide.  I built it when I extended my runway about 4 years ago.  JImChuk

 

[Jenki 70]

Our operations have to be performed to keep grass cover to grow and not to destroy lawn. This is the reason we are using mulch-laying machine.

[fusionfab 14]

I would start by having your soil tested. Apply lime and fertilizer according to your test results.  I’ve had good luck using an organic fertilizer on troubled yards. 

UPDATE, Kahle76 and Av8r3400 were right. 

An old ground school classmate has owned a huge sod farm for years and years and is a guru with this stuff. He was kind enough to drive an hour out to my place to take a look. 

As soon as he walked into the runway he said my grass is too long, which I knew, I just haven’t cut it since last fall. But more importantly that my current grass is starving for nutrients. 

Told me to take soil samples from different spots, and how to take them. Get them tested and have the fertilizer place mix up what I need. 

Aerarate everything, then fertilize. After a couple rains and dries up just enough to get roller on to roll it. 

He said to keep using a spike drum on and keep cut short so it starts growing out rather than up. 

Said overseeding will just waste time and money and to hold off on top dressing. 

I appreciate everyone’s help and will update this post with a video later on this summer hopefully with an improved runway. 

Thanks guys

[Snipe 9]

Blue grass is good, rye grass not so as it is a bunch grass that grows in clumps. I don’t think you will ever have a smooth runway with rye grass in the mix.

[Fly-n-Low 181]

I second what Snipe said. The rye we have down here grows in clumps. Will your area support Bermudagrass?

[fusionfab 14]

Blue grass is good, rye grass not so as it is a bunch grass that grows in clumps. I don’t think you will ever have a smooth runway with rye grass in the mix.

yes that’s exactly what this turf guy said. Said it grows like sea urchins. But that it should spread out sideways after getting more nutrients in the soil. Just waiting for dryer weather