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Field to lawn in 3 months?!


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Our building plot is in a agricultural field just short of 4 acres in size. The wife to be and myself are having our wedding reception in a marquee on the field in the middle of August and we would like to get the field looking as flat and green as possible for then. 

We are only going to concentrate on the part where the marquee will be and around it for photos etc. The rest will be car parking so that will be rough cut and rolled a few times before hand. 

 

I would like some advice on how to go about this, and i assume some of you would have used a section of field as your garden for self builds on greenfield sites? The farmer has just took the grass off this week and bailed it so it's time for me to start nurturing it. 

I have a 36" ride on mower, a roller and some chain harrows. 

 

Any advice would be appreciated! TIA

 

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mmmm well my so called lawn is more like a field after 12 months LOL

 

Rolling and cutting, levelling dips and seeding where necessary.  Thats about all you can do. Plenty of people put marquees in the paddock.  As long as its free of trip hazards and big dips it will be fine if you keep cutting between now and then...a few goes with the roller too but not too many or you will kill the grass.  Its never going to be a ‘lawn’ but could be a useable grass area in three months, weather permitting of course.

 

And congrats on the forthcoming wedding post some pics of the lawn.

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10 minutes ago, lizzie said:

mmmm well my so called lawn is more like a field after 12 months LOL

 

Rolling and cutting, levelling dips and seeding where necessary.  Thats about all you can do. Plenty of people put marquees in the paddock.  As long as its free of trip hazards and big dips it will be fine if you keep cutting between now and then...a few goes with the roller too but not too many or you will kill the grass.  Its never going to be a ‘lawn’ but could be a useable grass area in three months, weather permitting of course.

 

And congrats on the forthcoming wedding post some pics of the 

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This doesn’t look too bad tbh, it has obviously just been cut and it will always be this colour immediately after cutting, won’t take long to green up again, we have a paddock which was just cut last night and looks like this but by Monday it will be green again, I would pick the flattest part for your marquee which will have a floor in it anyway and there will be temporary paths laid to it for the guests walking on, any hollows could be filled with some topsoil and seeded as long as you keep it watered.

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bearing in  mind the grass that  is sown with is required to grow high and not thick --unless you rip it up it will always be just a field 

you could under sow it with another type of seed ?

maybe the farmer is the one to ask --

Edited by scottishjohn
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So if you want green then you need some nitrogen and potassium fert on it. Has the farmer got a spreader..?  I would offer to pay for a couple of tonnes of general purpose NPK across it and then start mowing every week. 

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52 minutes ago, Olly P said:

Thanks Lizzie. This is it today, I will post a pic up a few days before the wedding hopefully looking a lot greener and level! 

Doesnt look too bad at all.  I would be wary of different types of seeds etc if you contract the grass out to a farmer for hay.  They wont appreciate the hay field being sown with fine lawn seed. If you just pay him to cut your grass for hay for your use different matter.

 

I would just roll it a few times fill the dips seed where necessary and keep it cut shortish.  The marquee floors and paths are pretty forgiving of some uneven spots but not great big holes.

 

One time we had ours under several feet of water (2007 floods) a week before we were hosting party for 150 but we managed to get it good enough for marquees and party went ahead.

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Tame what you have otherwise you run the risk that your immature seedling grass will not cope with an August thunder storm and all that foot traffic. How about cultivating a 10m x 6m section of the field with seedling grass for photo's, orientated for the sun at the time of the photoshoot. If it fails to take you can drop in some strawbails, plant pots plus astro turf and do the photo's elsewhere.

 

I would create a smokers zone free of dry grass thatch to remove the risk of a grass fire spreading to the marquee. I would also throw down 10 to 20 tons of 1" limestone at the vehicle entrance to the field as a precaution against 1/2" of rain the day before.

 

When I arranged a similar event the factor I overlooked was external lighting.

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My plot came with a 1 acre paddock. Had to hire a power scythe to cut it the first time. Currently it takes me about an hour to cut it with a Toro DH220 ride on which I think is a 40" but can't remember. If I let it get too long that can go up to 1.5 hours as the mower clogs regularly and boy is that frustrating. Wouldn't want to have to cut 4 acres with a small ride on regularly. The good news is it won't be long before it stops growing for the summer (or at least slows down dramatically).

 

Be a bit wary about putting cars on _dry_ grass. I've seen two cars (and a tractor) set fire to the grass and end up burnt out, it doesn't need a fuel leak or anything the exhaust can just be hot enough.

 

Edit: I also think you should just mow what you have. It's rather too late to reseed and I very much doubt you can supply enough water for that much turf. We nearly lost the new turf on our lawn as two sprinklers weren't enough. 

Edited by Temp
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3 hours ago, Temp said:

Be a bit wary about putting cars on _dry_ grass. I've seen two cars (and a tractor) set fire to the grass and end up burnt out, it doesn't need a fuel leak or anything the exhaust can just be hot enough.

 

Brakes as well. It's happened a couple of times with a glider to being off the field with the brake binding slightly and loose grass getting up into the wheel and catching fire. At least one case burnt out the glider.

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Just on the mower front...... I only have a walk behind standard mower, I need to make sure it’s got sharp blades because to cut all my lawn you need to push it for 13 kilometres ! One of my volunteers measured it with some gadget as he was stunned at just how long it takes to cut...... one day when I can afford a ride on mower it will be the best thing EVER ! Until then I look at the positive as it helps me get my fitness back. Well that’s what I keep telling myself. 

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just get some sheep on there - temp elec fencing and water is pretty straightforward.  Get hold of a local sheep farmer he / she will either have a few barren ewes or tups hanging about.   No need for any fertiliser at this time of year - Nitrogen will just bring more grass, P&K is OK but you aren't after yield.  Sheep grazing will get the grass to tiller out & the little black pellets soon disappear.  Sorted at no cost.

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  • 2 weeks later...

 Well the first cut with the mower took 4hrs!! Looks better already though and hopefully by cutting every 2 weeks it'll keep it at a reasonable length inbetween cuts. 

Next job is to chain harrow and roll it end of this week after the bad weather. 

 

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  • 2 months later...

Well it's as close to a lawn as it's going to get. I'm pretty happy with it to be honest. It's took a lot of work to get it to this standard from a cow trodden tufty field but it's well worth it. Best advice I can give to anyone else wanting to do this is keep mowing it once a week, start on a high blade setting and work down as the grass improves. Chain harrows work wonders to pull all the dead grass out and smooth out lumps and bumps . And roller it plenty as well. 

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@Olly P, as I said same T1200 mower as mine. I got given it, a bit rough as an "if you can get it going" thing and have spent a few quid. Had it going until the brake assembly seized but hope to have that sorted within the next week or so. 

 

One bug is that the belt jumps off pretty often when putting it into reverse. This even with a new belt. Can I maybe ask a favour? This pic is of the underside looking towards the front.

 

The pulley on the far left is on the engine shaft. Is your belt on the bottom groove like mine or the higher one? Maybe you can check just by feeling. Could I suppose be the tensioner...

 

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As an aside I have the service manual and parts list that Westwood kindly sent me as PDFs. Not the best quality as scans but if you want a copy PM me your email.

 

Cheers

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1 hour ago, Onoff said:

@Olly P, as I said same T1200 mower as mine. I got given it, a bit rough as an "if you can get it going" thing and have spent a few quid. Had it going until the brake assembly seized but hope to have that sorted within the next week or so. 

 

One bug is that the belt jumps off pretty often when putting it into reverse. This even with a new belt. Can I maybe ask a favour? This pic is of the underside looking towards the front.

 

The pulley on the far left is on the engine shaft. Is your belt on the bottom groove like mine or the higher one? Maybe you can check just by feeling. Could I suppose be the tensioner...

 

20170827_191659

 

As an aside I have the service manual and parts list that Westwood kindly sent me as PDFs. Not the best quality as scans but if you want a copy PM me your email.

 

Cheers

@Onoff  I had the same issue with mine when changing gear or going into reverse it would jump off the gearbox pulley. This was after I abused it by pulling out fence posts, dragging chain harrows and a field roller for a fair while . I fitted a new drive belt and it's been perfect since. Judging by the pictures it looks like the belt needs to go up to the upper notch on the engine pulley but I will take a look at mine in the morning and confirm.

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Cheers. The belt here comes off the (same?) pulley directly above the gearbox. I tried adding the M12 stainless bolt that nigh on sits against the pulley flange with maybe an 1/8" clearance if that. Somehow though it still comes off! Added pita then of removing the bolt to change the belt.

 

Yours btw looks in excellent nick. The grass box flails slide onto a long box section and that can rot. Its 1" box section not 25mm. Got a few lengths here if ever you need any.

 

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Edited by Onoff
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On 03/08/2019 at 23:57, Olly P said:

Best advice I can give to anyone else wanting to do this is keep mowing it once a week,

Can you tell my council that, they seem to have dropped the 'a week' bit, but have a sign saying it is to conserve wild life.

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12 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

Can you tell my council that, they seem to have dropped the 'a week' bit, but have a sign saying it is to conserve wild life.

 

I have heard they tend to let the grass grow under their feet.

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