Garden roller for poached ground

LaurenBay

LaurenBay

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How many people use a garden roller for gateways? is it backbreaking? I didn't even know you could get them until another post I read this morning. I have a very poached corner in the field, rest of field is fine. Wondering if a garden roller will be up to the task or whether I should just pay someone to do it (but I don't want the whole field done)
 
A friend on the yard has just bought one, self assembly. You can fill it with sand or water. She is going to use it on her gateways and poached bits of fields when the ground isn't so frozen so when the next frost comes it won't be rutted.I think she bought it from ebay.
 
I've got a 4ft rubber one I tow with the quad - usually filled with water. TBH it really only makes much of an impression in that halfway stage between wet and dry, when the ground is the texture pf damp clay. Otherwise it just bounces over the top or sinks in - a really heavy flat roller behind a tractor would be good but you'd have to be aware of tyre ruts from the tractor. My contractor doesn't have one or the means of transporting one from further than a couple of field away, which is why I bought the little one
 
A garden roller wouldn't be man enough to level a gateway.

As said above, you need to find the sweet spot when the ground has started to dry out but isn't yet baked hard, and get harrows and a roller on it then. This can be tricky if you don't have access to your own equipment.
 
LaurenBay said:
How many people use a garden roller for gateways? is it backbreaking? I didn't even know you could get them until another post I read this morning. I have a very poached corner in the field, rest of field is fine. Wondering if a garden roller will be up to the task or whether I should just pay someone to do it (but I don't want the whole field done)
Click to expand...

That was probably me!

Our garden roller (bought from Amazon) can be filled with either sand or water, we used it after the horses cam in on Sunday, the ground was softish but not sloppy. It didn't leave the gateway like an ice rink/bowling green but it did smooth out the worst of the hoof-print ruts. We do have a 4ft roller for the back of the tractor (Fergie) but didn't want to use that in that particular place. It's not an official gateway but an electric fence gateway at the side of a building. The beauty of both rollers is that they can be emptied as well as filled, which makes them easier to move to storage etc.
 
Ahh ok, so probably not worth while getting, the areas are pretty bad so it would take an awful lot of rolling from me. I haven't rolled yet, I have someone who will be harrowing/rolling for me but not sure when to book?
 
I have a concrete roller, it's very good for flattening the earth but you have to use it at the right time. When the ground is soft but not wet. It's very heavy and can be back breaking. I don't think a water one would have the weight to flatten the ruts. Also, if I'm honest, it makes no difference in the long run as horses flatten the ground themselves later in the year anyway.
 
I would not waste your money and/or energy. We have a tractor, chain harrow and 10 foot water filled roller. We find as soon as the land dries out a bit, we harrow it to break down the worst of the poached areas and then we roll it. There is a very small window of time from being too wet to work to being too dry (sometimes it seems this is only a day!)
It is our own land and horses and we do not turn out much in the bad weather because it takes so long to put the damage right and then get grass growing again.
If you have a friendly local farmer, pay him to do it.
 
I go out to do it before it freezes. Yes it’s hard work but I can keep on top of it and it makes me feel I’m doing as much as I can to prevent injuries. Mine is filled with water and is a good workout but not too hard.
 
I've done a whole 3 acre field with a garden roller. Yes it's painful and not as good as as tractor but with heavy clay soil the 5 min window between squelchy mud and baked soild is hard to coordinate a farmer for so the roller is better than nothing! :)
 
Pearlsasinger said:
That was probably me!

Our garden roller (bought from Amazon) can be filled with either sand or water, we used it after the horses cam in on Sunday, the ground was softish but not sloppy. It didn't leave the gateway like an ice rink/bowling green but it did smooth out the worst of the hoof-print ruts. We do have a 4ft roller for the back of the tractor (Fergie) but didn't want to use that in that particular place. It's not an official gateway but an electric fence gateway at the side of a building. The beauty of both rollers is that they can be emptied as well as filled, which makes them easier to move to storage etc.
Click to expand...

Pearlsasinger - Please can you send details of exactly which roller you bought? Thanks
 
We have a quad and a water filled roller. OH did our summer field at the weekend - it needs to be a lot softer than you need for a farmer to roll it. It did a good job, the field was lovely and flat - then I decided to move my boys back onto it from their winter field because of all the frozen ruts. It will need doing again, but it's certainly better than nothing :)
 
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