Hello world

[Bish]

I am building a grass runway. The grass is just sprouting , it’s fairly smooth but I would love me to run a heavy roller over it . But I have read it hat it will squeeze the air out of the soil and prevent growth. I am also concerned that it may kill the very young grass. Does anyone have experience in this field

 

 

[mnewbery]

No I don't have direct experience but I know two people who do.

 

One here is king_daniels. A light roller is useful when the seed is first applied to push the seed in and make the soil flat. After that yes it will squish out air and won't actually get rid of the lumps.

 

The lumps are caused by the soil shifting as it goes through the seasons. Black soil will make huge cracks you can fall into as it dries out. Rocks will float up too, if there are any. Clay soils make little holes and lots of them. This is called the melon hole effect.

 

Low spots in turf need to be lifted up and new soil placed in under the turf. This isn't fun and more soil is needed because the new soil will compact. Use the roller on the low spots that have just been filled up to bring them level, not the high spots.

 

The high spots will need to be dug out from under the turf. Also not fun.

 

A good grass air strip is a thing to behold. I think Clifton YCFN got at least 50 tonnes of decomposed granite (gravel road base about as big as your thumb) poured on since 2012. For an 800m by 30m runway an a thinner taxi way, this is still only 100 grams per square metre. Of course the places you want the gravel the most are the high traffic areas and the places where the water builds up.

 

Flat is a nice thing to aim for. I would prefer serviceable and less prone to bogging aircraft.

 

Of course after the next rainy season, you get to do it all again because the holes and mounds will return.

 

Trevor Bange uses a an old cattle grid welded together and towed behind a tractor to scrape the loose bits off and push them into the wheel tracks. Once that is done and the cracks are mostly filled up he might use the roller to push more soil into the cracks.

 

You can always ring and ask. His phone number is in the ERSA.

 

 

[Bish]

No I don't have direct experience but I know two people who do.One here is king_daniels. A light roller is useful when the seed is first applied to push the seed in and make the soil flat. After that yes it will squish out air and won't actually get rid of the lumps.

The lumps are caused by the soil shifting as it goes through the seasons. Black soil will make huge cracks you can fall into as it dries out. Rocks will float up too, if there are any. Clay soils make little holes and lots of them. This is called the melon hole effect.

 

Low spots in turf need to be lifted up and new soil placed in under the turf. This isn't fun and more soil is needed because the new soil will compact. Use the roller on the low spots that have just been filled up to bring them level, not the high spots.

 

The high spots will need to be dug out from under the turf. Also not fun.

 

A good grass air strip is a thing to behold. I think Clifton YCFN got at least 50 tonnes of decomposed granite (gravel road base about as big as your thumb) poured on since 2012. For an 800m by 30m runway an a thinner taxi way, this is still only 100 grams per square metre. Of course the places you want the gravel the most are the high traffic areas and the places where the water builds up.

 

Flat is a nice thing to aim for. I would prefer serviceable and less prone to bogging aircraft.

 

Of course after the next rainy season, you get to do it all again because the holes and mounds will return.

 

Trevor Bange uses a an old cattle grid welded together and towed behind a tractor to scrape the loose bits off and push them into the wheel tracks. Once that is done and the cracks are mostly filled up he might use the roller to push more soil into the cracks.

 

You can always ring and ask. His phone number is in the ERSA.

[Bish]

Hello. Thank you for your advice this is fresh ground recently graded, then levelled with a railway line frame and flattened with my Landcruser! I would like to smooth it out with a heavy roller but I am not if I will do more harm than good thanks. Bish