Tag Archives: industrial rake

Gardening Journal – Entry 8

Monday 28 September 2020

Today was a really good day, and a great way to kick off the week. Between pandemic fatigue and not feeling very inspired, I needed a day like this to get me back into the swing of things.

I started off with a litter round first thing, while Laurence worked on stripping out one of the summer bedding displays. Then, we worked on raking off any leaves, stones or pieces of plants removed before. After that we began simple digging.

Unlike single digging – which involves digging a trench as deep as one spit length and backfilling the trench with the next row of soil – simple digging is not as time ( or back) intensive. It involved lifting and turning over the soil. This can be done by thrusting the fork into the soil and flicking it around using the shaft as a pivot. Otherwise, if the soil is more compacted, you can use your foot to push it in to a spit’s depth and lift the soil clear of the ground before dumping it in upside down.

Soil cultivation is important in gardens like the ones I work in, where sites see a lot of foot traffic and, as a result, suffer from compaction. Cultivating the soil also helps to aerate it and allows for gaseous exchange within the soil. When planting bedding – and in particular when planting winter bedding, which requires lower depths for bulbs – it is important to prepare the area by single or simple digging. Otherwise, if you are short of time, a rotavator can be used. Nonetheless, it is important to note that while rotavators quickly cultivate the soil, they cause compaction in the subsoil and should only really be used once per year, either for summer or winter bedding.

Once the soil had been dug over, we roughly raked it to get a decent level before treading. Treading is important in helping the aerated, ‘puffy’ soil sink down somewhat. Without treading, as soon as plants are watered in or it rains, the soil will sink down in an irregular way and could lead to water pooling in certain areas. You tread in by walking methodically across the soil, putting your weight in your heels. It should create almost a herringbone pattern when done correctly.

After that, we began to rake again. Initially, we were raking to collect up any detritus, such as leaves, rocks or dried clumps of soil. I learnt last week at college that you can use your rake to collect together any larger lumps of soil and bash at them with the rake and it breaks them down nicely. It also feels good to give something bit of a bash after digging and raking for two hours!

The final rake is the most important one, and what usually takes the longest. The aim is to create a level. Sometimes, it can be difficult to create a level if digging or rotavating has lifted the soil height too much. In this case, it is best to create a gentle gradient upwards towards the middle, as this will not be noticeable once planted and will help drainage towards the edges.

After lunch we worked on another bed, in exactly the same way. We stripped out and raked off any debris. However, due to time constraints, we used a rotavator to cultivate the soil. At the beginning of my apprenticeship – and on a chaotic day where everything went wrong and the shouting was WAY too much – I used a very old and very confusing rotavator that had about 10 levers too many and had bits falling off it as we used it. (If I have learnt anything in my nine months’ experience it’s that old machinery needs to get replaced).

Luckily for everyone involved, this machine was newer, lighter and very simple to use. Before our colleague started it up, he said, “Just to let you know, it’s quite fast,” and was immediately dragged about 5m into the bed. Important information: this man is the tallest person I’ve ever met and with legs twice as long as mine. Needless to say, I turned it right down to a modest Gear 1 before taking it for a spin.

To get the best out of a rotavator, it is worth bouncing weight down on the handles, as this helps the blades penetrate deeper in the soil. It is also advisable to switch off the blades when moving it back into position, or you’ll give Lili a heart attack as she sees the blades spinning over concrete – and your feet.

After that, we raked – following the same steps as above. Then we called it a day. I’m really glad the weather is changing and making hard work like today much more bearable. I didn’t even break a sweat while digging, raking, rotavating or lugging tools around in a wheelbarrow. I’ve got autumn to thank for that.

What I learnt today: preparing a bed for lawn seed and broadcasting

Today – for the first time in about seven months – I sat in a classroom with the other apprentices on my course. It was amazing. I had missed talking as a group, finding out what we had all been up to and working together. These kinds of college days remain a rarity, as we will be studying from home every week except for practical days. Today we worked on the following:

  • Soil cultivation, preparing for a lawn
  • Seed broadcasting
  • Calibrating a broadcast spreader
  • Hand scarifying with a rake
  • Hand aerating with a fork
  • Top dressing
  • Ident walk

We kicked off the day with some soil cultivation, preparing a bed for lawn seen broadcasting. Preparing a bed for any use is time consuming and – in some cases – back breaking. For example, if the practical test pare required a 20m² bed to be prepared for planting vegetables, good luck! This likely means you will be double digging the area or at least digging to a depth of about 30cm. Then, you will rake this over, tread it in and rake level.

Fortunately, lawn establishment only requires the top layer of the soil for the roots. As such, we worked on simple digging, which involves inserting the bottom third to two thirds of a fork into the soil and tousling it. This allows for gaseous exchange in the soil and alleviates compaction without digging too deep. After that, we roughly raked over the soil with a soil rake, combing through it and flicking away any large rocks, while also giving larger clods a good bash to break them down. Then comes the penguin walking, or treading in, which involves putting all of your weight into your heels and methodically taking very small steps across the soil. This presses the soil in and firms it up as when you cultivate, it adds more air into the mix and raises the level.

Once we made our way zig zagging back and forth over the bed once, we used an industrial rake to rake it over again. Unlike soil rakes, which have wider teeth and are primarily used to move material, industrial rakes have very fine teeth and are about 1m wide. They are used to break down clods and gently create a level without moving the soil around too much. Importantly, they also have a long flat bar when you turn it upside down, allowing you to smooth the surface of the soil and create a presentable, flat level.

Buddleja ‘Buzz Velvet’, Hand scarifying and aerating, Preparing bed for lawn planting, seed broadcasting and pretty patterns by Jordan.

Once we had finished leveling off, we began working on broadcasting grass seed. As grass seeds are so fine and accurate broadcasting is important to grow a strong, consistent sward, measurement is key. As per the box instructions, the grass seed had to be cast at the rate of 30g/m². Our prepared beds were 4m², which made it easy to make out these 1m² boxes, as all we had to go was place a stake in the middle of the original square.

To provide even distribution, the broadcasting is done in two passes (i.e.: from North to South, then from East to West). This means that the volume of seed recommended per m² needs to be halved. In our case, this means that 15g of seed will be broadcast per metre squared. When sowing seed, it is important to factor in a certain loss of seed to animal feeding. As such, it is common practice to add an extra 10% on top ‘for the birds’. This made our total seed volume 33g/m² and 16.5g per pass.

Broadcasting seed is best done with broad passes, using your hand or a cup/ container. Try to keep each pass as even as possible and fill in any gaps when making the final pass. When all the grass seed had been broadcast, gently rake over the soil to lightly cover the seeds. The last step is watering, very lightly, to avoid puddling, seeds pooling in one are and the soil level being disturbed. Use a rose adapter on your hose or watering can to diffuse the water and pass over it a few times with a spray, as opposed to a drench.

I had a wonderful day working with my classmates again and having a laugh while we learned some new skills. I can’t wait for our next practical day next month!