Originally Posted By SWIRE:

This is a picture of my property that I created for a security camera thread.  It works here as there are measurements to show dimensions.  The grassy patch in the middle is what I'm concerned with at the moment.  Some of it is shaded by trees, there is gardens in part of it, brush/shrubs in part of it, the solar panels...etc.  But the general dimensions would be 200 ft wide by 200-225 ft long.  From the house to the creek bottom is about a 50 foot drop in elevation.  About 8 feet of that drop happens in the first 35 ft behind the house.  You can see part of the retaining wall I put in and I'm grading the rest of the dirt to make more of a gentle slope into the yard.

Following the center line behind the house where the number 310' is approximately where the stone wall is constructed.  That remaining drop in the yard to the top of the stone wall is about 5 feet over the course of 175ft.  The last 50 feet is almost flat so a 4% slope on the hill in the yard to the gardens.


https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/680/property_dimensions-3095572.jpg


The red in this picture is grassy areas but it includes things like driveways and parking areas.  The yellow outline is the main area I'm concerned with.  It includes the gardens but whatever I use on the lawn I will probably use on the garden since I have so many problems with it.  The blue is the slope of the hill.  It is generally high on the east side and drops to the creek on the west side but there is a slight elevation on the north side that drops heading to the south side, maybe a foot drop from north to south.


https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/680/lawn_area2-3214723.jpg

I do have my tractor.  I've been trying to determine if my 3-point hitch works.  So far it is a no go but they have added so many hydraulic lines and connectors on it for the bucket and backhoe that I may not have something configure correctly.  

I've see a 3 point hitch core aerator with curved blades that also swivel.  It can go deeper than my little pull behind model.  I can also get good compost for around $20 a cubic yard, a triaxle truck will hold about 20 yards and the delivery fee is $200.  But without a top dressing machine I will have to dump it over the yard and try to level it with the bucket.  I did a little bit of that with some good top soil this year and it worked ok.  That was with 6 yards of top soil and it did not go very far.   I can also get a 50/50 blend of topsoil and compost but that runs $55 a yard.  

The new grass is coming in well.  Once the weather clears I'll get pictures of it.