Landscape & Urban Design Issue 17 2016 | Page 12

The TurfTeq Power Rake – Best Kept Secret In The Landscape Industry TurfTeq’s Surface Preparation Rake offers the quickest and most profitable way to prepare soil for turf, grass seed or wild flowers. Much quicker than a rotavator, it also facilitates stone removal and rough-grades the site. First, angle the deck left or right to work the stones into windrows for easy collection. Whilst doing this, the Rake is already starting to produce a fine tilth and grade the site. Next, pivot the head straight and work it across the area in different directions in order to complete the job. You now have a level, rough-raked site ready to accept turf. If you are seeding, finish off with the machine running in reverse and you will be left with just castor marks to touch in with a hand rake. It tills only the top layer (3 to 25mm), so the soil is immediately ready for use. You don’t have to re-consolidate the ground or break up lumps of soil, as you would if you used a rotavator, and it will not slump when the first serious fall of rain comes along. To replace an existing lawn without lifting the old turf, kill off the grass with a suitable chemical. The Rake will quickly rip out the dead grass, working up a tilth as it does so, and the site is ready, leaving only a few bags of dead grass to dispose of. This feature can also be used for heavy scarification, such as preparation for a wild flower meadow. Re-levelling gravelled areas is a back-breaking job at the best of times. The real hard work is breaking up solidified surfaces such as self-binding gravel paths, golf buggy paths and similar; that’s where the Rake comes in. Telephone: 0118 981 1313 12 Landscape & Urban Design Issue 17 Adjust the raking depth to suit the thickness of the gravel layer and run the machine over the surface. It will soon break up the top layer, rough-grading as it goes and bringing cleaner gravel to the surface. The final touches can then be applied with a hand rake. A rugged, bullet-proof, American product driven by TurfTeq’s 13hp, Honda-engined tractor that also powers the TurfTeq Power Sweeper, Edger/Trencher, Roughcut Mower and Snow Plough. To rent or purchase, call GroundsCare Products on 0118 981 1313 or visit www.groundscare-products.co.uk Website: www.groundscare-products.co.uk