6 Landscape Rake Attachment Best Practices Old Farmers Swear By

You’ve just finished tilling a new garden plot, and it’s a lumpy mess of soil clumps, rocks, and old roots. A landscape rake, or york rake, seems like the perfect tool to fix it, but simply dragging it around often makes things worse. The secret isn’t in the tractor’s power, but in the subtle techniques that turn this simple implement into a precision grading and finishing tool.

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Angling the Rake to Windrow Debris and Soil

Setting the rake perpendicular to the tractor is great for general leveling, but the real work gets done when you angle it. By pivoting the rake beam, you turn the tines into a kind of grader blade. This allows the rake to collect material—like rocks, thatch, or gravel—and neatly move it to one side in a long, clean pile called a windrow.

The degree of the angle determines how aggressively it moves material. A sharp, 45-degree angle will create a large windrow quickly, which is perfect for clearing a field of rocks or pulling overgrown gravel back from the edge of a driveway. A much gentler angle, say 15 or 20 degrees, is better for more delicate work, like feathering topsoil or spreading compost without creating large piles.

Don’t just set one angle and stick with it. The conditions dictate the approach. Start with a shallow angle for the first pass to see how the material moves. It’s far easier to make a second, more aggressive pass than it is to spread out a massive windrow you created by accident.

Adjusting the Toplink for Proper Tine Pitch

The single most overlooked adjustment on a landscape rake is the toplink. This connection on your three-point hitch controls the pitch, or forward-and-back tilt, of the tines. Getting this right is the difference between skillfully grooming the soil and just tearing it up.

If you shorten the toplink, it pulls the top of the rake toward the tractor, forcing the tines to dig into the ground aggressively. This is your "attack mode." Use this setting to scarify compacted soil, rip out shallow roots, or pull buried rocks to the surface. Be warned: this setting moves a lot of dirt and is not for finishing work.

Conversely, lengthening the toplink lets the tines lay back, allowing them to skim or float across the surface. This is your "finishing mode." With the tines nearly parallel to the ground, the rake will smooth surfaces, break up small clods, and gently spread material without gouging the earth. Mastering the toplink allows you to use the same tool for both heavy clearing and delicate seedbed prep.

Maintaining a Slow, Consistent Ground Speed

When you’re facing a big, lumpy field, the temptation is to shift into a higher gear and get it done fast. This is a mistake. Speed is the enemy of a quality finish when using a landscape rake. Moving too quickly causes the rake to bounce and chatter across the ground, leaving an uneven, wavy surface behind you.

Find a low gear that allows the tractor to move at a steady walking pace. This gives the tines enough time to engage with the ground, collect material, and flow it to the side without skipping over low spots or gouging high spots. A slow, consistent speed is especially critical on rough, previously untilled ground.

Think of it this way: the tines are feeling the contour of the land. At a slow speed, they can follow that contour. At a high speed, they just smack the high points and fly over everything else. Your goal is a smooth, flowing action, not a series of jarring impacts.

Overlapping Your Passes for a Uniform Finish

The goal of raking is to create a single, seamless surface, not a series of parallel tracks. To achieve this, you must overlap each pass you make. Simply driving back and forth with the edge of the rake meeting the last track will leave a small but very noticeable ridge or a thin, unworked stripe between each row.

A good rule of thumb is to overlap each pass by about one-third of the rake’s width. If you have a six-foot rake, your next pass should cover about two feet of the area you just raked. This technique ensures that the edge of the rake, where material tends to accumulate, is smoothed and blended into the next pass.

Yes, this means you’ll drive over the same ground more than once, and it will take a bit longer. But the tradeoff is a truly professional finish. A properly overlapped surface is perfectly uniform, drains evenly, and provides a consistent bed for planting grass seed or laying sod. It’s a small investment in time that pays off in the final result.

Using Reverse to Level Piles and Back-Drag

After you’ve angled the rake and created a windrow of debris, you’re left with a pile. Trying to push that pile forward with the tines facing down usually just digs in and makes a bigger mess. The old-timers know a better way: back-dragging.

To back-drag, you simply turn the tractor around, or drive past the pile, and drag the rake over the area in reverse. With the tines now facing backward, they won’t dig in. Instead, the smooth, curved back of the tines acts like a float, gently spreading material and leveling the surface. It’s the perfect technique for knocking down high spots, filling in low spots, and feathering the edges of a gravel driveway.

This is an essential skill for finishing work. Use back-dragging to spread a pile of topsoil, level a mound of sand, or put the final, manicured touch on a garden bed. It’s a move that provides incredible control and finesse.

Clearing Rocks and Roots from Garden Plots

One of the primary jobs for a landscape rake on a hobby farm is preparing new ground for planting. After tilling, the soil is full of rocks and roots that will frustrate you for years if not removed. This is the time for an aggressive rake setup.

Set your toplink short so the tines dig deep and angle the rake sharply to pull everything into a windrow. Make your first pass, then get off the tractor and clear the pile of rocks and roots. Then, make another pass in a different direction—for example, perpendicular to your first pass—to unearth a new batch.

This isn’t a one-and-done job. It’s a process. You might make three or four passes from different directions before you feel satisfied. It’s hard work, but every rock you pull out now is one you won’t hit with your tiller or hoe later. A clean plot from the start yields better results with less effort down the road.

Creating the Final Seedbed with a Light Pass

After the heavy work of clearing and leveling is done, your final pass with the rake has a completely different goal. You are no longer moving earth; you are texturing it to create the perfect bed for seeds to germinate. This requires a light touch.

Lengthen your toplink so the tines are almost flat, just barely scratching the surface. Drive slowly in straight, even lines. The goal is to create thousands of tiny, shallow furrows in the soil. These little furrows will catch and hold grass or vegetable seeds, protecting them from being blown away by the wind or washed away by the first hard rain.

This final pass also breaks up any remaining soil crust or small clods, leaving a fine, crumbly texture on the surface. This "friable" soil allows for excellent seed-to-soil contact, which is critical for good germination rates. You’re not plowing; you’re gently grooming the surface to welcome new life.

Keeping Tines Straight and Hardware Tight

A landscape rake is a simple, tough implement, but it is not indestructible. The constant vibration and occasional shock of hitting a large rock or root can take its toll. A quick inspection before you start a job can save you a lot of headaches.

Walk the length of the rake and look at the tines. Is one bent or twisted out of alignment? A single bent tine will leave a distinct furrow in your finished work, ruining an otherwise perfect surface. Most tines can be bent back into shape with a large wrench or a length of pipe, but don’t hesitate to replace one that’s badly damaged.

Next, check the hardware. The U-bolts or nuts and bolts holding the tines to the main beam are notorious for vibrating loose. A loose tine is inefficient, and a lost tine is a dangerous piece of metal to leave in a field where it can later puncture a tire or get caught in a mower. Five minutes with a wrench, tightening anything that feels loose, is a critical part of using this tool safely and effectively.

In the end, a landscape rake is a tool of finesse, not brute force. By understanding how to control its angle, pitch, and speed, you transform it from a simple drag into a versatile instrument for shaping the land. Take the time to master these simple practices, and that rake will become one of the most valuable attachments you own.