Harrow or something else?

Ford 2000; 3 cyl. diesel; 8/2 trans....I have an excellent crop of weeds in my back yard (about 1/4 acre) which I mow regularly and will be planting winter rye on it soon because that lush green looks so great. Before seeding, however, I thought it would be good to run over the weeds with my bog and bush harrow to lightly break up the surface of the soil. My harrow is a 6' unit but it is pretty light weight and has very little gang adjustment for angle of cut. I have opened it out as far as it will go and it is still doing some serious ripping of the topsoil. I had in mind that it would be good to just run the harrow to lightly furrow the surface but it's a bit more aggressive that I want. Is there a better implement to disturb the soil than this harrow? Note: I don't want to till the yard and all that entails, just want to cut into the surface a bit.
 
Will try to load a shot of the Leinbach harrow. You can see that it has limited adjustment of the gangs. I suspect you serious farmers out there may get a chuckle out of it.
mvphoto25881.jpg
 
Your harrow should cut up the soil pretty well.
If it's too rough, pull a drag or an old bed spring over it afterwards.
Even a few old tires piped/chained together will smooth the surface.
If I'm understanding you correctly, you want to sow the seed and
have a smooth surface when done. What may also work is to run
the harrow, sow the seed and then roll it with an old oat roller.
 
Tomorrow I'm gonna run the harrow over the lawn lightly then roll it with a water-filled roller behind my riding mower. Don't know what an oat roller is but the 3' wide weighted roller might do the trick. Am gonna pick up the winter rye seed tomorrow and try to get it in the ground quick as possible. Just had a good rain so soil is fairly moist. The guy who I bought the harrow from also had a cultipacker but I passed on it. That might have been a good implement to roll with.
 
I didn't see your post in time to get you a picture of mine before
it got dark tonight, but it's basically a wide lawn roller. Mine is 9ft
wide with two 55 gallon drums retro-fitted on the top to fill with
water for weight and be used as a lawn roller. Bearings are still
made of wood and have to be replaced every now and then.
Still has the wooden tongue that would have been used when it
was horse-drawn. Not a modern piece of equipment.
 
Yes, please do post a pic of your oat roller. Can't say that I've ever heard of one but your description of it is pretty clear. Thanks.
 
"I suspect you serious farmers out there may get a chuckle out of it." No problem. This site is frequented by folks from A to Z. Each of us fits in there
somewhere. We may be where we are because that's our choice. Only thing we should do is make positive recommendations when asked.....aka
purpose of the site (besides making for a convenient place to purchase parts).
 

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