anyone have pics of.......

[wksinatl]

a ditch made with a rear blade? I want to have a ditch along side of my driveway to redirect water that sheds off of the pasture. I want to do about 250yds of ditch beside the gravel drive. I have a Case 485 and a bud offered to let me borrow his heavy duty rear blade. He suggested tilting the blade and maybe making a "V" shape ditch.

If you have any pics I would love to see em'.

If my pic works you will see my driveway.The pic is taken from my front porch. Starting on the far end I want to put the ditch along side the drive until it gets mabe 150ft from the house and curve it around the house (acually around the yard). This should help redirect the shed water from the pasture and send it down toward the lake. If I don't do something like this when I do actually get a yard established it would be ruined from a really heavy rain.

thanks,Keith

 

[JerryG]

Just a tip. If you have a turning plow, you can get the sod out of the way and loosen the dirt. For a long run like you have it would save you a lot of time.

 

[txdon]

wksinatl, here is a picture of a water diverting ditch that I made with a box blade tilted. You should get the same effect with a blade. I only did half a "V". The water is diverted into a pond on the upper right of the picture just out of view. I cut down about 8" and raised the soil on the other side about 8". There was a big rain about a week ago and it held up well. It took about three hours. I have top and tilt and was able to tilt the blade at each turn so I could cut driving up and down the hill.

 

[wksinatl]

Thanks guys!

Keith

 

[Farwell]

TSC sells a middle buster that I use for ditch work. I make several passes with the middle buster and then if the ditch isn't too long I finish it by hand with a shovel after the harder surface dirt is removed. Works great for me but I have 12 inches of topsoil over sand and that works up quite easily. If you have a lot of clay it may not work. Go to the Tractor Supply Company site on the Internet and check it out.

 

[have_blue]

Keith,

I have made long ditches for the same purpose. I don't have a rear blade, but sure could have used one!

If you have a disk harrow, chop up the ditch area about 8' - 10'wide. Make the ditch as shallow as you can. Even 1' deep is almost too deep. Try to make it at least 5' wide. 8' wide is even better. That way, your ditch is nearly invisible, will not hold puddles, and grass will grow and prevent erosion. You can also mow it without making ruts or scalping the edges.

 

[wksinatl]

all good stuff...keep it comin'

I'm just south of Atlanta and we have PLENTY of clay so I might have a problem with the middle buster technique.

I already own a new 7' heavy box blade that might work for what have_blue describes. My wife likes this idea anyway because it would be less noticable (yet functional) and you could cross it with a 4-wheeler with no problems. I also like the idea of being able to mow it without being a big deal.

We have had a TON of rain lately. When the ground dries up a tad I might try using the box blade and see what happens. At worst I will get some good seat time and will try soemthing else.

thanks for the input!

Keith

 

[HammerFour]

I hate to say it, but you kind of need a higher roadbed under your driveway. It looks like the driveway is lower than the surrounding areas from that picture. Maybe you have a quarry nearby that can bring in some rock for you cheaply?

 

[wksinatl]

twstanley,
good eye. Yes the drive needs more gravel. Yes, I can get more delivered, but "cheaply"? I WISH!!!

thanks,
Keith

 

[MicroPilot]

How about using a pond scoop?

 

[Panache]

That is called a swale. Make the bottom and sides equal or greater than the width of what you will be cutting it with to keep maintenance easy.

 

[Glenn9643]

It's hard to tell from the picture, but it looks like there might be a little rise about halfway down your driveway?
You probably need to shoot the grade so you'll know how deep the ditch needs to be throughout. With 250 yds you'll be amazed at the amount of dirt you'll have to move.
I've posted some pictures in this thread.
I dug a swale about 600-700 feet long to drain the SE corner of our place. Started out with the box blade, but where it drains into the bayou had to be about 5' deep, so that made a wide ditch. Used the loader bucket along with a middle buster as the ditch got deep. Dug a trench with the middlebuster and dropped one side of the tractor in the trench so my bucket would be digging on a slant. Once I set the angle on each side I just continued to dig with bucket and box blade until it was where I needed to be.

 

[Jackrabbit_Slim]

Here's a shot of a swale I cut on my place last year. This was taken in early winter and the grass has just started to grow.

There is a natural slope coming from the right (just out of frame), so I cut the swale at an angle to get as much water as I could to the left hand side before it drains down into the holding area at the bottom. (It's relieved by a trench cut with the backhoe and drains out into the trees in the background.)

I cut this with the box scraper. Put an angle on the scraper and worked with that 'til I had the grade I wanted in the bottom of the swale, then levelled it out and kept going deeper. I cut the angles on the edges by running my left wheels on the top of the bank and running my right hand side in the bottom of the cut. At this angle, I can ride the lawnmower down the sides to keep things trimmed up. That's a good thing. I'm lazy. I don't like pushing hand mowers.

Slim

 

[wksinatl]

Slim,
that's exactly what I had in mind, a long sloping ditch that you can still mow/bush hog without a big deal.

I appreciate everyones's input and suggestions! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif


Keith

 

[Keith_B]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( all good stuff...keep it comin'

I'm just south of Atlanta and we have PLENTY of clay so I might have a problem with the middle buster technique.
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I have a lot of clay and have used the middle buster with great success in creating ditches. I usually make a number of passes before begining any cleanout.