Quick Hitches Box blade or landscape rake?

   / Box blade or landscape rake? #1  

Bigal0043

New member
Joined
Mar 12, 2017
Messages
9
Location
Plattsburgh NY
Tractor
Ck3510
I have 15 acres of mostly woods, but 3 acres are power lines, most of it is pretty flat but about 1 acre is very rough, it is sandy soil with rocks. Would a box blade or landscape rake be better to flatten to make into pasture?

I would be using a CK3510.
 
   / Box blade or landscape rake? #2  
1 of each. I lile my box blade for rough level and moving dirt. Rake for final smoothing.
 
   / Box blade or landscape rake? #4  
Rototiller would be ideal if its not too bony--then seed it,
 
   / Box blade or landscape rake? #5  
Boxblade with rippers would be my choice.
 
   / Box blade or landscape rake? #6  
I have 15 acres of mostly woods, but 3 acres are power lines, most of it is pretty flat but about 1 acre is very rough, it is sandy soil with rocks. Would a box blade or landscape rake be better to flatten to make into pasture?

I would be using a CK3510.



Rather than "very rough" specify variation in inches. Describe unevenness. Holes? Burrows? Old furrows? Tire ruts?

How large are the rocks? Give us rock size in inches. The largest rocks regularly encountered will indicate optimal implement(s).

How hard is the dirt?

Is there miscellaneous organic debris in the right-of-way? Is natural sod established?

Do you have any implements for the CK3510 already? If yes, what are they?
 
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   / Box blade or landscape rake? #7  
If your tractor has front loader I go w/the rake.
 
   / Box blade or landscape rake?
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Rather than "very rough" specify variation in inches. Describe unevenness. Holes? Burrows? Old furrows? Tire ruts?

How large are the rocks? Give us rock size in inches. The largest rocks regularly encountered will indicate optimal implement(s).

How hard is the dirt?

Is there miscellaneous organic debris in the right-of-way? Is natural sod established?

Do you have any implements for the CK3510 already? If yes, what are they?

Unevenness, I would be very hesitant to ride a lawn mower on it, there are small pot holes through and small depressions.

Largest rocks range from 3" rocks to 14" rocks.

Ground is sand so not hard at all

Organic sod is present

No implements yet except front end loader.
 
   / Box blade or landscape rake? #10  
Big rocks! 14"!

A HEAVY (100 pounds per foot of width, better 125 pounds per foot of width) Box Blade with scarifiers would be good. Buy heavy so you can dual purpose your Box Blade as Three Point Hitch counterbalance when using the FEL.
I like counterbalance weight equal to around 66% of FEL lift.

Box Blade scarifies are designed to penetrate only 5" to 6" for chipping out pot holes. If you go slow, scarifiers should not be damaged and will prize out big rocks down to 6", which is pretty good prep for pasture grass.

After a few passes with the scarifiers, picking up 3"+ rocks between passes, you can use the "box" to pull your sandy soil into the old and new depressions.

Consider both traditional "square" Box Blades and "Rollover" Box Blades.
LINK: Google


Landscape Rake, used on an angle, would be useful for creating concentrated windrows of small rocks for pick up. But, in my opinion rocks smaller than 3" in diameter are not detrimental mixed in pasture soil.

GET A SOIL TEST, requesting the testing agency to recommend amendments for pasture grass.

Research modern pasture grasses for your area. The latest hybrids are often 50% more productive than traditional seed but do require annual fertilization to achieve the productivity increase.


As woods cover 80% your property, I recommend a Ratchet Rake bucket attachment as your next purpose. The will aid your pasture preparation, as the teeth on Ratchet Rake are good for prizing out rocks and can be varied in attack angle much better than a Box Blade. Ratchet Rake is also good for piling debris, much better than a Landscape Rake. Ratchet Rake removes sod efficiently.

~~~And Ratchet Rake is a premier woods too.
VIDEO: ratchet rake brush clearing - YouTube
 

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