Filling a Hundred Holes (6-feet across, 4-feet deep)

[60047]

My property was previously a tree farm and I have over a hundred holes where the trees were dug out, balled, and burlapped. I tried filling the holes with my Kubota L4330, but I made very little progress scraping off surrounding dirt and using that as fill. I've also tried loosening up dirt with a tiller, but that is only slightly more effective.

What type of equipment is usually used to fill holes left when removing trees? Should I rent a dozer? Or is an excavator more efficient at this task? If an excavator, is a Bobcat E-85 (20k pound machine; 36-inch bucket) big enough to get through that many holes in an 8-hour rental period?

Or should I just truck in some fill dirt and rent a backhoe?

 

[WranglerX]

What is you plan to get material to fill holes?

Dale

 

[60047]

I have a few hundred feet of trenching that needs to be done, so there is material from that. I also need to create a fire break around the wetlands for a controlled burned, so that is another source of material.

 

[4570Man]

Are you digging the ditches and leaving them open? Trying to scrap dirt off the surface is a pain. Digging a big hole or trucking in fill would be better. But filling 100 holes that big would take a lot of dirt. Digging on site is the only reasonably cost effective option.

 

[60047]

Yes, the ditches will be open to drain standing water from higher ground.

 

[4570Man]

An 85 excavator will dig a big hole in a hurry but it can’t move dirt any distance. If the terrain is suitable digging a hole and putting the dirt on a dump truck would be fastest. If not you’ll want something with a good sized front bucket. This hole is probably 15 minutes work with an 80. It looks like attachments still aren’t working. View attachment 689994

 

[60047]

I assume I can move the dirt with the tractor's FEL. The distance between the hole/dirt pile and various holes is at most 500 feet.

 

[4570Man]

Are all the holes as big as the title says? They must have been transplanting 1’ diameter trees.

 

[60047]

About half of them are that big. I would guess they were 8'-12' at the time (blue spruces). Most of the trees are 30' now. Maybe taller.

 

[old and tired]

Sounds like a good time to build a pond!!! Dig a big hole!