How do you evenly compact soil?

[Scott65]

On the property that the wife and I just purchased, it had a bunch of junk, unwanted growth, etc all around the house. Plus trenches have been dug for pipes and such. So now after all the rain and freak winter snow and ice episodes, I've got this packed in, bare tundra that looks like the moon's surface. So I'll have to use the box blade and teeth to soften it all back up. My question is, how is one supposed to compact this, or at least take the fluff out of it, like where the trenches were, to make a level surface again? I can make it fairly smooth with my pathetic tractor skills but part of this area is road, part tractor trail, part open area where grass will grow. So anywhere that cars and tractor go, it sinks in and ruts up.

Maybe somebody can envision what I'm dealing with. I don't think I explained it very well, sorry

 

[oosik]

Your best results will come by waiting until the ground is just damp and you do not leave ruts with your tractor. Go out and with "teeth down" scruff/fluff the ground and get it level.

Then you can do one of the following - leave it alone and let nature do the final smoothing and compaction OR back drag the area with the bucket on your FEL.

You could also build a "drag" and tow it behind the tractor to do the final leveling, smoothing and a little compaction. If you build yourself a drag - load it up with stones for weight and it will work pretty well.

Yes, I know what you have there - - same here. Right now the entire ground on my property is in various stages of water saturation and if I choose to venture out with my tractor - I will create ruts that are almost everlasting. Its a real pain but I've learned it just best to wait until things dry out a bit.

 

[2458n]

If you have trenches that need compacted wait until the ground is dry and drag loose dirt into the trench. then use your tractor to wheel roll this dirt into the trench by driving your front (or rear) Tire down the trench. Repeat until you get it back level with the surrounding surface.

 

[Fiziksgeek]

How about a landscape rake? I cleared an area in front of my house, it had several trees and bushes and was entirely covered in ground ivy. It was mess after I got done removing it all. I hooked up a landscape rake a drove around in circles for a while. Seemed to work pretty well. The tractor compacts the soil while the landscape rake slowly took down the high spots and helped smooth it out.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I use an old crow foot cultipack...

SR

 

[Wagtail]

If you have trenches that need compacted wait until the ground is dry and drag loose dirt into the trench. then use your tractor to wheel roll this dirt into the trench by driving your front (or rear) Tire down the trench. Repeat until you get it back level with the surrounding surface.

I agree with 2458n. A landscape rake is also a good investment seeing as you've got a fair amount of terrain to 'tame'.

I've got a Ballast Roller to compact my horse paddocks after tilling/seeding.



(don't implements look pretty when they're new? )

 

[RedNeckRacin]

If your trenches are backfilled you have two options. Dig them back up and compact 12" lifts back in or wait. Ageed on the larger areas to let them dry out or you will drive yourself mad chasing ruts.

 

[Streetcar]

Let the wet areas dry and add material to sunken trenches

 

[RedNeckRacin]

The other thing to add, is that if you are looking to put in a travel way, you need to remove all traces of topsoil. then you need to figure out how much weight will be traversing the area and what kind of subgrade that you have. Afterall, the dirt has to carry the load ultimately. This will lead you to putting in the support to transfer the wheel loads to the soils by using a support structure (aggregate usually). If you have very poor soils, a geogrid/fabric can reduce the amount of material that is needed to transfer the load to the subgrade. The best way to compact soil is with a sheepsfoot roller though.

 

[Scott65]

Thanks for all the replies. I shouldn't have specified the trenches. I didn't mean to list those as a focal point. When I bought the place, there were a ton of things going on around the place that had to be straightened out, one of which was running water, sewer, and electrical lines underground. But that is just one of many different things done. I've got those filled back in and I packed them just as y'all stated by using the tractor tires. So now basically they are just adding to the ruts. There were also some ditches, burn pits, and old trailer house in a sunken area, so its all pretty unlevel. I don't suppose any of that is a big concern. I don't think I could ever move enough dirt to fill it all in so I'll just "smooth the edges".

So about the ruts. I've never used a rake but I gather that its just for smoothing? I can manage to get the surface pretty smooth with the bucket. But its just too soft still. Part of this area is a road/parking type area. So staying off of it isn't really an option. I guess back dragging with the bucket is what I was getting at. I don't understand how to do this. If I apply any weight, it just starts pulling the dirt with it. I've tried all sorts of angles, and it just changes the amount of dirt it pulls. Am I missing some sort of trick here?

Building a drag seems like a good way to get some weight on top of it, but it seems like it might have the same problem I'm having with the bucket? Maybe its just my type of soil? Its mostly dry here now. We had rain/ice a little last week, it was dry while I was filling some other holes this weekend, raining a little today, probably dry again by next weekend. The soil on the surface ends up sort of powder-ish. It doesn't pack well enough to have something slide over it I think. That roller looks pretty slick but I bet its out of my price range. I thought about building something like that a while back. I've got an old semi-rusted out propane tank. But I don't know how I would ever center up the bearings on the ends to make it roll evenly...

 

[Scott65]

The other thing to add, is that if you are looking to put in a travel way, you need to remove all traces of topsoil. then you need to figure out how much weight will be traversing the area and what kind of subgrade that you have. Afterall, the dirt has to carry the load ultimately. This will lead you to putting in the support to transfer the wheel loads to the soils by using a support structure (aggregate usually). If you have very poor soils, a geogrid/fabric can reduce the amount of material that is needed to transfer the load to the subgrade. The best way to compact soil is with a sheepsfoot roller though.

Thanks. We were typing at the same time. I was beginning to think a roller was maybe the best solution for my type of soil.

As for the road. The main road coming in is a whole different deal. I've got to completely rebuild it, but later on. I will likely be calling on the assistance of tbn for that one too. But this part of the property is around the house/yard. It was smooth when we bought it, it wasn't until I started doing tractor work and stirred everything up it seems that this happened. But I suppose it may have been smooth just because it sat for a while with no traffic on it. Maybe I will just have to deal with filling ruts from now on in this area? If thats the case, perhaps a roller building project needs to be in my future. Man, that project list is getting huge. I've already promised more write-ups here on tbn than my camera has room for. I better get to work

 

[RedNeckRacin]

About the back dragging. You know that there is a float position on the loader right? If you quickly move the loader joystick forward there is a detent that lets the bucket float. Also, tilt the front lip of your bucket down until the heel of the bucket comes up off the ground. This should force material down under your bucket instead of building up behind it!

 

[Scott65]

About the back dragging. You know that there is a float position on the loader right? If you quickly move the loader joystick forward there is a detent that lets the bucket float. Also, tilt the front lip of your bucket down until the heel of the bucket comes up off the ground. This should force material down under your bucket instead of building up behind it!

Yes, the float position is what I use to level the dirt. But my little bucket isn't heavy enough to compact while I'm dragging this way. So if I apply the weight of the tractor, it would seem it becomes too much weight and I haven't found any angle that will use this weight to compact without just dragging the top layer off with it

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Sounds like your ground is to wet right now and/or you need something like a landscape rake that would level things out a bit. Can you post any pictures by chance?

 

[Scott65]

Sounds like your ground is to wet right now and/or you need something like a landscape rake that would level things out a bit. Can you post any pictures by chance?

Yes I will try to get some pictures sometime when I'm home in the daylight. I'll get some before and after. Everything is compacted in its rutted up state right now from our rain and ice. I'll have to fluff it all back up and start over.
About being too wet, I had the same issue even last summer in the middle of a drought. The roller seems like a good solution, just not something I have, or can afford at the moment. After I smooth it all out, it's all "fluffy". Then I have to drive on certain parts, since I'm leveling virtually the entire area. So everywhere I go, I leave trails. I need to get the entire area to the same compaction as where my vehicles and tractor go, so that the ruts don't show.

That seems like maybe a better explanation, at least in my head. Does that make sense? Anyway, I'll work on getting some pictures