Land plane for grading lumpy land (not a driveway)

[Sid Post]

I have had good luck with completely redoing fields to smooth them out. I started with a moldboard plow, then disked it twice, ran a grain drill over it, then rolled it all in. Makes for a nice smooth field. Had one field that the ground hogs had just destroyed, it was painful spreading manure on it hitting the holes all the time. Plowing and disking made it smooth as could be. Might not be lawn smooth, but it was very good.

Feral Hogs destroyed my front pasture to the point that if idled my Dodge 4x4 pickup in it without wearing my seatbelt, I would hit my head on the roof!

The neighbor from Dallas on his mini-ranchette of 2 acres couldn't figure out what I was doing with my tractor and that Angung rototiller!

 

[nyone]

I also live on clay with almost no top soil. You need to rip it up, let it dry, rip it up again, let it dry then use a landscape rake to smooth it out. My landscape rake has every other tooth removed and works really well with clay.

Lastly a old bed spring with some weight on it drug around levels and smooths things really well.

 

[Texasmark]

I've used my box blade to the best of my ability, but our land is still pretty bumpy and puddles badly in rain. We have clay soil here that is unworkable when wet, so have to wait for it to dry out, at which point it becomes as hard as concrete. Would a land plane with scarifiers work to help me get an even surface on this land? My tractor is only 25HP (but weighs 4000lb), so I'm thinking I'd put the scarifiers down only about an inch.

I generally only see these used on driveways, so just wondering if anyone's had luck evening out a lumpy pasture.

I have Houston Black Clay and have been fighting it since I was a kid......in town before I grew up and bought a farm.

The sink holes will remain and increase in size and depth the longer the soil isn't managed.

First thing is that you need to be able to catch it when it is vulnerable.....not too wet, not too dry. Being retired I can do that but for many years and working a city job it was a real problem.

I don't think a land plane will do what you want since it is designed to work loose material on a hard surface.

I use a tandem disc to cut the soil into clods....again, when it's ready to be worked, and may go over the field several times in different directions depending on the size and depth of the "sink holes". Then I come back with a spike toothed harrow several times in several directions which scatters the clods and level the field.

Once you get it worked up where you want it, plant a clump grass....one I use and like is Tall Fescue. Once you do that and the grass gets established you won't have the problem any longer and you can graze or hay the fescue and recover some cost.

 

[braccet]

I have Houston Black Clay and have been fighting it since I was a kid......in town before I grew up and bought a farm.

The sink holes will remain and increase in size and depth the longer the soil isn't managed.

First thing is that you need to be able to catch it when it is vulnerable.....not too wet, not too dry. Being retired I can do that but for many years and working a city job it was a real problem.

I don't think a land plane will do what you want since it is designed to work loose material on a hard surface.

I use a tandem disc to cut the soil into clods....again, when it's ready to be worked, and may go over the field several times in different directions depending on the size and depth of the "sink holes". Then I come back with a spike toothed harrow several times in several directions which scatters the clods and level the field.

Once you get it worked up where you want it, plant a clump grass....one I use and like is Tall Fescue. Once you do that and the grass gets established you won't have the problem any longer and you can graze or hay the fescue and recover some cost.

I was just thinking about what to seed with the other day. Does your tall fescue do ok without any maintenance? I've read it really needs to be watered in summer, but we don't want to irrigate.

 

[90cummins]

I have Houston Black Clay and have been fighting it since I was a kid......in town before I grew up and bought a farm.

The sink holes will remain and increase in size and depth the longer the soil isn't managed.

First thing is that you need to be able to catch it when it is vulnerable.....not too wet, not too dry. Being retired I can do that but for many years and working a city job it was a real problem.

I don't think a land plane will do what you want since it is designed to work loose material on a hard surface.

I use a tandem disc to cut the soil into clods....again, when it's ready to be worked, and may go over the field several times in different directions depending on the size and depth of the "sink holes". Then I come back with a spike toothed harrow several times in several directions which scatters the clods and level the field.

Once you get it worked up where you want it, plant a clump grass....one I use and like is Tall Fescue. Once you do that and the grass gets established you won't have the problem any longer and you can graze or hay the fescue and recover some cost.

I need to ask how/why the sink holes will increase in size if the soil isn’t managed??
90cummins

 

[scootr]

I reclaimed a 5 acre clay field last yr. Disced it twice going N>S and then E>W. Then tried smoothing it with the gannon but the gannon filled with the weed material making it inoperable. Finally removed the tractor bucket, turned it over, and drug the field. Better but not smooth enough. Then built a drag using what was on hand. THe results were smooth enough to mow next season. Then hand picked 3 full buckets of rock off the surface... Finally ready for mower maintenance as the owner just wants it mowed for fire prevention compliance. Ground squirrels and gophers continue to dig holes but better there than in my my yard

 

[oosik]

scootr makes a most important point. Land that is virgin, covered with grasses and weeds and is lumpy - must be cut up so it can me moved around. The weeds/grasses will foul a LPGS.

My Land Pride 48 inch disk - simply too light to cut my virgin fields. So I cut the field with my moldboard plow. Still too much grass/weeds for my LPGS to be effective. I made a home made drag out of 4x4 lumber and LARGE spikes. Around and around - pulling this home made drag with my ATV.

FINALLY - all the grasses/weeds were pulled into rows and removed. The cultivated rows and dirt clods were broken down. NOW - the LPGS with shanks full down became effective.

It was a rather long process but it was also a learning process.

I think in the future I will do this. Mow the grasses/weeds with a bush hog. Gather the clippings with some form of 3-point rake. Then decide whether to burn the field first or just go ahead with a heavy duty rototiller and till the field. It's a rather labor/implement intensive process. So, for me, there must be a good reason to do all this.