Land "smoothing" job ... big ruts... best options?

[TSO]

So I just had a job come up that entails smoothing out about 6 acres of old row crop farm land. It looks like someone left the rows with the ruts, and it's been growing wild ever since. We just brush hogged this weekend, and it was really bumpy to drive over. Includes weeds and scrub brush and small scrub trees.

The guy doesn't want it soccer field smooth, but he says he can barely ride his four wheeler over it because it's too bumpy.

So what's the best, and cheapest, option for smoothing it out? Will a disk smooth and level it for me? I was thinking I could spend all day with a tiller and that might do it, but I'm not sure. I also think box blading the whole thing is out of the question, because the vegetation makes it nearly impossible.

Thoughts?

 

[ovrszd]

In my mind, going off your description, I see small scrub trees, 2" or less in diameter?? If so a medium duty disc might chop it up to the point of reseeding smoothly. If the trees are any larger then you've gotta use a tool to chop them up. A notch bladed offset disc or as you said a tiller. It's not going to be cheap.

 

[TSO]

In my mind, going off your description, I see small scrub trees, 2" or less in diameter?? If so a medium duty disc might chop it up to the point of reseeding smoothly. If the trees are any larger then you've gotta use a tool to chop them up. A notch bladed offset disc or as you said a tiller. It's not going to be cheap.

Thanks ... and by cheap, I meant cheapest for the customer, short of renting a dozer or something. I've been meaning to buy a disc, now might be the time!

 

[streamin]

I have a similar issue that has been waiting 2 years for me to do, only the ruts were made when pulling trees and brush in the muddy season. The box blade doesn't work that good with the vegetation like you said. The disc is my next step, never thought about buying one of those but now I'm looking...

 

[ovrszd]

Another problem the owner is going to have is the trees trying to come back. For that the tiller might be best. But how long would it take to till 6 acres?

 

[TSO]

Another problem the owner is going to have is the trees trying to come back. For that the tiller might be best. But how long would it take to till 6 acres?

Lol probably 2 days because of the bumps... he's not worried about the trees so much as just getting it useable. He's actually hoping for trees cause he wants it wooded eventually.

 

[ovrszd]

Oh. Well, sounds like Mother Nature is trying to give him what he wants. Maybe he should just leave it alone??

 

[jenkinsph]

If you have other uses for a disk that is what I would buy and use for this job. A tiller for this would be my second choice and would take about 12 hours with your tractor.

 

[SandburRanch]

The row crop was planted with a Lister and Ridge Busters were used back in those days to level the ridges. To my knowledge Ridge Busters aren't available today, unless you could find one in a fence row somewhere, so the disk is probably your best option followed by a heavy drag as in like a piece of railroad rail pulled on the bias.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

I would run a chisel plow over it to bust up the ground, and it will somewhat level out the rows. Then, once the ground is busted up, I'd disk it with a tandem disk or, even better, an offset disk.

You run the chisel plow lengthwise with the rows (i.e., in the same direction as the rows, not across them). Trying to plow across them will beat you and your tractor to death.

Back on the farm whenever we were changing a piece of land from a row crop with beds (such as cotton) to a non-row crop (such as wheat), that's what we did.