Mud hole tried to eat my tractor!

[DebianDog]

Using a subsoiler to cut a trench though the woods so I can set up satellite TV I ran into, what looked like a small puddle. OH BUT IT WASN'T!!! My 7800 Kubota sank to its axles! I finally managed to get her unstuck (using a rope and my truck) and figured I would pile some dirt on it to cover/dry it up BUT managed to get it stuck again! The wife was laughing her butt off.

What is the best way to attack this problem? Pile dirt near it and push. Or if it is a natural spring do I just fence off the area and forget it? The area is pretty solid on either side of it.

Picture: The area on the left (mud hole) used to look like the puddle on the right where the downed trees are.

 

[J_J]

If you can determine if it is a spring, and the direction it is flowing, then you can put in a culvert and some clay or dirt over it where you drive the tractor.

 

[EddieWalker]

From looking at your picture, it looks like a low spot that holds water. It might be a spring or some other source of water coming up from the ground like JJ mentioned. The trick is to dry it out before putting dirt into the hole to avoid making it worse.

I've had this happen with stumps and trees that I've taken out. Once there is water in there, it's impossible to get soil to become solid. I had one spot that was hard enough to walk on, and it even grew grass over it to blend in with the surrounding field, but when you tried to mow over it, you got stuck. It was well over a year until I was able to mow that area without getting stuck.

Now I either wait for a hole like that to dry out, or I dig it out until I hit solid soil. The I fill it with dry soil and create a mound out of it. The mound is to shed future water and to allot for some compaction over time. This has proven to be the best way to make a hole go away so that you never know it's there.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[woodlandfarms]

For all that labor, I would just throw your cable on top or lightly cover it.. You could spend weeks trying to figure out how to get it to drain or just let it go...

 

[Gizmo2]

Using a subsoiler to cut a trench though the woods so I can set up satellite TV I ran into, what looked like a small puddle. OH BUT IT WASN'T!!! My 7800 Kubota sank to its axles! I finally managed to get her unstuck (using a rope and my truck) and figured I would pile some dirt on it to cover/dry it up BUT managed to get it stuck again! The wife was laughing her butt off.

What is the best way to attack this problem?

Tell your wife to go in the house!

 

[Gizmo2]

Tell your wife to go in the house!

BTW, This has never worked for me.

 

[studor]

Rocks! ---- I have encountered similar mud holes on my place but luckily the rockpiles from old field clearing seem to fill them in fine. Any other type of dirt (including clay) just seems to add to the soup mix. You will be amazed at how many rocks will disappear in the hole.

 

[dangerdoc]

Rocks! ---- I have encountered similar mud holes on my place but luckily the rockpiles from old field clearing seem to fill them in fine. Any other type of dirt (including clay) just seems to add to the soup mix. You will be amazed at how many rocks will disappear in the hole.

Great way to get rid of rocks.

 

[Tig]

The area is pretty solid on either side of it.

You could go around either side of it, but what fun is there in that.

 

[AchingBack]

Radio Shack rabbit ears!