What to Buy? Box Scraper, Harrow, Etc.

[Diane59]

About 5 months ago, we purchased 5 1/2 acres. This is our first time owning land for our horses and for a wide variety of reasons, we're just starting to get our stuff together. We had to fence off a creek (about a 10' drop to the creek itself). During that time, we kept our horses in one particular pen. Unfortunately, with 10" of snow and lots of rain, it doesn't even qualify to be called a dry lot. It's soaking wet. So a couple things:
1 - We need to build a dry lot. Can I use a standard tractor bucket to dig 6" deep for this? If not, I'll need to rent something from Home Depot or the like. Ideas?
2 - To even out the ground, should I use a harrow, disc, etc. By the way, that part of the land is floodplain. We looked at the property last May and it was totally dry, so it's a combination of this winter, horses being confined there, the pond next door, etc. Unfortunately, it's almost May and it's soaking wet in some areas.
Thanks in advance! Diane

 

[jeff9366]

Diane59

Five months ago, we purchased 5-1/2 acres for horses. During winter we confined horses in one pen.

How many horses?


Part of the land is floodplain. We looked at the property last May and it was totally dry. Now it is soaking wet.
We fenced off a creek. There is a 10' drop to the water. We need to dry out this land.

Is all 5-1/2 acres a mess, or just one paddock? How large is the wet paddock?


1) Can I use a standard tractor bucket to dig 6" deep for this?

Tractor buckets are for designed for loading materials. Just 'fair' at digging, which requires the addition of a Tooth Bar to the bucket edge. Penetration of six inches probably will not accomplish anything useful. You need a Three Point Hitch implement to penetrate and break up hoof compacted soil strata.
VIDEO:https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=piranha+tooth+bar+for+tractor

2) To dry and level out the ground, should I use a Disc Harrow?

Disc Harrow is a Three Point Hitch implement best suited for long fields and tractors weighing over 2,500 pounds. For part of 5-1/2 acres better a PTO powered Roto-tiller which is easier to use in confined spaces. Disc Harrows AND PTO-powered Roto-tillers are both soil mixing and soil leveling tools. They produce the same result by different means. Unlikely to cut through horse compacted soil layer.

The horses have probably packed the paddock so tightly that water cannot perc.

Three implements suggest themselves, a spring-protected Field Cultivator which can penetrate to 14", below horse compacted layer, a Subsoiler which can also penetrate to 14" but is less versatile, lastly a Middlebuster, AKA a Potato Plow, which can penetrate 6" to 10". All are suitable for tractors weighing from 1,700 pounds bare tractor weight to 4,000 pounds bare tractor weight.


Field Cultivator AKA All Purpose Plow - Often used for periodic pasture aeration. Good for tearing out tree roots, vine roots and corms from underground, then transporting debris to a burn pile or compost pile.
VIDEO: How to Use a Ripper / Field Cultivator - Gardening Series - YouTube


Subsoiler - A cruder, cheaper alternative to Field Cultivator.
VIDEO: tractor subsoiler - YouTube

Middlebuster AKA Potato Plow - Less robust, shallower penetrating alternative to both implements above. Good garden tool.
VIDEOS (2)middle buster plow - YouTube
POTATO PLOW - YouTube

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DO NOT WORK WET GROUND. SOIL SHOULD BE CRUMBLY BEFORE A TRACTOR GOES ON IT.​

 

[mddorange]

Yes, you can use a tractor bucket to dig a small trench. It will be slower than with a backhoe but very doable.

As for land in a floodplain, it is going to get wet easier and be wet longer than higher ground.

To level out ground, I use my box blade for bigger projects and my bucket if it isn't much to do. It is very easy to level land with a box blade and the learning curve is minimal. You will want to get a box blade that has a curved blade on front and back.

 

[Diane59]

Hi Jeff,
We have 2 horses and a large pony and they're all kept together. We have 4 paddocks, all with different dimensions, so I consider them about an acre each. We have a 33 HP Kubota with a 3-pt hitch. This one pen that's holding water has a ditch along the fence line that goes into a corrugated metal pipe. I think that's for the runoff from the pond. The land is really soggy right there. The dry lot that I want to put in this pen will be about 1800 sf. Unfortunately, our tractor without the FEL is probably about 1100 lbs. Thanks for all the videos and links. Diane

 

[Diane59]

Hi Mike, My husband is retired Army. Thanks for being a vet! We almost got a box blade and ended up getting a rake instead due to one of our pens having a lot of pine trees. We'll probably go shopping again. Thanks! Diane

 

[mddorange]

Where exactly are you located?

When I retired from the Air Force we moved to Snellville and I worked in Gwinnett.

 

[jeff9366]

Our tractor without the FEL is probably about 1100 lbs.

Kubota L3301/HST is 2,778 pounds, bare tractor, if that is what you have.

L3301 will pull a five-tine Field Cultivator, which remains my primary recommendation to alleviate your wet conditions likely caused by soil compaction. Field Cultivator will not kill grass still alive.

MORE: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/339095-dirt-dog-all-purpose-plow.html?highlight=


You need to find your tractor purchase paperwork or look at the model decal on tractor's hood, then revise your TBN profile to include correct Kubota model. Don't ask for help while simultaneously posting inaccurate information to your respondents.