Equipment for dirt work?

[Jerry in MN]

To:
-Make shallow drainage ditches around a couple of small fields, less than 1 acre each. Ditches would only be 1-2 feet lower than field, would have gentle slope and would be cultivated.
-Make a dry crossing off the side of my driveway. The bottom of the ditch is maybe 4 feet below the driveway.
My compact tractor is only about 20 HP, has front wheel assist, front end loader and 3-pt. The 3-point only floats and doesn't put downward pressure.
What equipment would you recommend?

[Harry Chickpea]

Hire a fellow with a bulldozer. He'll have it knocked out in less than a day for less money than you would spend on equipment that would take you a week.

[Windy in Kansas]

My answer would depend upon your soil but here I would use a middle buster and throw dirt away from the center of where I wanted the ditch.

I would then put the tractor tires in the bottom of the ditch and use a back blade to pull the dirt out of it. Alternatively a box blade with one side lowered via the adjustable link would also work and the scarifier teeth would help rip and loosen soil with each pass. Since you want gentle slopes the back blade would serve best in my opinion. Better yet would be a combination of the two. Could be done without the middle buster if you have a good blade and not real heavy soil.

[Yvonne's hubby]

I used a regular ol turning plow pulled behind a little to20 ferguson tractor to do those kind of jobs for years. I now have a 35 ferguson, which pulls the plow much easier. I also now have a grader blade which is much handier for smoothing things out after the plow work is done.

[agmantoo]

Employ a small contractor with a track loader and a truck. Cut the drain ditch and haul the dirt to the dry crossing for fill. If the adjacent area of the fields is level, the dirt you remove from the ditch will need to be relocated to facilitate drainage from the field. Otherwise, the field will pond.

[texican]

What Windy said... if you have a middle buster. I like using a subsoil 'spike' to break up the soil deeply first, then another plow, like a middlebuster to throw out the dirt. Best option with already owned or borrowed equipment, and little money.

If you have some cash, agmantoo and harry are on the money... backhoe'd get er done quick.

No cash, no implements? I used a shovel to dig 400' of ditch, from scratch, to drain water off my road. About thirty feet a day... hard work, but beats a gym. In a few weeks it was done... and didn't mess up my current road. I always envision a million Chinese 'coulees' digging by hand, making roads, dams, etc. My coulee self just takes a lot longer...

[ET1 SS]

I got a 24hp Massey Fergusson a few months ago, front loader, backhoe, 4WD.

I have been digging trenches, pulling stumps, and leveling soil nearly everyday that it does not rain.

4 hours a day, I do more than I could have done in a week by hand, working 8 hour days.

[Windy in Kansas]

Originally Posted by ET1 SS

4 hours a day, I do more than I could have done in a week by hand, working 8 hour days.

One certainly learns to appreciate what the cost of one gallon of diesel will do vs. laboring by hand.

Same for spading a garden or one gallon of gasoline for a roto-tiller.

One also learns to appreciate the tremendous amount of work one kilowatt hour of electricity will do---and generally for less than 10¢. Electricity is an unbelievable bargain. If you have ever scooped off a load of wheat on a hot July day and then used an electric auger the next time you will know exactly what I mean. Ah yes, the power of a dime. Who says there are no bargains left in this world?

[Jerry in MN]

Leaning toward getting a box blade w/ teeth. Would weight it down if needs be, so it would dig in better.

[ET1 SS]

Originally Posted by Windy in Kansas

One certainly learns to appreciate what the cost of one gallon of diesel will do vs. laboring by hand.

'off-road' diesel is much cheaper than road-taxed diesel.


Good point.

[ronbre]

if you can run it you would be best off renting a backhoe..they work really fast at moving dirt..esp the ditches..we have used them here rented from local renters..make sure they instruct you in the operation of them..and go for it.

[Windy in Kansas]

I am beginning to wonder what the term "ditch" means to several of you because of your responses to the posts. Ditch, drainage channel, waterway, expect we need to be on the same page as to what actually needs to be created.

A ditch to me is a narrow feature probably 12 to 18 inches wide. With it being one foot deep using most of the machines mentioned would be absolute overkill for producing such.

[rambler]

In Minnesota you need to get this ok'ed with the county. No net wetlands loss. When Walmart built, they had to buy up 2x as much 'converted wetlands' to replace the minor dip they filled in for a parking lot. This happens everywhere in MN. No wetlands can be lost. You can't do drainage on your own. There is no size limit to this.....


A middle buster & a back-blade would work well.

A box blade is less fleaxable at angling & grading, but will move the dirt out of your way. I've never used a box blade, but have years with a with a regular 3pt blade, so my preference would be a regular blade to work the loose dirt, and 'something else' to loosen up the dirt.

The big tools mentioned would work of course.


By far, far, the easiest is using a regular 2 bottom molboard plow. Make a deadland furrow is about all you have to do - what we always end up with, and disklike - with a plow.

Only thing with the plow is it will make a slight ridge beside the furrow, you'll need to feather the dirt across the rest of your garden to make it all level away from the furrow.

--->Paul

[BTO]

I used to dig shallow ditches with an old bog harrow. Three dics throwing to the right and three throwing dirt to the left. It takes four or five passes but you'd be surprised how fast you can dig the type of ditch you describe with very little HP. I think I paid $50.00 for the harrow.

[crehberg]

He BTO...are those bog harrows pretty common up in your area? I know I've been semi-looking for one for the past 2-3 years, but have come up with nothing. Apparently they weren't real popular down here.

[Windy in Kansas]

Originally Posted by Jerry in MN

Leaning toward getting a box blade w/ teeth. Would weight it down if needs be, so it would dig in better.

The scarifier teeth are curved in such manner that they tend to suck the blade deeper so I don't think you will need to add any weight. Just make sure to get a substantial unit so that it doesn't bend with the first use, i.e. of heavy weight construction.