Your opinion on which is the right tool for the job

[Mick Oz]

First the job.
Soil improvement, time frame two years at most.
I intend to build a house on a 2 acre bush block here in the dry tropics of Australia.
The block is flat with only a few large trees that are native and a couple of hundred mahogany trees I put in over the last few years.
The soil is decomposed mangrove mud, a heavy white clay with little or no nutrient value.
Soft as grease when wet and too hard to dig with a PTO post hole digger when dry.
I think I need to break the surface and get some fertiliser in then seed heavily with legumes and green manure crops.
My tractor is a 25hp Chinese 4x4
I have a tool bar a single tine ripper and a bush hog mower.
Would a 4 foot box blade be good to break the surface and get in fertiliser then seed? Here they cost about US$900.
Or what would you suggest
During the 3 month wet season we can get more than 4 feet of rain as average, the rest of the year next to nothing.
I am putting in a raised driveway of heavy fill waste material like concrete slabs road gravel and heavy clay from building sites cause I can get that mostly free. The drive will be about 600 feet straight and level about 4 to 8 inches above ground level.

 

[Brad_Blazer]

A box blade is not an ideal tool for tilling soil. You can tilt it forward and just use the rippers. Unless you're moving dirt the accumulation action of the blade is not helpful when tilling. It may be helpful in maintaining your driveway.

If you can add several rippers to your tool bar it will till at least as well as a box blade.

A disk harrow would probably do what you want.

 

[Mick Oz]

By a disk Harrow do you mean the picture attached?
I have looked online trying to find ripper tines to suit but their seems to be many kinds. Curved, spring loaded and straight all with different ways of connecting to the tool bars, mine seems to an odd size 2 inch square solid bar.

 

[Gary Fowler]

You can get about 6 inches of digging depth from the rippers on a box blade. I was ripping out rocks with mine but it wouldn't go deep enough so I bought a set of rippers (about $250 USD) and I can pull them over 12" deep. It is basically the same as a box blade without the box.
As for your soil, you should have a soil test done to determine if you need lime along with the fertilizer. I am not familiar with mangrove swamp so I don't know if they are acidic or alkaline but a soil test will tell you. You may have to move in some top soil to cover over that poorly nutrient soil. I have some similar dirt that I dig out of my ponds when they dry up, a white sandy clay that looks good when wet but dries to a concrete like form and wont grow anything for 3-5 year. I think it is just no microbes in it.
Good luck in your project.

Note: A disk has many round blades that roll and are pulled thru the ground to overturn the soil. What you have is more of a middle buster. Do a Google search for "DISK HARROW" and you will see a photo. TBN isn't letting me attach a photo now so you will have to search.

 

[Mick Oz]

Thank you for that, I got the picture of the disk plow, I had the soil test done and about the only thing that I don't need is lime.
I searched a few equipment suppliers that I can access and the extra rippers seem to be the answer for me at the moment.
I will work out which system for connecting them to my existing toolbar is best. Once I get it sorted out I will post a picture.

 

[bhh]

Did your soil report say what percentage of OM (organic matter) you have? I'm not familiar with Australian soils but around here, white clay means it is oxygen deprived anaerobic soil which usually means wetlands or a high water table. I've got an area like that I'm working on now. IMHO, I'd suggest you try and minimize tillage as much as possible as that tends to destroy OM and the microorganisms you need to wake up the ground.

In my climate, crops like cereal rye (planted in the fall grows through spring) and and buckwheat (summer crop) can generally be broadcast into poor soils before a rain and will germinate with nothing more than scratching up the soil a bit or cultipacking. Let the first grow until it is time to plant the next crop, broadcast the next rotation of lime, seed and fertilizer, and then mow the standing crop down over the seed and it acts as thatch to preserve moisture and aid germination of the next crop. You never need to disturb the soil beyond the initial planting and that goes a long way in preventing erosion and preserving OM. Also consider Daikon radishes or "tillage" radish that grows a deep taproot and can help break up the soil. That creates deep cavities that will fill in with water here and the freeze-thaw action in winter will break up the soil without destroying OM or creating compaction issues.

FWIW, I'm just a hoppy farmer but its basically a poor man's version of no-till as you broadcasting seed instead of drilling it. Plants that germinate easily in poor quality soils are key and around here, that is rye and buckwheat. Good luck.

 

[Mick Oz]

I planted cow pea a legume and Japanese millet to try just what you are describing.
Unfortunately last wet season was poor and nothing but weeds made it out of the ground.
My plan was to break the hard soil up to allow water and air in. The white clay here is very poor

 

[Brad_Blazer]

Here's a video of a disk harrow going over some soil that looks like clay.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks_3lwiEDUY

Another video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxb8O_rwldQ

Is Hanmey your made-in-china brand?
Midway Sales Hanmey Disc Harrows for sale Australia wide from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Suits small to medium tractors with 3 point linkage

 

[Mick Oz]

Thank you for the videos, I wonder if that disk is going deep enough to suit my needs.
The hanmey implements are the easiest to get a hold of here.
Midway sales are a very helpful lot, they are a long drive from me about 17 hours south, so freight charges are a bit high.
But that is where I bought my tractor ZB25 Dongfeng.
I have found a local supplier who has some box blade ripper teeth on the shelf.
So I will look to see if I could connect them to my existing tool bar

 

[R W]

Google Yeomans Plow Co or Yeomans Keyline Plow.
One tyne is about all your tractor would handle and you would need a heavier toolbar.