Dirt Moving Ditches and swales for drainage

[TripleR]

"Most useful" is always subjective, we have both and rarely use a back blade, maybe every two or three years and could easily live with just a box scraper.

[jenkinsph]

I have a TSC 5' rear blade (think cheap and light) that I use for clearing driveways of snow. I wanted a light one so that it wouldn't mar the surface and last year used it quite a bit for that purpose and it worked out great. I tried it out for ditch work a couple of times this year and it worked to a degree if you are real patient but it is too light to do very much. I wound up bringing in the larger tractor and rearblade to cut the ditches.

I would recommend working with the boxblade and potato plow first before spending more money. For the smoothing of the pastures I would recommend a small landplane, much easier to use to get the results you want. This landplane I built for my x749 would be just right for your 1026R. This is 48" wide with 60" skids and weighs a little over 400 lbs.

[1026R owner]

Sounds like good advice. I was thinking of trying to smooth the pasture with the box blade. Parts of it were obviously plowed field, rows. Rougher than a bull on a Saturday night when mowing, not much fun even at a snail's pace. Couldn't I set the box blade at a certain height to smooth the high spots into the low spots? Then plant grass or clover?

I would recommend working with the boxblade and potato plow first before spending more money. For the smoothing of the pastures I would recommend a small landplane, much easier to use to get the results you want. This landplane I built for my x749 would be just right for your 1026R. This is 48" wide with 60" skids and weighs a little over 400 lbs.

[byronlj]

Here is a picture of a trench I cut using only the box blade. I actually put the tires in the trench to keep cutting deeper. I actually got down 22-23". Notice the box blade tilted in the picture.
Dave

[jenkinsph]

Sounds like good advice. I was thinking of trying to smooth the pasture with the box blade. Parts of it were obviously plowed field, rows. Rougher than a bull on a Saturday night when mowing, not much fun even at a snail's pace. Couldn't I set the box blade at a certain height to smooth the high spots into the low spots? Then plant grass or clover?

You can use your boxblade too, I have a 48" Cammond boxblade but it is easier to get good results with a landplane imo. Notably easier I should say and worth the effort to build the landplane in my case. Where you are only working on your own property and not commercially you might be fine with the boxblade.

[jenkinsph]

Byron,
That trench looks pretty good but if you are going to leave it open I would wan't less taper for good grass cover.

[TripleR]

Here is a picture of a trench I cut using only the box blade. I actually put the tires in the trench to keep cutting deeper. I actually got down 22-23". Notice the box blade tilted in the picture.
Dave

Good job on your ditch, we have done ditches similar to that, but for our swales, like jenkinsph, tapered them quite a bit more and planted grass. Our ditches tended to erode fairly quickly due to our heavy runoff.

[byronlj]

If you noticed my text, I called it a trench. I buried a plastic water line in it. I only used the picture because it showed the angle of the boxblade and what you could do with it.
Dave

[TripleR]

If you noticed my text, I called it a trench. I buried a plastic water line in it. I only used the picture because it showed the angle of the boxblade and what you could do with it.
Dave

Pardon me for being so presumptuous. Yes, I noticed the trench, but didn't realize it was a trench to bury something then cover; only pointing out my experiences with trench/ditch/swales. Nevertheless, as I said, good job on your ditch, correction "trench".

I will consult my "Funk and Wagnels" next time.

[1026R owner]

Good to know! Looks like I'll have no problem making some swales to direct water. We live on the edge of a wetlands (that's what they call swamps here) and get a lot of rain and runoff. Currently, we store some of this water in basements but we're re-thinking that plan.