Doing more damage than good :-(

[LBrown59]

I wanted to put in a bigger garden this year with my new bigger tractor.
Let me rephrase that........................ I want to put in a bigger garden, because I have a bigger tractor.
I used a rototiller, I noticed the lawn was wet.
Then I pulled in a trailer with manure and the trailer wheels sunk in.
Next I drove out to the garden with the tractor and made some more ruts.
I was on a mission.
I made a mess of the perfect lawn I had with ruts. I can't drive out there to fix the ruts because the tires sink in. (R4s, foam filled on a L3400)
Using a hand roller, but it does not do the trick.
It seems like I'm just going backwards. I have a great machine, I have seat time, but maybe working a garden with a tractor is different than digging a trench or moving dirt.
I could have just bought a dam cucumber for $1.00 and called it a day!
I need to figure out how to fix these ruts.
Maybe make some three foot wide tires.

Tractors make lots better dirt machines than they do mud machines.
Best to keep it off wet soft ground unless you're prepared to repair damages like you've experenced.

 

[LBrown59]

Fill the ruts in with some fill dirt, throw some seed on them, and next time wait till the ground dries up. If you cant drive your tractor without creatin ruts you sure as h*ll aint gonna be able to till, disc or spread. Be patient I farm 400 acres patiences goes a long way, ya i wanna get in the fields but.
*you'll do more damage than good gettin out there too soon

Me thinks he found that out!

 

[LBrown59]

IMO "perfect" lawns are overrated. Throw a little dirt in the ruts and go on. Chalk it up to experience.

I agree but I hate rough bumpy ruts to drive and mow over.

We drove out to our property today (about 1 hour away) to see if things are dry enough to start on some projects and instantly buried my truck in the mud and had to call for a wrecker. Guess it's not dry enough yet!

Prett clever: Neve though of using a truck for a mud depth gage.

I also have a similar potential "rut" problem.
The community swimming pool bought a truckload of sand to be put in a BIG sandbox and a volleyball court. It was to be trucked in. the truck got about 30 yards up a 70 yard path and buried itself into the axles and had to be towed out backwards, leaving the sand in the parking lot and the ruts large enough to pose danger to small children.

I unfortunately had left my new to me tractor out front and got enlisted to move the sand. Could have said no, didn't. It had not been explained they had ruts that took Volkswagens to fill.

So, seeing this timely thread about ruts does the collective wisdom think it would be doable leveling it with the box blade with minor FEL work (after it dries out)? Note - my box blade experience is limited to taking it off and putting it on once, and I don't think I've got it adjusted correctly yet.

*Or should I just sell the tractor and move?

That's one way out.

Yes! Just kidding. I would be sure and let it dry out and while I was waiting
* hope they conned someone more experienced into doing it. At least make sure they know you are not a pro and use it as a valuable learning experience. Dump truck ruts could be quite a job to say the least and probably you could have used most of the truckload of sand just to fill in the mess.

*He can just tell them his insurance won't cover him when off his own property.

I had a similar problem. My yard was bad enough where I got my four wheel drive diesel pickup stuck. What I did was scrape out about two feet down for the entire length of my yard in front of my house. First, I laid a drain pipe, then blasting chips (chips of rocks from when the quarry blasted rocks out) down about six inches deep. Next, I laid gravel. Then I laid sand, but only enough to cover the gravel smoothly. Next, I placed decorative cement blocks over the sand, then poured more sand into the spaces of the block, then seeded everything. This is something like what the yard in front of my house looks like. (this isn't my yard. It's just a picture of I got off the internet.)

http://www.indiamart.com/terrafirma...all/glass-grid-paver-turf-pavers_10698100.jpg

Take your pick of available designs at your local hardware store.
http://www.tilecoinc.com/pages/masonry_pages/scr01.jpg

From the road, you can't tell there's blocks in the yard.

 

[pat32rf]

Simply explain to the wife that you are researching spots where it is wet enough to plant new flower beds for her. Fill the ruts with spring bulbs, cover with topsoil and throw on some grass seed. The flowers will come up thru the grass, then die down by the time its dry enough to drive on.

 

[Jeff244]

I believe there is a plastic mesh that you can use that you put on or maybe an inch or so under the grass that allows you to drive over the grass without rutting it. I removed some of the mesh years ago while excavating an area. I could not tell it was there until I started digging. I did a quick google search and found this: GrassProtecta grass reinforcement mesh, grass car parking mesh – Boddingtons Australia I am sure that you can find a company in your area that supplies this, if you are interested.


Good Luck,
Jeff

 

[pitt_md]

You said that you have "seat time". I'm guessing that it all was in dry conditions?

 

[Knight]

No, not just dry conditions. Other parts of my lawn are fine. Just this area I went across I expected it to be solid, or at least not an bottomless hole of muck.
I have been out there mowing it for 8 years now and it never seemed this soft. But that was on a riding mower, not a tractor in the early spring.
My problem is I was impatient and wanted to do some tractor time before the ground was ready.
Lesson learned......the damage done can cause a lot of work to fix, stop and think next time. I found that out with the backhoe or trench work. It takes minutes to dig a trench, it's the clean up that takes time and work.

 

[3RRL]

Put some poly pipe in those ruts and soaker hoses or bibs.
Fill them up and consider that trenching for your irrigation system.

 

[AndyMA]

For veg garden and landscape work, I found a nice 1974 Bolens 1453 garden tractor (14 hp engine) with rototiller on craigslist ($600). Something like this would take care of your ruts pretty fast without doing more lawn damage.

The Bolens did a good job tilling the veg garden this Spring. Engine is starting to smoke. Looks like I'll be doing an overhaul on that Tecumseh soon. More wrenching fun.

You may want to look for parts in the near future. In case you're not aware Tecumseh is no longer in business and has sold the warranty and spare parts business. I'm not sure how long parts for older engines will be available. http://www.tecumsehpower.com/news/CPC_External_Announcement.pdf

Andy

 

[pitt_md]

No, not just dry conditions. Other parts of my lawn are fine. Just this area I went across I expected it to be solid, or at least not an bottomless hole of muck.
I have been out there mowing it for 8 years now and it never seemed this soft. But that was on a riding mower, not a tractor in the early spring.
My problem is I was impatient and wanted to do some tractor time before the ground was ready.
Lesson learned......the damage done can cause a lot of work to fix, stop and think next time. I found that out with the backhoe or trench work. It takes minutes to dig a trench, it's the clean up that takes time and work.

Knight, I should have put a smiley on the end of the remark of mine. Just poking fun at ya. I am famous for wadding into a project then trying to figure out how to do it.