Smoothing a an Old Orchard Site

[California]

My photos below show what a hundred year old apple orchard looks like. My point here is the tree rows are only a small fraction of the width of the orchard. So it seems to me discing, tilling, grading, whatever the entire field is more work than needed for the leveling phase. I would concentrate on just the tree rows.

I like the idea of making a first pass down the tree rows with a ripper to break up roots followed by disk or tiller to make the soil workable.

Then just grading the tree row ridges/terraces down to the grade of the aisles using an angled back blade might be a lot less work than grading the entire field.

Photos winter, summer.

Another photo emphasizing that the aisles are far wider than the tree rows

 

[jenkinsph]

My photos below show what a hundred year old apple orchard looks like. My point here is the tree rows are only a small fraction of the width of the orchard. So it seems to me discing, tilling, grading, whatever the entire field is more work than needed for the leveling phase. I would concentrate on just the tree rows.

I like the idea of making a first pass down the tree rows with a ripper to break up roots followed by disk or tiller to make the soil workable.

Then just grading the tree row ridges/terraces down to the grade of the aisles using an angled back blade might be a lot less work than grading the entire field.

Photos winter, summer.

Another photo emphasizing that the aisles are far wider than the tree rows

You could use an angled blade to move the dirt or a box blade to move the dirt to the low areas. Either way you need to have accurate control of the blade to get optimum results. The majority(90%). of the dirt can be cut down quickly and easily with a box blade or a grader blade. The last bit of dirt takes the most time to put in the right place. My own preference is to move the dirt outwards from the rows with a box blade and is easy to do. I do not see where a rear grader blade is inherently easier to use. When I first responded I did see the OP had a box blade in his signature, I did not see a rear blade listed and offered suggestions based on the implements available.

You could run a land plane grader blade down the tree rows and knock them down. Then if you made enough passes in several directions you could get smooth and reasonably close. Smooth is better than what the OP has now but is not necessarily on grade. After a heavy rain you may see gullies form and I would prefer to avoid this. Depending on the locale terrace rows may be needed if you experience heavy rains. Just depends on each individuals conditions.

I don't think you would get satisfactory results without working the entire field though. You need to smooth the field out to limit low spots and ponding, water puddles are hard on the grass or crops. Before I start moving dirt I always look over the job to see what I think is the best way to resolve the problems with the specific field. What is needed to optimize each field can vary widely.

 

[franklinute]

I agree with running a rooter or chisel plow down the tree row to pull out roots left
from the orchard. A lot will depend on how the orchard trees were removed. Hopefully
the trees were removed with a good portion of the roots. I clean up some overgrown
nursery stock in my area and sometimes trees will break off flush with the ground and
running an implement into the rootwad is not good. After we clear a field we will stratle
the tree row with our tractor and a 2 shank subsoiler. The next step is running the chisel
plow.After a couple of passes we have loosened up most of the remaining roots. Also when
filling in the rootwad holes the loose dirt will settle in the hole after a rain or after a tire
runs in thru it.

 

[powerscol]

I may be a bit late to comment, but find yourself a motor grader (big road one) and a good operator. They could have this leveled in a giffy. First use the rear rippers on the old tree rows to pull the stumps/route balls, then angle the blade to level. For what you need to do it will be a quick operation and probably save time and money.

BTW - Some of the modern equipment has automatics on them. You am set up a level besid the field and the equipment will follow the grade you set. Perfect for flood irrigating or a nice level field.

 

[California]

I may be a bit late to comment, but find yourself a motor grader (big road one) and a good operator. They could have this leveled in a giffy. First use the rear rippers on the old tree rows to pull the stumps/route balls, then angle the blade to level. For what you need to do it will be a quick operation and probably save time and money.

BTW - Some of the modern equipment has automatics on them. You am set up a level beside the field and the equipment will follow the grade you set. Perfect for flood irrigating or a nice level field.

I like this motor grader solution! The ripping is going to be needed regardless of what follows. Then a motor grader with a long wheelbase and and a huge blade might knock down those rows faster, and more evenly, than his smaller tractor could regardless of his method.

Seems to me 50 acres is a lot of land to cover, dragging earth sideways from the ridges to the former orchard aisles with a back blade, and it would take real expertise to have it come out even.

This is isn't flat ground, the grading is to make the slopes uniform over short distances, not to make everything dead flat. Is there any way to use a laser level for this? You would need 3 dimensional GPS with the intended contour lines programmed in, no?

 

[jenkinsph]

A motor grader would work well for this too.

I confused two threads and thought the OP had stated he wanted to do this work himself. That was Boatskippers thread where he was explicit about doing the work without others being hired.

Looking at the pictures again I suspect hiring a neighbor farmer with heavy tillage equipment is the best way to go. Depending on what the neighbor can do a land plane grader scraper should be good to smooth it out. If the neighbor has good finishing implements then work out a deal and have him do it all.

 

[EdwardB]

Thanks for all of the advice. Lots to consider here. One question on the motor grader option is how does it handle rolling hills? It seems like that could be an issue?

 

[powerscol]

Thanks for all of the advice. Lots to consider here. One question on the motor grader option is how does it handle rolling hills? It seems like that could be an issue?

With a good operator and machine, it will not be an issue. The grader can adjust quickly to the hill conditions. I have had numerous construction projects where one was used to level land. Worked well.