How to Dig Holes with Front End Loader

[Gary Fowler]

That is one of the reasons I have a TLB. I used my FEL for about a year digging out rocks and ended up have large holes to backfill and the FEL doesn't dig very well either.
Either rent or buy a backhoe to dig holes, trench or even lift logs(and other objects) when equipped with a thumb.

 

[Jstpssng]

Do you have the post hole digger which somebody mentioned? If so I would drill each hole with that and expand it with a shovel. I'm rather quirky about the way my holes are dug for trees. The hole should be 3 times the size of the root ball with straight sides, not tapered; a 30 gallon root ball would require about a 12 cubic feet hole. If the sides are tapered the roots will tend to follow the path of least resistance, and grow up the sides of the hole. (At least that's what the landscaper I once worked for said.)

It might be a good excuse- er, reason to pick up a small backhoe attachment.

 

[oosik]

When we move here in '82 and planted so many trees - more than 250, mixed species and sizes - I never even considered using my brand new Ford 1710 to dig holes. Just too much of a mess. I DID use the tractor to transport the young trees and my trusty manual, round bottom shovel - in the bucket.

My Kubota M6040 would just make an even bigger mess.

If you really feel the need to use the tractor - as many have said - use the 3-point post hole auger.

 

[big bubba]

yes, a phd would be one way w/multiple passes. most of my recent 50+ trees are hand dug. when i ran into large boulders, used my fel. personally using a fel does not have to be a mess, just make shallow cuts around the circumference then back drag w/bucket heel. assume you'll be making a good sized hole anyway given the 30 gal size root ball.
don't forget the water retention ring, another use of the fel besides lifting the tree itself.

one poster mentioned the roots will grow more easily in a hole excavated by fel. found this to be noticeably true w/my sugar maples.
hopefully you have an irrigation plan as well given our unpredictable climate. best regards

 

[BigBlue1]

How well it will work depends a lot on your soil type. Do you have a tiller? What I've done to plant some very large trees (from 15 gallon to rootballs 40" across) is to use my 5" tiller to till a 5x5 square and then use the loader bucket to dig a V-shaped trench in the tilled area to the depth needed for the rootball. I have to follow with a shovel to round out the actual hole for the rootball and loosen the soil below the rootball but this is way easier than manually digging the holes. I have great black dirt that is relatively soft though, so the ability to dig down into it may be easier than in other more compacted soils. The tiller aids things by breaking up the sod and getting me down 8" or so. I drop the dirt from the loader scoops onto a piece of plywood next to the hole and then when the tree is in I can pretty easily just push the dirt back into the hole with the loader again.

Rob

 

[jeff9366]

A spade seems like a good way to bend a bucket or cylinder.

Prudence, of coarse, is important in all types of tractor operation to avoid tractor damage.


Consider just the force of gravity on the Bucket Solution's Bucket Spade on my Kubota L3560 with LA805 Loader:

LA805 weighs 1,279 pounds.

LA2296 SSQA H-D, R-B bucket weighs 180 pounds.

Bucket Solutions' Bucket Spade weighs 110 pounds.

Some of the LA805 weight bears on the BS/BS, say 400 pounds.

So FEL + LA2296 + BS/BS total weight = 690 pounds, bearing on the sharp edge of the bucket spade.


Once the bucket spade is positioned in the ground, you push it to depth with wheel power. You do not use FEL hydraulic power to push the spade into the earth.

I used spade first on a Kubota 'B' and now a Kubota 'L' for a total of five years without tractor damage, excavating relatively soft Florida soil. I have removed tons of tenacious Palmettos and planted dozens of trees.

While there may be some instances of bucket problems related to Bucket Spades in the archive, I cannot remember reading a post concerning bucket problems in TODAY'S POSTS since January 2011, when I joined.

There have been a few posts about chain attached spade failures.

I wish Bucket Solutions would produce an SSQA Bucket Spade.

 

[Oldoak]

It might be a good excuse- er, reason to pick up a small backhoe attachment.

Hey..............that was my excuse forty years ago. Started out wanting to plant a dozen or so apple trees. The back hoe made it so easy digging holes to plant them, I ended up with a full blown orchard of 80+ fruit trees a few years later.

That's when we really appreciated our neighbor down the road who was a bee keeper!

 

[Redlands Okie]

A stump bucket would work. Some people have used them with success, but a spade seems like a good way to bend a bucket or cylinder.

Agree