Grading Is box blade the right tool...

[cgrosso74]

We recently built a house on 5 acres of farmland. Land was rough graded but overtime vehicles created trenches in wet soil, lots of bumps in front of house etc. I recently brush hogged all the tall growth too find how lumpy land is in front. Would box blade be the right implement to address this?

 

[HCJtractor]

This could be done with a box blade, especially to fill in the larger holes by carrying dirt around to where ever needed. You should be able to get it fairly smooth with a box. I would use it to "rough it out" and then follow with some kind of drag harrow to do the finishing touches. You can make a drag harrow of some kind or buy one of the chain styles. THe more you drag it, the smoother it will be. Of course you will need to seed it soon, but this may not be a good time to seed. I think this would be better done in the Fall.

 

[AKfish]

We recently built a house on 5 acres of farmland. Land was rough graded but overtime vehicles created trenches in wet soil, lots of bumps in front of house etc. I recently brush hogged all the tall growth too find how lumpy land is in front. Would box blade be the right implement to address this?

I would do the job... but, there's a few things you might want to consider.. What kinds and size of vegatation is there currently on the 5 acres?

Shrubs, brush, small trees? Depending upon the size and how extensively the property is covered with that type of vegatation - you might be farther ahead to work the ground with a heavy, cutting blade, disk harrow.

In addition, if you have alot of weeds and brush (perennials) any kind of mechanical removal, leveling, digging will tend to distribute root stock and plant material to areas that didn't use to have that stuff!

So, you might need to consider a herbicide application before you start digging and leveling everything up as well!

AKfish

 

[cgrosso74]

Thanks for the response guys. I have already brush hogged the land so all that's left is the short growth. I'm not as concerned about vegetation growing in areas because it's essentially a field not raw dirt. Plan is to level it out, cut growth with brush hog for now and then worry about grass next year.

 

[Gator6x4]

I would approach in three steps. Step one: Loosen up the soil with a stiff shank tillage tool. Step two: Disc good with a pull behind or three point disc. Step three: Use box blade tool to level. Steps one and two should provide plenty of loose soil to work with. Sow grass this fall, later part of August - early to mid September. Don't forget to lime. Also remember the smoother you get the land the less bounce you will have when mowing.

 

[msmud]

I've been amazed at what just plain discing can do. Run the area back and forth multiple times, let it rain a few times, do it again from a different angle. It will not be rough when you're done, but it might have some gentle undulations. I guess it all depends on what implements you have on hand, and how perfect a grade you want. Even with a couple of bigger swells in the area, discing, then doing a little spreading with a hand rake might be enough, if a disc is all you have.

Some of the guys with experience with a land plane tell me that that one is the perfect tool for this job, but many people--including me--don't own one. Many possible solutions.

 

[cgrosso74]

Yea I'd be looking to rent the box blade, I've spent enough this year between the tractor and attachments that I own. I figure renting makes more sense as I don't plan on doing this smoothing out every year.

 

[kymike1]

I am pushing my builder to smooth out these types of ruts. Hopefully he will do so, but my guess is that he won't get them all. Good information above regarding approach to smoothing out the yard. I have a JD Z655, and it has been rough mowing the areas where heavy vehicles drove over soft (clay) soil. I guess I'll have to rent a tractor and disc or hire it out when the time comes to start prepping for seed.

 

[cgrosso74]

Our work crew did great work on the house but left a lot to be desired considering the land around the house. We're still getting frosts here (upstate NY) and seeding doesn't happen until late April/early May anyway but I will most likely just smooth it out and rough mow this year and worry about seeding in the fall or next year. Thanks again for all the great info here, I am completely new to tractors/acreage etc. You guys have been great.

 

[jenkinsph]

We recently built a house on 5 acres of farmland. Land was rough graded but overtime vehicles created trenches in wet soil, lots of bumps in front of house etc. I recently brush hogged all the tall growth too find how lumpy land is in front. Would box blade be the right implement to address this?

A boxblade will work but a landplane would be preferable for smoothing out bumps and slight variations. Might depend on how much vegetation vs. loose dirt you have, The best thing would be to till or disk it up some and then run a landplane over it in different directions. That could get it very smooth for fast and easy mowing.