Smoothing a an Old Orchard Site

[jenkinsph]

I would never even consider a conventional box blade for 50 acres of ridges. I've spent many years working on flood-irrigated land that needed flattening for each crop change.

A common choice now is the laser-guided wheeled box blade. But the laser guide isn't needed if you aren't flood irrigating and just want to smooth the land.


First choice would be something long, with a center blade.

View attachment 469978

Second choice would be a tongue-pulled wheeled scraper or box blade.

View attachment 469979

If I couldn't get those, I'd build a wooden or steel float like this.

View attachment 469980

Bruce

Bruce,
You are correct that a laser guided drag box is a better choice. I use a Topcon RL 200 2/S laser and the LSB110 receivers for my work. Most people here would not be willing to put out $3850 for a laser and still have to buy a tripod and $1700 receiver to go with it. I looked at the equipment the OP had to work with and made suggestions.

I do a lot of flood irrigated fields in southern New Mexico and by the time you get this far south the water is limited and precious. It is important to get the fields "right".

 

[bcp]

I agree about the laser for flood irrigated land, but the OP has rolling hills.

Bruce

 

[California]

I do a lot of this work and find the best way is to disc or rototill the tops of the mounds. Run right down the top of the row, no point in tilling everything in the low areas. Then use your box blade to drag the loose material on to the low spots. ... If and when the box blade fails to fully load with dirt when you cross the mounds it is time to till the mounds again.

Ok that's how a pro would do it right, and using the appropriate equipment.

How does this sound, for an amateur without the skill to handle a box blade expertly: Disc or rototill as above, down the tree lines (ridges) only. Then run down those tree lines with a back blade angled to throw the dirt off to the side, from the ridge into the adjacent low corridor. Repeat the loosen/move steps until the ridges are obliterated. Then blade along the ridges of loose dirt that created, to move some dirt over to the center of each corridor. Similar pattern to when you see one snowplow following another.

This seems to me to be faster and more uniform than feathering a box blade crossing each hill/valley, for the non-expert.

Finally disc the field on a diagonal then the opposite diagonal.

Comments?

 

[jenkinsph]

Ok that's how a pro would do it right, and using the appropriate equipment.

How does this sound, for an amateur without the skill to handle a box blade expertly: Disc or rototill as above, down the tree lines (ridges) only. Then run down those tree lines with a back blade angled to throw the dirt off to the side, from the ridge into the adjacent low corridor. Repeat the loosen/move steps until the ridges are obliterated. Then blade along the ridges of loose dirt that created, to move some dirt over to the center of each corridor. Similar pattern to when you see one snowplow following another.

This seems to me to be faster and more uniform than feathering a box blade crossing each hill/valley, for the non-expert.

Finally disc the field on a diagonal then the opposite diagonal.

Comments?

It would work but I prefer the direct movement of the dirt, outwards from the tree line. Ones skill at moving the dirt improves rapidly if you get seat time and persist.

You can use an angled blade as you suggest and move the dirt over with each pass but it takes many passes to accomplish this too.

 

[Sysop]

I'd think the cheapest would be to pull some ripper shanks through to break up any roots and loosen stuff up a bit, then run a regular blade set at an angle to drag the high areas into the low areas. I'd not want to run my tiller through all those age hardened roots and potential other hazards without first having ripped stuff up completely and having made a couple passes over the entire area to know what I was in for. Fastest, easiest, and best are sometimes overcome by good-enough, not too bad, and least-expensive...

 

[EdwardB]

The cheapest way to do this is to remove the high spots and move them to the closest low spot. You want to move the dirt as little as possible. Once you have smoothed the field you can then till it to a uniform depth.

Once you have it close to where you want it a lpgs would be good for finishing.


A large disc can help with this but will have to make several passes.

What is a lpgs?

 

[EdwardB]

I would never even consider a conventional box blade for 50 acres of ridges. I've spent many years working on flood-irrigated land that needed flattening for each crop change.

A common choice now is the laser-guided wheeled box blade. But the laser guide isn't needed if you aren't flood irrigating and just want to smooth the land.

Disc it first so you don't have to cut solid packed ground.

First choice would be something long, with a center blade.

View attachment 469978

Second choice would be a tongue-pulled wheeled scraper or box blade.

View attachment 469979

If I couldn't get those, I'd build a wooden or steel float like this.

View attachment 469980

Bruce

Thar last one looks like something I could build. Kind of a jury-rigged land plane. Hmmm.

 

[EdwardB]

Ok that's how a pro would do it right, and using the appropriate equipment.

How does this sound, for an amateur without the skill to handle a box blade expertly: Disc or rototill as above, down the tree lines (ridges) only. Then run down those tree lines with a back blade angled to throw the dirt off to the side, from the ridge into the adjacent low corridor. Repeat the loosen/move steps until the ridges are obliterated. Then blade along the ridges of loose dirt that created, to move some dirt over to the center of each corridor. Similar pattern to when you see one snowplow following another.

This seems to me to be faster and more uniform than feathering a box blade crossing each hill/valley, for the non-expert.

Finally disc the field on a diagonal then the opposite diagonal.

Comments?

Your approach was one that I had thought about. I'm pretty good with my back blade. I might have to give it a test plot.

 

[jenkinsph]

lpgs is land plane grader scraper

pictures of two I made and a picture of a field after using the larger one.

 

[jenkinsph]

I should add that the above picture and this one were old apple orchards when I started working them over. The field pictured below is after box blading to grade for flood irrigation. One side of the field was cut down about 2 feet to achieve this.