Trench along fence- subsoiler/middlebuster?

[RalphVa]

The old Gravely rotary plows do a pretty good trench. You can get an old Gravely for around $250 and a rotary plow for about the same or less. You can have fun with the Gravely.

Ralph

 

[wd45]

The telephone company uses a sub-soiler with guides (tube) along the back side and a spool feed to install underground cable. It's probably a commercial rig, but it didn't look like it would be too hard to cobble together. They can slip a cable in the ground pretty fast and there's no mess afterward.

 

[Freds]

Yep, you're right! Got the photos saved from someone's version here to prove it. Very nice setup.
I dragged some plastic gaspipe underground with mine already, but that doesn't help for putting in fencing (the regular kind). That's a whole nuther ballgame to leave a workable trench.

 

[btolle]

Skip all that. Go buy a cattle fence charger that is good for 3 or more miles of fence, a roll or 2 of fence charger wire (it is galvanized and comes in 1/4 mile rolls), some insulators, and some of the spring loaded plastic handles you use at the gates.

I have a chow who just laughed when I had one of those dog fence chargers, it took a cattle fence charger to keep him in. I strung the wire about 12" above the ground so I could run the riding mower wheels under it.

My dogs stay at least 18" back from the wire. Don't tell them it hasn't been plugged in for the last 6 months! Once they get hit a couple of times you can run some that same wire around your garden and they won't go near it. Just the sight of the wire will keep them out.

Next time he digs he will hit is haed on the fence and you won't have any more digging under the fence.

Bill Tolle

 

[wd45]

Freds, you're right for a regular fence, I was thinking about one of those invisible fences that are buried. Most chain link fence is buried 6" or so in the ground, I suppose that a middle buster or a one bottom turning plow would work OK if you did it before you put in post.

When I was small, my Father had a hog that he said would run under an electric fence after the hog worked up his courage. Aparently the hog knew that he would be shocked, but would run under the fence anyway. My Father put a wire collar on the hog with a turned up hook, he said that the hog learned very quickly after that and didn't go near the fence again.

If anyone is interested, The Progressive Farmer is a pretty good source of information for hobby farms as well as full time professional farmers (not many left any more). They have a section on reader ideas and inventions that has some good ideas, just good old fashion thinking.