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Bonehead 0, Clay 3

BoneheadNW

BoneheadNW

Active member
I have the day off today and it is warm and dry, so I thought that I would work on my clay removal project. When the developer put in our street, the clay from the cul de sac was piled along our property line creating a clay berm, approximately 6 feet high, 6 feet wide, and 25 feet long. After several years, grass has grown on the berm but it is still unsightly and begging to be removed. My plan is to spread the clay around the adjacent grass area as it is large enough to accomadate this volume of clay without changing the contour of the area too much.

Scooping up the clay with the BH has been no problem as I have been able to empty the bucket without too much effort. Spreading out the hunks of clay has been impossible, as the clay remains stuck together or stuck to my tires and FEL. You would think that I would have learned my lesson by now as this same thing happened to me the first two times I tried to disperse the chunks from the berm. So now here I sit, broken hearted, my tractors covered in clay and I feel retarded.
Bonehead
 
As one frustrated clay dweller to another, I feel your pain!

My clay is so hard that I had to take my hydraulic Top Link off my tractor and take it to the shop because the shaft bent!!!

IF you have a tiller, go over the clay berm and till it so that it crumbles into clods or powder or something in between depending on the moisture content of the clay. You will only be able to till down a few inches. Scrape that off with your Front Loader, carry the crumbled clay away and disperse it on the field, and then till the berm again, repeat the process until you get the berm knocked down and the clay dispersed.

If you don't have a tiller then I have no suggestions. Clay sets up like concrete when it is dry, and is stays in large clumps when it is wet. Its easier to work with when it is dry if you can pulverize it, and the only tools I've found for a small tractor that will pulverize it are a PHD and a Tiller. In this case, a PHD won't help you. But a tiller will allow you to shave the berm down about 6" at a time.
 
Bob, thanks for the advice but Bonehead got no tiller (box scraper is on the wishlist). I think for my "round 4), I am going to let the material I scooped out today sit in the sun for a couple of days and then try the following: I will scoop out several scoops with the BH and then disperse them by FEL to another part of the field WITHOUT getting any clay in my; path. I hope to create a monolayer of clay scoops away from the berm and let them dry in the sun before I try to flatten them down. I get into trouble when I have to drive over and over the clay balls. My tires fill with clay to the point that the tractor looks like something out of the Flintstones!
Bone
 
If the scoops of clay dry enough, you can crush them by dropping the FEL bucket on them a few times (cutting edge down).

Can you borrow/rent a box blade? That will work too, but slower than the tiller. Shorten the top link so that the scarifiers are able to rip the surface but the rear of the box is not dragging the clay behind you. Make a lot of runs over the clay to break it up as best you can, then lengthen the top link to allow the box to gather the pulverized clay and drag it around to disperse it.

It may be possible to pulverize and move it all in one pass, but I've 'stuck' my tractor a few times doing that . . . it really depends on the soil condition, moisture content, etc. One technique works one day may not work the next week, etc. Clay is tough to work with and if you get it when the moisture content is low enough you can often cut through it, but if it is too low then it is like trying to drag hardened concrete, and if it is too moist then you can't get traction!
 
Guys,

Would a good heavy lawn roller smash down the clay some when it is dry? Don't know for sure just a thought?


murph
 
I just went out front with my son and shot these pics. Unfortunately (or fortunately for you) the smell of freshly unearthed clay can't (as yet) be sent via internet.
Bonehead
 

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Bone - that's nothing. You didn't even get stuck.

I think you need to spread it around as best you can and then go RENT a tiller so you can abuse someone else's equipment. If you can get any horse poo to mix with it that would be good. I did the same project last year and the horse poo helps make the clay into something less dense.
 
PBinWA said:
If you can get any horse poo to mix with it that would be good. I did the same project last year and the horse poo helps make the clay into something less dense.
Click to expand...

And it makes the wet clay smell better too :whistle:
 
Bone, welcome to the world of clay!

I would just spread it as thinly as possible over the area you are putting it and leave it until summer when its dryer, then do something about it
 
Mith said:
I would just spread it as thinly as possible over the area you are putting it and leave it until summer when its dryer, then do something about it
Click to expand...
That's what I would do. Based on the pics, it looks too wet right now...
Then I would apply your "round 4".
 
That's the frustrating thing. In order to dry it out, I have to scoop out the berm and place the chunks nearby. But these chunks need to be spread out or else I am just moving the berm to create another berm. When I try to move the chunks, the clay gets stuck everywhere. It is just like 200+ lb chunks of dog poop!
Bonehead
 
Sure sounds like the perfect excuse to go out and buy a tiller. When done you can sell it if you won't have a need for it anylonger. If your lucky you might get close to what you paid for it ....and have the use of it whenever the time is right. Seems better than a renting a tiller if that is even an option. I tried that around here and no one had them for rent.
 
I don't have clay problems, thank goodness, but lots of stones wherever I dig. With lots of clay, how about taking up pottery?!
 
Instead of breaking your butt:bigMoon:, why don't you advertise the clay fill to give away for the hauling out? I work for an excavating contractor and the list of folks who want clay to build up low spots in their yards is an arm-length long. Save yourself the headache and let someone else have it.:yum:
 
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