A clogged drainage system during a storm can lead to washing out and pooling in the surrounding area. If you own a compact tractor, you have all the tools necessary to complete most of this work by yourself.
You can’t fix anything if you can’t see it. Cut tall grass, weeds and brush with a rotary cutter along your ditch edges and near the culvert inlets. Once those are removed, you will be able to identify any major issues, such as erosion and sediment accumulation, that prevent proper drainage.
Use a front loader bucket to remove leaves, twigs and muck that have accumulated in the area around the inlet end of your culvert. Check both ends of the culvert. Clogs can occur on either end and will cause the same amount of backup.
Culverts that are heavily clogged with mud and sediment may need more effort than a loader bucket can accomplish. That’s when a backhoe attachment proves useful. Many of these attachments can be mounted to a compact tractor and provide the necessary reach to dig out the sediment and allow for the removal of obstructions located further into the culvert.
After clearing the sediment and debris, make sure to move it away from the culvert. Any sediment that you leave nearby can just wash right back in during the next storm.
Now that the sediment and debris have been removed, the shape of the ditch may require rear blade ditching. A rear blade works great for shaping the ditch and pushing soil to one side as you work down the ditch line and rebuild the banks. To get a smoother surface, use a box blade with scarifiers to rip up the hard pan and level the bottom of the ditch in one pass. Lower the teeth to loosen the compacted soil, then run the box blade over the area to even it out.
Do you have a long stretch of ditch to grade? A land plane will maintain a consistent grade much longer than a box blade over a distance.
Use a landscape rake to remove any remaining loose materials, such as rocks and roots, that the rear or box blade missed. This tool will also help smooth the disturbed soil along the banks of the ditches so you can seed or stabilize them before the next rain event.
While you are maintaining your ditches and culverts, take a moment to inspect your driveway drainage too. A rear blade or box blade can restore the crown of a gravel driveway so that water runs off to each side rather than collecting in the center. Fill any low areas in your driveway to avoid leaving ruts the next time it rains.
Still unsure which attachments will work with your compact tractor? Contact Holt Ag Solutions to get assistance from one of our representatives in matching the correct implement to your machine. You can also visit your closest location in California or Oregon.
