Field Maintenance - 4x4?

[winchester]

Hello!

We are on clay and fields always look a mess coming out of the winter - so after many years of relying on local farmers (trying to fit us in) to do our field maintenance we are looking in to ways of doing it ourselves!

Would i be able to tow a harrow and a roller with my 4 x 4?
Would i just need a tow bar on the back or would it need to be one of them drop pins that most tractors use?
What sort of harrow would i need? would a chain harrow be best? (the fields have no grass at the moment but come spring it grows quite quickly)
What sort of roller would i need?
Any recommendations where i can buy them?

Has anyone had any experience of maintaining their own fields? Am i mad even looking in to it?
Will i need a tractor/quad bike? I have around 10 acres of land in total...

 

[smiffyimp]

afraid i dont know makes and models, but my YO has 12 acres and she maintains the lot. She has a small tractor - but cant see why a 4x4 wouldnt work, she has a roller and a harrow, but the harrow is for the school mainly, not a spike harrow, so not as good for the fields. She does a good job and it doesnt kill her. We're on clay too. Do a google for the equipment, I know hers were cheap (relatively speaking)

 

[Mike007]

If you are on clay ,I think you will make more mess with a 4x4 than you already have . The wheels will (if it doesnt just sink) cut in and leave trenches everywhere. Even with a good tractor it can be a problem .

 

[BigRed]

I live on heavy clay. My farmer says we have 3 day soil. On Monday it can be too wet, on Tuesday it is perfect and by Wednesday it is too dry.

You will need decent tyres on your 4x4 and you will need to get the day perfect. It is entirely possible to drag a harrow behind, but don't be over ambitious and buy a huge heavy one, or you will wreck your car. Same with the roller. You can buy lightweight water filled rollers that lawn tractors can tow, but the problem is, only a really heavy roller does a good job on clay soils.

Personally, I find it is cheaper and less hassle to pay the local farmer to do it.

 

[smiffyimp]

If you are on clay ,I think you will make more mess with a 4x4 than you already have . The wheels will (if it doesnt just sink) cut in and leave trenches everywhere. Even with a good tractor it can be a problem .

Did forget to say - she doesnt touch the fields until they are dry, certainly not this time of year or yes, youll make one helluva mess!

 

[martlin]

I do quite a bit harrowing and rolling behind my Nissan XTrail (so not even a proper beast ), all ''home'' paddocks and the arena, about 17 acres in total. The ''fen'' fields are done by tractor as there is too much to play around and I have no way of transporting the harrow/roller on the lanes
I have a 9 foot chainharrow with a loop of marine rope threaded through its eye-hitch, so I can just put it on the towbar, 9 foot roller and a 1000l water bowser with a ball hitch put on.
I'm on light sandy soil, though and I'm not that bothered about the car

 

[Finlib]

We used to have land that was heavy clay before we moved
The problem with using a 4x4 is that by the time you can get the 4x4 on the land the roller just bounces off the ruts and doesn't flatten them.Too early and it trashes it and the vehicle gets bogged down in the mud.
We used a 4x4 BIG RED Quad and a ballast roller that was filled with water .
We rolled with the roller empty as soon as we were able then as as it was a bit drier rolled again with a heavier roller and then again with it full weight as soon as it was really dry.
The 4 wheel drive quad awas ideal for the job as it didn't mark the land with tyre marks .
If you compress clay land too much you will lose what drainage there is.
Clay takes very careful management we found a 4 wheel drive quad is really the best suited for this .