Help please…which spiky roller for heavy clay?

[catembi]

I’m trying to choose a roller. My paddocks are sloping and very heavy clay I have a substantial quad with a tow bar.

My objectives are to aerate the soil allowing more air to get to the grass roots and to decompress it. I also want to break up some areas of poaching. I’m not sure what roller I need out of slitter, hollow tine or aerator. Any ideas…?

Sometimes I think it would be easier to move house to somewhere on chalk/sand…

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[myheartinahoofbeat]

Are you on Facebook? There is a great Land Management For Horses Group that could advise you on what is best.
I’m on clay too. It’s a nightmare as it’s either a bog or rock hard!!!
However I would suggest you need to get a harrow instead and harrow it as much as you can, maybe with some weight on it. I tie a pallet on. Rolling will only add to the compaction.

 

[meleeka]

I just use a chain harrow. I don’t ever roll just because I can’t see how that would help with aeriating.

 

[catembi]

The equipment I linked to has spikes so it’s spiking or slitting the ground, not rolling it so not compressing it…

I will look for the FB group. My intentions are good but I have no idea what I am doing!

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I wouldn't roll clay. That would just make the problem worse, imho. Harrowing would be a better measure because it will allow air into the surface.

 

[catembi]

Not rollers…spikers but I didn’t know what else to call them! My link doesn’t seem to be working as no one seems to have been able to look at the pictures on there of the equipment that I am considering so I will attach a photo. This equipment cannot compress but there were two similar things as well and I wasn’t sure which one I needed.

 

[meesha]

I've bought this https://norfolktools.co.uk/product/lawn-roller-spiker-1-5m/ ...about to use for first time today.

I'm on clay but needed something i could tow with car, harrows heavy enough to be effective not a great idea behind a car. My land is very poached so a small harrow would just bounce over the top and I don't have any dead to pull out

If I don't get stuck I will report back later lol

 

[catembi]

Ohhhhh, fantastic! Pretty please do before and after photos! I am particularly interested in poached areas and scuffed areas with ‘skid marks’ for want of a better word.

 

[catembi]

Pressed send too soon… I very stupidly turned the TBs out for an hour yesterday and I should have waited another week. OMG 5 months of saving the fields undone in 15 minutes. I do this every bloody year and never learn!

 

[Mero]

Not rollers…spikers but I didn’t know what else to call them! My link doesn’t seem to be working as no one seems to have been able to look at the pictures on there of the equipment that I am considering so I will attach a photo. This equipment cannot compress but there were two similar things as well and I wasn’t sure which one I needed.

These are basically what I use, the aerator spikes. Mine has a weight over the top otherwise they just bounce along over the surface. I’m afraid I inherited mine so I don’t know the make, but the blades are the same as the ones you have linked to.

I have just harrowed my fields to knock down the ruts and will then take the aerator out this afternoon to go over it where the 4x4 tyres will have compacted it.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Not rollers…spikers but I didn’t know what else to call them! My link doesn’t seem to be working as no one seems to have been able to look at the pictures on there of the equipment that I am considering so I will attach a photo. This equipment cannot compress but there were two similar things as well and I wasn’t sure which one I needed.

I followed the link and there were several attachments, one was a roller so that is what I assumed you meant.

 

[catembi]

Sorry, I said that I wasn’t sure what I wanted out of slitter, aerator or hollow tine…?

 

[myheartinahoofbeat]

Sorry, I said that I wasn’t sure what I wanted out of slitter, aerator or hollow tine…?

You probably just need a chain Harrow.if it’s not heavy enough to knock out all the lumps you can tie pallets or tyres on it to give it weight. We tow ours behind our Range Rover. I have learnt to much about managing land from that Facebook group. I only started having horses at home 4 years ago and it was a steep learning curve

 

[tda]

My dad once borrowed what he called Dutch Harrows, they were huge, big tractor equipment, but they definitely broke up the ruts.
Those you showed a pic of look good but a bit weedy.
My next purchase will be some hollow tine harrows

 

[PurBee]

Sorry, I said that I wasn’t sure what I wanted out of slitter, aerator or hollow tine…?

If your clay is really uneven and poached, and has dried very hard, you’d likely break de-thatcher spring pins, or they’d just bounce off the hard clay, and not work.

The slitter looks good for cutting 4 inch deep cuts close together in lines across your land. It would enable water to drain lower, and give roots more oxygen, for better grass growth.
But the slitter wont necessarily even-out severe poached areas - it’ll just cut lines.

But your quad tyres, as you are driving the slitter around, may well even-out the poached areas, do you think?

The aerator looks to have slightly curved tines, and i’d be concerned all that would do is rotorvate the top surface mud to a crumbly seed-bed type finish.

The hollow tine will punch holes, but i cant get a close-up pic of that implement. If the tines on that is curved it might rotorvate the soil somewhat too. You’d want the ground to be softish for those fingers to penetrate their whole depth. If your clay is very high clay content and hard, using just a quad with serious weights on the attachment to press it down, i wonder if you’d be able to get that to penetrate, or whether it’ll just punch 1 inch holes.

The art of using implements is judging the perfect soil conditions to use them, which after the weather we’ve been having, is tricky to do!
Using lightweight equipment like a quad and tow attachment, to puncture or aerate the ground you’d want there to be a softness on the soil, not drenched, and not rock hard. It wants to be like firm pastry - easy to sculpt without it becoming a mess.

I’d personally ring the company and explain your needs and soil type, as theyve likely used their tools and know their capabilities/limitations.
Im leaning toward the slitter for getting some better surface drainage and air to roots of grass. But it likely wont do much for levelling very severe uneven poached areas, unless you drove it around multiple passes over those areas to break it up, using your quad tyres to press the disturbed soil.

 

[PurBee]

Just to add, the hollow tine is usually used to make plug holes in soil, so with normal loamy soil you’re left with lots of soil plug ‘worms’ dropped on the surface. That isnt ideal to have mud plugs on the surface of land you want to graze immediately, as the horses chance of ingesting soil is increased.

But with sticky clay soil im not sure how well the hollow tine would work, as there’s the chance the clay will get stuck in the hollow tine. Also if your clay is very firm and hard, without significant weight on the attachment to force press it into the soil, you might find those tines bounce across the surface and dont penetrate. With significant weight ontop of the attachment would your quad pull it?

Hence why im leaning towards a slitter cutter for drainage and aeration. Least disturbance of soil, while also opening up many knife cut lines.

 

[catembi]

Thank you so much for that! Agreed…such a steep learning curve! And you’re right about picking your window. Mine goes from swamp to concrete in days…

 

[meesha]

Well I survived... Just, got stuck once and used trusty mud control mats under the tyres to get me out. Ground looks loads better but I have bent the tow hitch on the new roller, I think when reversing to get out of gripe... Easy fix though.

Will rest that side for a couple of weeks then move horses and hopefully do the other side.

 

[catembi]

Thank you… Wow, that actually looks a lot better! I might get one…

I was spot spraying yesterday and realised that I probably need to spray the whole lot for buttercups. However, I joined the FB group…a bit overwhelming as it has made me realise that I don’t know anything about anything… Anyway apparently buttercups thrive in compacted soil, so if I can uncompact it, it might help…?

Out of interest, how did you get your roller to the field without any wheels?

 

[meesha]

Roller isn't that heavy until filled with water, we left it in its packaging and lifted onto a trailer. I then filled it with water when In field, comes as standard with pin hitch but I paid for standard hitch to be put on. Think the hitch needs to be stronger as I bent it when trying to get unstuck out of mud lol. Doing some more tomorrow night so might have more pics as next bit is very poached. Mine also needs to be sprayed as I have creeping buttercup.

 

[catembi]

Thank you...much appreciated! I am also contemplating buying a sprayer for the quad with a boom, but then you have to connect it to a battery & I don't fancy faffing about trying to connect stuff to the quad's battery. I also can't face spraying the whole lot with a knapsack! It's a f/t job...!

 

[meesha]

I've got a sprayer I attach to a trailer and tow with car, not used it for couple years though so prob broken lol, we use separate battery for it from memory

 

[meesha]

Roller feedback.... Got stuck again (user error as ground still too soft in places,) tow hitch bends if u try and reverse but if you have a quad it would be ideal as could get in all the corners.

Still love it over flat roller or harrows but as I'm towing with car can't get in corners or tight areas...will use my little flat roller for those.

Good bit of kit for good price though and easy to fill and empty with water (u can manually pull it when empty which is handy for storing )

 

[catembi]

Thank you...much appreciated! I am dithering over what I need out of a sprayer or something to aerate the ground.... I need to decide before the ground goes from swamp to concrete...!

 

[Clodagh]

Thank you...much appreciated! I am dithering over what I need out of a sprayer or something to aerate the ground.... I need to decide before the ground goes from swamp to concrete...!

I’ll ask my OH tomorrow when I get home. Farmer who managed my clay paddocks, so he should have an idea. Failing that @outinthefens88 might help?

 

[outinthefens88]

Just caught this - trick with clay - get it bashed down with a good heavy harrow and don't roll it - many horse owners are OBSESSED with rolling and on damp clay its about the worst thing that you can do (unless its a Cambridge/crimp roll - flat rolls smear and 'seal' the surface).

Just done 5 acres for someone with a 4ft dutch harrow with slatted crumbler roller. It was a steady old job but it worked perfectly, followed after with 8ft chain harrows - looked lovely after.

Slitters/spikers are a handy tool to have, I have literally just sold my 5ft tractor mounted SISIS branded one as it sat in the shed for years as no one seemed to grasp the concept of what it did and its benefits.