Dirt

[docmirror]

Why did you order such rough stuff that you knew you had to spread thin?

Should have ordered screened topsoil. If you have grass adjacent the runway, now you're gonna have bare spots wherever you spread this stuff because the grass won't grow.

While Im pretty comfy and could afford the top soil, I had a six yard dump trailer so I wanted to see if it was possible to save $30 per yard.

Im going to get it pushed around the area I need it and go over with an old disc. After that hoping I can roll it and not get stuck. If it works, I need about 20 yards for a swale and I can dump and roll.

Thanks for the ideas.

 

[showcrop]

Why did you order such rough stuff that you knew you had to spread thin?

Should have ordered screened topsoil. If you have grass adjacent the runway, now you're gonna have bare spots wherever you spread this stuff because the grass won't grow.

When I had my truck, and when driving for friends part time, I hauled thousands of loads of clay fill. Basements now have to be above mean high water table, which means a lot of fill has to be brought in. Clay is cheap so that is what is used. It is leveled out with a dozer and loam spread over it. The lawn will require much less watering than if over sand.

 

[Fritz Maurer]

When I had my truck, and when driving for friends part time, I hauled thousands of loads of clay fill. Basements now have to be above mean high water table, which means a lot of fill has to be brought in. Clay is cheap so that is what is used. It is leveled out with a dozer and loam spread over it. The lawn will require much less watering than if over sand.

It is not known exactly how deep are these "low spots" .... not likely too extreme next to an air strip...there may not be enough room for clay fill and top-dressed with topsoil without raising the grade too far.

 

[john in la]

While clay can be hard to work with I believe it is the best soil for this situation because it packs down so well.
For a driveway air strip or the area around an air strip you want something that will pack down hard as a rock. Clay with a little sand in it is the perfect choice for this situation.
Anything including clay that has organic matter mixed in will be easier to work with but it will never pack down hard. This type of soil is more suited to a garden where you don’t want compaction.

Look at a sandy beach for example. Easy to spread but never really gets hard enough to drive a car on it.

 

[showcrop]

It is not known exactly how deep are these "low spots" .... not likely too extreme next to an air strip...there may not be enough room for clay fill and top-dressed with topsoil without raising the grade too far.

Yes, this is not a good use for clay. I would have used 3/4 crusher run gravel myself. When you don't want grass on your gravel driveway it spreads in very fast.

 

[Fritz Maurer]

Anyway, to answer your question of pulverization, take your grader and and rake it into as many windrows as practicable, and allow to dry. Then crush the windrows with the graders tires, and flip the windrow over and run them over again. You will find that there is a fine line as to the moisture content when the clay will break up readily.

 

[docmirror]

Anyway, to answer your question of pulverization, take your grader and and rake it into as many windrows as practicable, and allow to dry. Then crush the windrows with the graders tires, and flip the windrow over and run them over again. You will find that there is a fine line as to the moisture content when the clay will break up readily.

Although this sounds like a lot of hours on the grader, I think it's gonna be my process. I have a section that's 700x150' where I can spread it out, grade it, and keep going over it until it's as small as I can reasonably get it. I might even try the blade down in reverse, and smush the back side of the angle blade to flatten. Try it anyway. Once I get it fairly small, I can front load and dump it, then do a finish pass with the grader and the small roller.