Draining with no gravel

Case290

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Worcestershire
No gravel on these oldies still working. Trencher track repairs I under estimated how much work that is.
 

Attachments

  • CC920AA5-37B3-4016-96C2-C11C18817E6F.jpeg
    CC920AA5-37B3-4016-96C2-C11C18817E6F.jpeg
    537.6 KB · Views: 0
  • 829AB1BB-B968-44A3-94A5-A5E1F5958116.jpeg
    829AB1BB-B968-44A3-94A5-A5E1F5958116.jpeg
    432.1 KB · Views: 0

Phil P

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
North West
Non of our drains have stone on them, if they did they’d be blocked with ochre within a couple of years!
Probably 60% are laid in clay soils with just 8-10” of top soil on the pipe and they will pull water just fine. A lot of our tile drains went in before my grandads time (he’s 97) and they are still run fine now.
On heavy land I wouldn’t go more than 10 yards apart either, any land we’ve had at wider has always ended up with one in between eventually, our peat and opencast ground is drained every 5 yards!
 

Brisel

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Midlands
Heavy clay here.
Every drain ive dug up with no backfill was dry, but the ground above is wet.

Not dug up many drains with backfill. Probably because there was no need to dig them up

How is the soil structure looking? Last week, most of my drain outfalls had run dry but the surface was still wet. To get below field capacity, there needs to be top growth in the plants or a welcome drying easterly wind. It's too cold for much growth but as I drove down the main road past your place this morning the fields are certainly showing signs of fresh greenery.
 

fudge

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire.
How is the soil structure looking? Last week, most of my drain outfalls had run dry but the surface was still wet. To get below field capacity, there needs to be top growth in the plants or a welcome drying easterly wind. It's too cold for much growth but as I drove down the main road past your place this morning the fields are certainly showing signs of fresh greenery.
Maybe your drains aren’t back filled?😀
 

fudge

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire.
Sadly, that’s true. None of the drains we’ve dug up had backfill and were all silted up. The analysis of my predecessor was “they were done cheaply and are about buggered” 😔
Nice clean slate! I reckon you no tiller guys will be making so much money you will be able to back fill right to the surface. I understand beeswax use best gravel at 20 meter spacing. 👍👍
 

GeorgeK

Member
Location
Leicestershire
What about a mole plough that opened a 3" wide slot and packed straw in to keep it open longer? After each harvest instead of chopping or baling you'd pack the straw into thin drainage channels and like moling do a different run each year. By the time it broke down there would be new channels and every year drainage would get a bit better... Could it work?
 

GeorgeK

Member
Location
Leicestershire
That would be easier with gravel.
It would but the straw is already rowed up in the field after harvest each year ready to use. Could it capture carbon as straw deep in clay would take a long time to break down? It would drain slower than open pipes and be like a sponge, reducing flooding? And filter out sediment, nutrients and pesticides better?
Just my overactive imagination, I regularly have wacky ideas rarely do they come to anything :LOL:
 

Lincsman

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
It would but the straw is already rowed up in the field after harvest each year ready to use. Could it capture carbon as straw deep in clay would take a long time to break down? It would drain slower than open pipes and be like a sponge, reducing flooding? And filter out sediment, nutrients and pesticides better?
Just my overactive imagination, I regularly have wacky ideas rarely do they come to anything :LOL:
Go the whole hog with 2 deep legs on the combine to open it up and drop straw in and roll back down, just add another 300HP!
 

Beefsmith

Member
What are people's thoughts of putting drains in with a trencher 10m apart with no gravel rather than 22yards apart with gravel

We’ve never used gravel here and drains my grandfather put in are still working fine. My neighbour runs his own drainer and he’s never used gravel as he says it’s cheaper to redrain every 20 years than use stone and expect 40 years. He bought an old drainer for £10,000, spent a winter on it in the workshop and it’s since drained about 1500 acres. He does about 150 acres a year.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.9%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 63 34.2%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.3%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 6 3.3%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,287
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
Top