Opened up my silage field!!!help

[west coast angus]

Hired a 3t digger this week, to clean out ditches, and I have got carried away and opened up the silage field that is getting reseeded asap! Ordered pipe today, going to use pebbles off the shore to back fill,

What I would like to know is how much stone is needed on top of the pipe? Trench is 2 1\2 to 3 feet deep,

The pebbles are flat and smooth but are a right mix of sizes form tea cup to dinner plate size, will this be OK? Can't afford stone from the quarry!!

 

[Thick Farmer]

Should be fine.

 

[M-J-G]

It will drain a lot better than what you've just dug out anyway!!!

 

[Kevtherev]

Where's it falling to?
Get the pipe in and stoned up ASAP before the sides start to fall in!!
The pebbles and gravel will be ideal just make sure no big ones are on the pipe to damaged it.

 

[west coast angus]

Falls in to a peat bog that I have spent hours ditching so the field drain can drain away, the soil is almost peat too,

That's great I will fire the stone in tomorrow, What depth should I fill with stone? Was thinking two thirds? Cheers

 

[spin cycle]

i always thought the stone was just to stop the soil/silt blocking the holes in the pipe...so cover the pipe?

 

[Kevtherev]

Yes fill nearly to top and then back fill soil.
Once it's all dried out run a power Harrow up it to level off and seed.

 

[Kevtherev]

Stone is a filter media to help draw water in to a drain.
You can turf drains and just backfill if you want.

 

[multi power]

i always thought the stone was just to stop the soil/silt blocking the holes in the pipe...so cover the pipe?

The more stone the better. Definitely need plenty in peat

 

[Tha Ulsterscot]

Your lucky you can take stone off the beach, we couldn't do it around here.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Fill to plough depth

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Bit late now but yiu should have piped and filled behind the digger

 

[glasshouse]

could you pipe that moisture to the east coast?

 

[west coast angus]

Bit late now but yiu should have piped and filled behind the digger

Your right!! But this was totally unplanned!! There has been a spring passing down on this field for years and I was tracking past and had a wee scratch, and before you know it I have dug a 170 meter Trench!! But I am glad I did now there is a lot of water running!!

 

[west coast angus]

could you pipe that moisture to the east coast?

O how I wish you could have some, we have had over 110 inches for the last 5 years!! Really taken its toll on the land!!

 

[CharcoalWally]

Don't even think about stone from the quarry. Gravel off the shore is what we use all the time and the same for all the farms around us. If you've got access to gravel rights it's "free" bar your time and diesel.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Problem is it may be to muddy now to lay the pipe if so yiu will have to stone under the pipe first

 

[Derrick Hughes]

I have my own stone, just dig a trench and run the stones rake up the side,

 

[glasshouse]

Even if you just fill the trench with stones and forget the pipe, it will drain it.
Thats how they did it before pipe was invented.

 

[Dry Rot]

I've seen peat cuttings in the islands through old drains in peat. They'd have dug a trench, then used the turfs off the top to form a sort of tent with pitched sides in the bottom of the trench, then back filled. Still working since The Clearances. I was told that after the crofters had drained the land, they were moved on again. No wonder they hate the landowners!