Trenching With a Plow

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Trenching With a Plow

tractor with plow at steep angle
tractor starting to create trench with plow
evenly dug trench running to pond in the background

Introduction: This interesting information came from one of the discussion forums here at YT. We thought we should place it up front so it could be read by anyone interested in putting old iron to work. [Editor]


I tried something new today, and it worked so well I thought I should post it - in case it might help someone else.

I'm running 100 yards of 4" drain pipe from the gutter downspouts of our house to a pond down the hill. This should help keep the pond topped up, even in dry years like this one. Water won't be standing in the pipe as it's about a 1-in-6 slope, so the pipe doesn't need to be buried very deep. I was going to rent a Ditch Witch or backhoe, then I remembered "the old plow".

I got this homemade two-bottom plow for $50 a few years ago, and it's great for plowing the garden. The plow blades are stamped "Oliver" and someone welded it up to a drawbar, fixed it to work on a three-point hitch, and painted it JD green (yeah, I know, I gotta do something about that someday).

Anyway, I found that by shortening my top link all the way, I could dig a trench 12" deep with the front blade. If I had removed the back blade, it would have gone 6" deeper, but I didn't need it that deep. I went over it several times, and as the pictures show, it really worked slick (even in this rocky ground). I got the whole thing dug and the pipe in, by myself, all in one day. Something else the 8N will do - there's just no end to it! :>) Sam


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