Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Oct 15, 2010 9:13 am Wow have we had some rain down in Melbourne over night with lots more to come today and the weekend. Now I have booked in to hire a rotary hoe this weekend (have to book in a week in advance this time of year) but was wondering if it is worth it when it is going to be so wet... will I just be making a big muddy mess ? I am tilling a cubic meter of sandy loam and a cubic meter of compost (which have already being spread around by wheelbarrow) in my front yard to improve the hard rock clay soil. So should I get it done this weekend or better to hold off ? hearing about anyones experience of doing this sort of work in the wet would be much appreciated. Cheers Cozmo ______________________________ Building a PD Heywood 29 http://fromevetoeternity.blogspot.com/ Re: Tilling in the rain 3Oct 15, 2010 10:01 am A bit of rain doesn't worry me... guess it will help soften up the hard soil i have atm... what i dont want is big chunks of dirt .. I wanted to over and over the soil until it is allot finer (without going over board and making a powder) Cheers Cozmo ______________________________ Building a PD Heywood 29 http://fromevetoeternity.blogspot.com/ Re: Tilling in the rain 4Oct 15, 2010 10:28 am I'm in the same boat Cozmo, i cancelled my rotary hire and moved it to next weekend. If the clay gets to claggy it won't till. Wind/hail tomorrow with down pours, i just don't think its worth blowing $100 +, the soil will be in perfect tilling conditions next week. Re: Tilling in the rain 5Oct 15, 2010 2:06 pm Dont know what part of Melbourne you're from, but if you've got heavy clay like most of Melbourne, tilling wet/dense clay will not work too well.. I tried to till up my brother in laws property in berwick just after it poured and it was just digging up BIG clumps of clay and not breaking them down as it should.. it was also bogging the machine down something chronic. I agree with the above, next week will be perfect.. next weekend, the only outlook for rain is Friday and its at a low % at the moment... wait a week! Re: Tilling in the rain 6Oct 15, 2010 3:36 pm You guys are soft! Phhfft Hail get out there and do it! Na hold off if you can, the gluggy soil will give you the irrates and you will be up to your ears in mud with an awkward tiller not doing what you want it to and a mess happening and then you get mud stuck on the bottom of your boots and then walking like you are on the moon and wearing massive platforms! Then one boot gets stuck and there you are with one leg buried up to your knees and the other clothed in just a sock and somewhere around you with in one metre will be your platform boot buried playing hide and seek with you. I guess it would be the very moment a squall comes through and you are on one leg, a sock on the other foot getting bits of hail stinging your face and you would be soaked through and cold ... sorry My ears will be burning also as you start yelling words so foul about me that random lightning occurs all around and the sky darkens even more and you start getting a twitch in one eye as you go a bit crazy .... sorry Then you will go inside without the lost boot, and carefully place the remaining boot somewhere safe in the event you ever meet me so you can stick it right up my **&^ing bum! Then of course you'd go to have a nice hot shower only to find the kids have used all the hot water but you don't find that out till you just get in ... sorry Is there a towel? No it is wet from all the bloody rain!!!!!! ...sorry People will come over and see a tiller buried halfway in dried mud. They will ask about it and you will get that twitch again in your eye and punch them in the nose! ... sorry Then your closest friends will be concerned because you have some new art work hanging up around the house... Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Except the eyes will be scratched out on all of them So no just wait till next weekend Re: Tilling in the rain 7Oct 15, 2010 3:43 pm bahahahaahhaahhaha that is the best post I've seen from you Fu... gold mate, gold. Re: Tilling in the rain 8Oct 15, 2010 3:56 pm To plan your landscaping projects use this link http://radar.strikeone.net.au/?fuseacti ... playitem=4 Chop has done an awesome job of putting these up for everyone's use Click on the drop down bar where it says ECMWF (thta will show winds forecast over the next few days) Select COLA (It shows projected rainfall) and then click the words "view your selection" It's a bit better than what you will view on the BoM website Re: Tilling in the rain 9Oct 15, 2010 4:04 pm great link, I've bookmarked that one... thanks Fu looks like next saturday is perfect.. Re: Tilling in the rain 10Oct 15, 2010 4:16 pm Thanks for your replies! I really still want to do it this weekend as I will be working the next but i may just have to let it go maybe i will wake up in the morning and dig small hole to see how much the water has penetrated the ground (as it on a angle and water does not sit on it) and make a call then..... fu how did you know about my twitch Cheers Cozmo ______________________________ Building a PD Heywood 29 http://fromevetoeternity.blogspot.com/ Re: Tilling in the rain 11Oct 15, 2010 4:21 pm its not that bad a forecast.. Forecast for Saturday Cloudy. Scattered showers with possible hail. Possible morning snow about Mt Dandenong and Mt Macedon. Winds west to southwesterly averaging 20 to 35 km/h. Cheers Cozmo ______________________________ Building a PD Heywood 29 http://fromevetoeternity.blogspot.com/ Re: Tilling in the rain 12Oct 15, 2010 4:36 pm Its not the forecast thats the problem its the 30mm+ thats already fallen. Re: Tilling in the rain 14Oct 15, 2010 6:51 pm BeatrixKiddo Its not the forecast thats the problem its the 30mm+ thats already fallen. exactly! I have also heard that digging in really wet soil is bad as it compacts it and makes it awful and bad for plants! btw Fu - awesome post! 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: Tilling in the rain 15Oct 15, 2010 7:28 pm ahh yes Lisanne, that may well be true but remember that by using my methods, you won't risk that. Why because when using organic composts the goodies in that make the soil start to become friable and soft Yummy even And also the means and measures to maintain it that way. Go back to what you read in books commonly and compaction is exactly what can occur Stuff that Re: Tilling in the rain 16Oct 15, 2010 8:22 pm Nott This year seems quite abnormal right ? I also found that after so much rain, some plants were droopling a bit and shouted " No more drink, thank you!" Rainfall is a little above average it's more the below average temperatures and sunlight not allowing the soil to dry out and warm up. So it's very abnormal for the last 12 years of drought. Re: Tilling in the rain 17Oct 15, 2010 8:25 pm oh dear. You mean I was supposed to keep tilling 'til all the lumps( of pig poo/composted stuff) went away??? gulp! oh well too late now and the lawn is due next week. Re: Tilling in the rain 18Oct 16, 2010 11:19 am Yeah besides, tilling in the rain makes it hard to get the tiles to stick to the wall. Grouting is a real challenge..... Re: Tilling in the rain 19Oct 18, 2010 12:44 pm Well after all that fuss i went ahead anyway...and it turned out to be a sunny day ..... even got a little burnt (just a couple of light showers during the day lasting less than 5 minutes) As for the day the day before it had not soaked in all that much as the ground was too hard (the reason why I was tilling in the first place ) Cheers Cozmo ______________________________ Building a PD Heywood 29 http://fromevetoeternity.blogspot.com/ Re: Tilling in the rain 20Oct 19, 2010 2:20 pm My yard was slops, no chance of tilling it. I had over 50 mm of rain. Tilling this friday after a few days of mid 20 degree days. Hi, does anyone have any experience with using Trex rain escape or EPDM rubber to waterproof a deck so you have dry space underneath. 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