Pea Rock Drainage Systems

Pea Rock Drainage Systems MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 33-5-35 Instead of plastic tile, Bernard Belanger used pea rock to drain some of the land on his 55-acre property near Birch Run, Mich. He uses a pull-type subsoiler to put a 4-in. dia. row of pea rock about 24 in. under the ground. The 2-wheeled subsoiler is equipped with a 55-gal. barrel that feeds rock down through a 1 1/2 in. wide by 6 in. long trough and into a 4-in. dia. "bullet" mounted behind the subsoiler's single shank. "This system is easier to use and quite a bit cheaper than tile," says Belanger. "A 311-ft. long run uses one yard of pea rock, which costs about $30. Tile costs about 33 cents per foot or $103 for the same run." He bought the big subsoiler about 40 years ago and used it for years to break up hardpan. About 10 years ago he replaced the steel wheels with rubber tires. He also added a 3-in. dia. hydraulic cylinder to replace the original rope trip lift system, a sheet metal trough, and welded the barrel on top to put pea rock in. Belanger uses a Deere R to pull it. "I used it on a low spot in my yard next to my driveway and it really helped. I also used it on my 150 by 100-ft. garden." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Bernard Belanger, 10839 E. Burt Rd., Birch Run, Mich. 48415 (ph 989 245-2273).

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