Cheap used disk or ? to revive & smooth 5 acres?

[Fallon]

I have 5 acres of property we got last summer. The previous renters seriously overgrazed the land. A lot of it was bare or taken over by weeds & some of it is rather rough. I've done a bunch of re-grading with my back blade & box blade already & have a bit more to unbury the back of my shop & generally to get water channeling away from it and the house, but have a bit to go.

I'm looking to end up with some reasonably smooth ground covered in native grasses. Low maintenance high prairie type stuff that I'll hit with the rotary cutter a couple times during the summer.

Would a small used disk, something like a cheap used 5' tandem disk work behind my L3200 (3,800lbs & 32hp) to get things sorted out enough to put down some seed & end up with some smooth field? Or am I going to need to look at a plow as well? I might be able to borrow a seed drill from a neighbor, but I need to track him down this spring & see what he has.

I'm a tool junky so am inclined to get more toys & do it myself, rather than hire it out or something, but if I'm looking at a reasonable amount of gear to get the desired results, that might be an option.

Any suggestions if I should try & grab a cheap used 5ish foot disk, or look at something else?

 

[whistlepig]

A used disc would work very well. Adjustable gangs are better. I found one for $100.00. With adjustable gangs you can adjust the pulling load to match your tractors size.

 

[2458n]

I feel that you have the right approach. The disk does not have to be three point. A wheeled disk can be adjusted for depth very easily. Behind the disk I would rig up some sort of drag- it could be as simple as a log and chain link fence. The more passes you make the better the results. The disk will pass over stumps and rocks rather than hooking on them and breaking something. If you buy it at scrap price you will not lose. Four row farming is a thing of the past so you should find a treasure cheap.

 

[R W]

I'd be inclined to go for a chisel plough first, especially if the ground is bare and on the hard side.

 

[Fallon]

I've already got a subsoiler & have been thinking about doing a pile of passes with that as well before disking or what not. The ground a foot down in most places is clay & has very poor drainage. I figure anything I can do to break things up & promote keeping water in the soil will help.

Not really any concerns about stumps here I'm east of Denver, where it's plains territory, not mountains & forrest. Not too many rocks either.

Any things to worry about on a used disk other than checking the bearings & wear on the disks? What will the maximum size disk that 32hp & 3800lbs can pull well be? 60"? 72"? I know a bit depends on the angle & size/number of the disks, but hope to be in the right ballpark when I find a cheap one.

 

[whistlepig]

Depends on how much you want to spend. Discs with a lot of wear have the disk plates of different diameter due to wear. Probably some bearing wear also. I have an ancient 7 1/2' disc that I pull with a 30 HP 1,700 pound B7800. This thing probably weighs about 700 pounds. It's all my B7800 can do and then some with the gangs set at full cut. But this disk will flat boil some ground. I only use it for a one acre food plot once every couple of years. For 5 acres it would tear my tractor up.

 

[jeff9366]

For native grass I do not think you will need to plow.

A Disc Harrow should give you enough prep for planting prairie grass, without a seed drill, if you drag the field to cover seeds and firm soil. Generally speaking, you need forty pounds bearing on each disc pan to be effective; this mean 18" diameter pans minimum.

More weight is better, meaning 20" pans, which are not only larger, but thicker, and should run on 1-1/8" axle. Twenty inch diameter will give you around 50 pounds bearing on each pan.

Towed Disc Harrows work soil a little better than Three Point Hitch mounted Disc Harrow, but they are less maneuverable and require more power to pull.

Three Point Hitch mounted Disc Harrows transfer quite a lot of their weight to the tractor through the Three Point Hitch, this gives improved traction which is the main benefit of the Three Point Hitch.

With towed/pull Disc Harrows all the Disc Harrow weight bears directly on the soil but you have less tractor traction.

Subsoiler pulled through areas that have standing water after rain is a good idea.

I have never used one, but you may also want to consider a Field Cultivator.

http://www.everythingattachments.com/Tractor-Ripper-Field-Cultivator-Tillage-Tool-s/6095.htm

A K&M Hay-King Renovator would be another option but seldom available used and pretty costly new.

http://www.hayking.com/Renovator.htm

An L3200 should pull any of above.



Here are some RENOVATE PASTURE threads from the T-B-N archive:

https://www.google.com/search?clien...sture+site:tractorbynet.com&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

 

[Ken45101]

A disk followed by landscape rake would be ideal. A disk followed by a section of chainlink fence with some logs on it would be a close second.

A landplane would also be great.

 

[Looking4new]

I've got a tandem set of disks (drag disks) or (horse drawn) I use behind a Farmall C (20 hp). I set them on full cut and the Farmall pulls them just dandy. In your situation I would run my tandem disks over the area 3 ways. Over the length of the field first, then across the field and lastly on the diagonal. If I didn't have my cultivators then I would drag the chain link fence behind with the logs on for the finish.

 

[gwdixon]

All good suggestions by the guys so far.

An offset pull disc seems to flatten better than a tandem disc in 3 point or offset. (A offset 3 point will want to spin a lighter tractor.) For your HP, a 6' should be fine while a 7' would likely require gearing down quite a bit.

It sounds like the disc will only be used once to prepare the soil for "permanent pasture" so getting one cheaply and selling it soon after use might be a plan. In that case, bearings and disc wear are not so much an important factor. Just keep it greased.

After discing, as others have said, you'll need to drag the area to make it nice and flat for mowing in the future. Lots of different ways to accomplish it. I use an old harrow that has a 6" drill pipe welded to the front and a 3/4" chain welded to the rear for smoothing.

Then the field is dressed with a cultipacker. The clultipacker is also useful for going over seed when planting. The ground can be made to look quite impressive.