chisel plows

sevilla · Oct 12, 2006

Hi everybody, I recently purchased a Kubota 3830. I'm satisfied with it although I have no term of comparison: this is my first tractor. My goal is to return to farming or grazing a few acres which have been abandoned for decades. So far I cleared a little portion and I would like to plow it before winter cames. The soil is rather rocky and now it has been compacted by my tractor. To start I intend to seed some grains and vegetables. Is a chisel plow a good tool for the purpose? I'm not interested in speed and given the small size of the lot I was thinking at a 5ft chisel plow. Which is a reliable souce of durable chisel plows? Any suggestion is very welcome. Thank you very much.

RonR · Oct 12, 2006

Depending on where you live, how soon you need it, and your skill level, you might hit some farm auctions and buy a 10'-14' chisel plow. Then either just take some shanks off, and pull it as is, or cut it apart and make 2 or more 3PH chisel plows.

A few yrs ago, I needed a small chisel. Went to a farm sale and bought a 12' pull type chisel for $40. While at the sale, sold the 2 two ft extensions to a guy that wanted them for $20.

Cut the chisel apart, kept enough to make a 6ft, 3pt chisel for me, and sold the rest for scrap for $20.

It worked great for me!

Ron

BobG_in_VA · Oct 12, 2006

sevilla said:
Hi everybody, I recently purchased a Kubota 3830. I'm satisfied with it although I have no term of comparison: this is my first tractor. My goal is to return to farming or grazing a few acres which have been abandoned for decades. So far I cleared a little portion and I would like to plow it before winter cames. The soil is rather rocky and now it has been compacted by my tractor. To start I intend to seed some grains and vegetables. Is a chisel plow a good tool for the purpose? I'm not interested in speed and given the small size of the lot I was thinking at a 5ft chisel plow. Which is a reliable souce of durable chisel plows? Any suggestion is very welcome. Thank you very much.

Question: Are you speaking of a cultivator or a REAL Chisel plow. Around here you need about 15 to 18HP per chisel if you intend to pull it at 12" or so depth. If you have rocky ground, you may want to keep it to 2 chisels to start. The other adice is good. Go to a farm auction, pick up a decent one and take off the excess chisels and keep them as sooner or later you will need some spares. BobG in VA

Farmwithjunk · Oct 13, 2006

sevilla said:
Hi everybody, I recently purchased a Kubota 3830. I'm satisfied with it although I have no term of comparison: this is my first tractor. My goal is to return to farming or grazing a few acres which have been abandoned for decades. So far I cleared a little portion and I would like to plow it before winter cames. The soil is rather rocky and now it has been compacted by my tractor. To start I intend to seed some grains and vegetables. Is a chisel plow a good tool for the purpose? I'm not interested in speed and given the small size of the lot I was thinking at a 5ft chisel plow. Which is a reliable souce of durable chisel plows? Any suggestion is very welcome. Thank you very much.

A few years back, I had a 4250 Deere (110 HP) with MFWD. I bought a 7-shank DMI chisel plow. In our hard clay based soil, it gave that tractor ALL it wanted.

Not one doubt though, that a chisel plow will improve compacted soil dramatically. Drainage improves as a result.

One of the conditions that makes a chisel plow do its thing is ground speed. I'm not talking road gear, but crawling along in LOW gear doesn't quite get it either. You won't get much of any soil "shattering". 4 to 5 MPH seems to be about the best speed.

The style of points on a chisel plow makes a huge difference too. Straight points pull hard. Twisted points pull like you're tied to a tree.

One thing you might consider to make pulling a chisel plow posssible. (IF you get one small enough) Plow at 3" or 4" deep. Then go back over the same ground (maybe at a different angle) 6" or 8" deep. Then again at 12". Keep dropping deeper until you reach the desired depth. That may allow you to plow at a fair ground speed AND pull a plow that's at least as wide as your tractor.

Yet another option. A subsoiler.

RonR · Oct 13, 2006

Farm,

I think you are right on with the description about pulling chisel shanks/points. My observation with my 22HP CUT is that the box blade scarifiers pull MUCH easier. I lose traction before I lose power pulling scarifiers down on a 5ft box blade. Granted, they are maybe only 6" deep.

Someday, I plan to build a toolbar that I can mount the scarifiers on that will allow them to go deeper (without the box blade).

It would take more trips to get the same effect as a chisel plow, but I believe you could get there with scarfiers and be able to pull it with less HP.

My two cents.

ron

LoneCowboy · Oct 13, 2006

+1 on the subsoiler

I do a lot of tilling for people and of course before tilling you need to rip the ground up (or you tear up your tiller). I used the box blade scarifiers for a while, but they don't really get deep enough and break that hardpan layer.

What i bought is this.
a Landpride 5' scarifier

Land Pride SF25 Series Scarifier
http://www.landpride.com/images/images_sf/sf25_2.jpg[/img}

Gets down a good solid 12 inches. And as an earlier poster stated, it gives a 33hp MF ALL it can handle. I have been stopped dead a couple times. But man, does it do a job. I've brought up stuff in gardens that have been tilled for years that no one has ever seen (concrete fencepost casings, huge rocks, etc). Doing it in passes helps (4", 8", 12")

A 2 bottom plow might get deep enough for you too. But I think the subsoiler is the best solution to your problem.

sevilla · Oct 13, 2006

Thanks everyone, One point I have is that I'm very new at this therefore I can get confused easily. What is the difference from a chisel plow and a cultivator? Thank you again.