Disking up an old field

[LD1]

Need to see what you are starting with first, and also understand why you want to disc it.

IF you ONLY want to disc it to reseed it...maybe skip that step.....mow it all as low as you can.....spray it to kill everything....then reseed with a rented slice seeder.

If its rough and you just want to smooth it out, then discing may help. But a GOOD disc in todays market is gonna be ~$2000+. So I'd look for a good old disc. Look for tube frame and not angle-iron frame.

But I'd still consider killing everything first. Because discing isnt gonna kill any of the undesirable stuff and just spread the weed seeds around and probably make things worse.

For 8-acres.....a 2-12 plow would be a good match behind behind your L2501. And should be able to plow ~3/4-acre per hour. So it would be a long day....or a couple of short days. Then follow with the disc and have alot better results.

IF you still have the 1020 deere, it would probably do fine with a 3-12 or 3-14 plow. Then you could get up around 1.25 acres per hour and knock it out in a 6-hour day or so.

But again....all this advise is really hard to give without knowing in more detail just what the conditions are currently, and what the goal of the 8 acres is

 

[oosik]

I've tried tilling my virgin land with my Land Pride disk. No soap - it's simply too light an implement. And that's pulling it behind my [AFFILIATE=1, nofollow=true, newwindow=true, title="Kubota"]Kubota[/AFFILIATE] M6040. Plenty of tractor power/traction - just not enough disk weight. The correct disk would cost $6990 for an offset disk set from BrownAgri. And - Lord only knows what it would cost to ship it here to Ea WA State. It's not worth that much to me.

I just make doo with my bottom plow and LPGS. Plow first - then hit the area with scarifiers down on my LPGS.

 

[jeff9366]

My plan is still in the works, but I have found "Stephen's tractor" sells many parts for toolbars.

Another vender of toolbar components:

Buckeye Tractor Co -- Online

Manufacturer of specialty equipment for production of vegetables, fruit and flowers. Some nursury and landscaping applications.

www.buctraco.com

 

[Spike56]

Another vender of toolbar components:

Buckeye Tractor Co -- Online

Manufacturer of specialty equipment for production of vegetables, fruit and flowers. Some nursury and landscaping applications.

www.buctraco.com

Nice! Thanks. Will check out

 

[jeff9366]

Having bought my neighbors 8 acre field, one that adjoins my own, I:d like to disk it up and replant in pasture grass. This field had one horse for maybe 5 years but that was 20 years ago and has sat since in other than being mowed..

​

LD1​

Epic Contributor​

"For 8-acres.....a 2-12 plow would be a good match behind behind your L2501. And should be able to plow ~3/4-acre per hour. So it would be a long day....or a couple of short days. Then follow with the disc and have alot better results."

YES
The Disk Harrow is a secondary tillage tool. You are barely going to penetrate even moist soil with a light Disk after hooved animals have been on it several years.

You need to start with a Moldboard Plow or a relatively rare Disk Plow, which is not a Disc Harrow. Both are designed for primary tillage, inverting hard though moist soil.
A 12" width Moldboard Plow will plow 5" to 7" deep, depending on how your adjust your tractor's Three Point Hitch after the Moldboard Plow is mounted.

After plowing, go over the plowed ground with a Disk Harrow with at least 18" diameter pans, first in one direction, then at 45 degrees for the second pass, then 45 degrees in the opposite direction for the third pass, if necessary. A Disk Harrow is designed to flatten and level plowed fields WHEN PULLED OVER MOIST SOIL AT A BRISK PACE.

Once the soil is relatively level, consider using an All Purpose Plow, also known as a Field Cultivator to aerate your land 12" deep. An All Purpose plow will not ridge your newly level field appreciably.

Disc Harrow Selection For 18-45 Horsepower Tractors (Revision 2b)

Disc Harrows come in numerous types. However, for 18-45 horsepower tractors the three point hitch mounted, Tandem Disc Harrow, secondary tillage implement, is ubiquitous. Tandem Disc Harrows are manufactured in two structural types: Angle Iron Frame and Box Frame. Box Frame Disc Harrows are...

www.tractorbynet.com

ADJUSTING Three Point Hitch Mounted TANDEM DISC HARROWS

If you are considering the acquisition of a Disc Harrow, first read this LINK covering Disc Harrow selection: LINK: Disc Harrow Selection For 18-45 Horsepower Tractors (Revision 2b) The Three Point Hitch mounted Tandem Disc Harrow is a secondary tillage implement. The Disc Harrow is a...

www.tractorbynet.com

Dirt Dog - All Purpose Plow / Field Cultivator REVIEW + PICTURES

Dirt Dog All Purpose Plow / Field Cultivator Dirt Dog Model APP 66-5 Total Width 66", Working Width 62", Five Tines, Weight 284 Pounds, Paid $835.00 (2010) Field Cultivator: A Three Point Hitch mounted, secondary tillage implement, used to perform operations such as soil aeration...

www.tractorbynet.com

Reasons to plow: Along with making clean vegetation free soil for a seed bed you would be plowing down vegetation to rot and help fertilize as well as to keep the soil porous for drainage and water retention. The rotting vegetation attracts earth warms that help keep the soil porous and fertile. Soil with rotting vegetation lets the roots of the crop go deeper. Deeper roots will take on more nutrients for better yields as well as withstand dryer weather.


I know this ground has some rocks so I'd rather not plow.

A Moldboard Plow will work fine in a field with moderately disbursed stones to 5" or 6" in diameter. Boulders, however, are not good.

A Disk Plow will work fine in a field with moderate stones to 6" to 8" in diameter.
A Disk Plow should roll over MOST boulders.

 

[yubh8tn]

Another vender of toolbar components:

Buckeye Tractor Co -- Online

Manufacturer of specialty equipment for production of vegetables, fruit and flowers. Some nursury and landscaping applications.

www.buctraco.com

Great link. Thanks for that

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

I did what @jeff9366 recommended in his post above, 4 acres. Plowed with a single bottom 12", disced, used a field cultivator to get deep aeration/water retention. Broadcast seeded with a local grass and legume mix, ran a drag across the seeded area and let the freeze thaw cycle set the seed. worked pretty good.
Only had a couple of small areas that needed reseeding by hand.

 

[duffer]

The University of Southern California declared that the term “field work” has negative connotations for descendants of slavery

F 'em

I grew up farming "FIELDS" for various crops. Mainly hay, but some corn as well, plus another FIELD for Mom's garden. We didn't hire or have slaves, or hired hands of any type, we worked the fields ourselves.

Unbelievable what the world is turning into...

 

[Avenger]

Any kind of tilling you do will bring up rocks. In the Columbia Basin, where I grew up, people would ask us what crops we grew. Our answer was almost always 'rocks.'

Kidding aside, I looked at doing the exact same project on 10 acres with a 45hp tractor. Neighbors land was rough, and he wanted to turn it into a smooth park like grass field with trees and a pond. Fortunately, he decided to sell his property when the housing boom happened, almost got double than what he paid for the property. New owner has that field as a pasture and maintains it himself.

The advise I got was to find a local farmer, one who might have a plow and a disc. Ask him to plow the field and disc it it smooth. Since you are wanting to make this into pasture, no real need to turn the soil every year or even every 10 years. You simply want to 'start over' with what you want as to grasses. So don't go buy expensive tilling implements that your tractor will struggle to pull.

If the land is already semi smooth, hire someone with a no-till drill to come out and over-seed the land. 8 acres is nothing for some of these farmers. You didn't say where in WA you are, but most areas of WA are agriculture. There is a farmer nearby, and most are friendly and willing to help. Least, that has been my experiences farming in this state.

 

[Spike56]

Another vender of toolbar components:

Buckeye Tractor Co -- Online

Manufacturer of specialty equipment for production of vegetables, fruit and flowers. Some nursury and landscaping applications.

www.buctraco.com

Jeff, I wanted to thank-you again for the pointer to Buckeye Tractors. I was able to speak at length to someone there who set me straight on a few items. Mainly that my current toolbar (single) is not going to do the job. Being unfamiliar with the just what I needed this person probably saved me a lot of time/effort and $$. So, what I thought might work... will not perform / may not work.
This is an extremely part time effort for me. Just doing some research in hopes of having something by spring. And of course, I will admit, I only know enough to know, that I dont know.

 

[showcattle]

It's pasture ground, and I've done what you're wanting to do. I bought an old Ford 3 point, 6' disc for $800, run it over the areas I want to smooth out, and broadcast seed on it. I sometimes drag it with a piece of chain link fence after seeding. It works fine.

 

[5030]

Been reading along, not commenting however. If it was me, I'd chisel plow it first and then disc it.

 

[Spike56]

I am pleased the reference was helpful.

jeff9366

Jeff9366, yes, the reference it was very helpful. I have noted you have a lot of expertise in farming / tractors etc. After discussion with Buckeye Tractor and a local friend, I could use a few words of wisdom concerning tool bars and chisel plows. When I look these up for example, I see tool bars with a single bar (as is mine) and tool bars with multiple horizontal bars. I suppose they are considered / so named. But I am a little confused and have really basic questions. Other than the number of items you could mount on one, is there some benefits to having multiple rows of bars? The fellow at Buckeye Tractor seemed to imply this. I may not really comprehend the importance of the distance from the tractor rear to the implement.
Also on the chisel plows, I **really** see many differences on what people call a chisel plow?
Sorry for such basic questions, but a few words of wisdom could help my understanding here and avoid a bad decision on my part. As if that's possible.

I realize that everything is dependent here on what you are needing. I have a JD2355 tractor. All I am considering is a single configurable implement for small jobs mainly on my 8-acre hay field. These would be occasional only jobs such as, making a couple of furrows where I have to re-plant tifton tops (plant by hand). Drag something over hard pan soil (red clay) to cut slits in the soil for moisture to soak in some. Scratch in (disc lightly) overseed / rye for the fall. I by no means want to properly renovate with this piece of equipment which would require too heavy duty of an implement here. Years ago, I had a 5-shank renovator. There are places where the soil was looser, and I could get all 5 shanks in, but that was a miracle. So, I used (3) most often and in the harder soil the moisture had to be perfect.

Any comments are appreciated. Thank-you.

 

[jeff9366]

1. I see tool bars with a single bar and tool bars with multiple horizontal bars. But I am a little confused and have really basic questions. Other than the number of items you could mount on one, is there some benefits to having multiple rows of bars?

The greater length of a multiple tool bar implement, the smoother and leveler the output behind the implement will be after one pass.


2. Also on the chisel plows, I **really** see many differences on what people call a chisel plow?

Tractor and implement nomenclature is not very precise. To me, a chisel plow is a conservation plow with a heavy reset spring protecting each shank. For compact tractors other names for this implement are ALL PURPOSE PLOW and FIELD CULTIVATOR.
The English inventor (1936) of this implement, Harry Ferguson, called it a TILLER but that name is no longer used for this implement.

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I have a JD2355 tractor. ~~~2-WD or 4-WD?

John Deere 2355​

1987 - 1992 55 Utility Series Utility tractor

John Deere 2355 Power
Engine	64 hp 47.7 kW
Drawbar (claimed)	47 hp 35.0 kW
PTO (claimed)	55 hp 41.0 kW
Drawbar (tested)	46.7 hp 34.8 kW
PTO (tested)	55.9 hp 41.7 kW

John Deere 2355 Weight
2WD ROPS Shipping	5965 lbs 2705 kg
2WD cab Shipping	6945 lbs 3150 kg
4WD ROPS Shipping	6637 lbs 3010 kg
4WD cab Shipping	7552 lbs 3425 kg

3. I am considering is a single configurable implement for small jobs mainly on my 8-acre hay field. These would be occasional only jobs such as, making a couple of furrows where I have to re-plant tifton tops (plant by hand). Drag something over hard pan soil (red clay) to cut slits in the soil for moisture to soak in some. Scratch in (disc lightly) overseed / rye for the fall. I by no means want to properly renovate with this piece of equipment which would require too heavy duty of an implement here. Years ago, I had a 5-shank renovator. There are places where the soil was looser, and I could get all 5 shanks in, but that was a miracle. So, I used (3) most often and in the harder soil the moisture had to be perfect.

I recommend a $1,800 seven-shank (2-WD tractor) or $2,000 nine-shank (4-WD tractor), or 12-shank (4-WD tractor) All Purpose Plow as cost effective for your applications. Draw only when the soil moisture is perfect. (This assumes not too many rocks in your soil.)

Dirt Dog - All Purpose Plow / Field Cultivator REVIEW + PICTURES

Dirt Dog All Purpose Plow / Field Cultivator Dirt Dog Model APP 66-5 Total Width 66", Working Width 62", Five Tines, Weight 284 Pounds, Paid $835.00 (2010) Field Cultivator: A Three Point Hitch mounted, secondary tillage implement, used to perform operations such as soil aeration...

www.tractorbynet.com

All Purpose Plows - Bush Hog

bushhog.com

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[Spike56]

1. I see tool bars with a single bar and tool bars with multiple horizontal bars. But I am a little confused and have really basic questions. Other than the number of items you could mount on one, is there some benefits to having multiple rows of bars?

The greater length of a multiple tool bar implement, the smoother and leveler the output behind the implement will be after one pass.


2. Also on the chisel plows, I **really** see many differences on what people call a chisel plow?

Tractor and implement nomenclature is not very precise. To me, a chisel plow is a conservation plow with a heavy reset spring protecting each shank. For compact tractors other names for this implement are ALL PURPOSE PLOW and FIELD CULTIVATOR.
The English inventor (1936) of this implement, Harry Ferguson, called it a TILLER but that name is no longer used for this implement.

Attachments

• 
  Unknown-2.jpeg

  11.9 KB · Views: 326
• 
  Front Cover.jpg

  182.8 KB · Views: 316

I have a JD2355 tractor. ~~~2-WD or 4-WD?

John Deere 2355​

1987 - 1992 55 Utility Series Utility tractor

John Deere 2355 Power
Engine	64 hp 47.7 kW
Drawbar (claimed)	47 hp 35.0 kW
PTO (claimed)	55 hp 41.0 kW
Drawbar (tested)	46.7 hp 34.8 kW
PTO (tested)	55.9 hp 41.7 kW

John Deere 2355 Weight
2WD ROPS Shipping	5965 lbs 2705 kg
2WD cab Shipping	6945 lbs 3150 kg
4WD ROPS Shipping	6637 lbs 3010 kg
4WD cab Shipping	7552 lbs 3425 kg

3. I am considering is a single configurable implement for small jobs mainly on my 8-acre hay field. These would be occasional only jobs such as, making a couple of furrows where I have to re-plant tifton tops (plant by hand). Drag something over hard pan soil (red clay) to cut slits in the soil for moisture to soak in some. Scratch in (disc lightly) overseed / rye for the fall. I by no means want to properly renovate with this piece of equipment which would require too heavy duty of an implement here. Years ago, I had a 5-shank renovator. There are places where the soil was looser, and I could get all 5 shanks in, but that was a miracle. So, I used (3) most often and in the harder soil the moisture had to be perfect.

I recommend a $1,800 seven-shank (2-WD tractor) or $2,000 nine-shank (4-WD tractor), or 12-shank (4-WD tractor) All Purpose Plow as cost effective for your applications. Draw only when the soil moisture is perfect.

Dirt Dog - All Purpose Plow / Field Cultivator REVIEW + PICTURES

Dirt Dog All Purpose Plow / Field Cultivator Dirt Dog Model APP 66-5 Total Width 66", Working Width 62", Five Tines, Weight 284 Pounds, Paid $835.00 (2010) Field Cultivator: A Three Point Hitch mounted, secondary tillage implement, used to perform operations such as soil aeration...

www.tractorbynet.com

All Purpose Plows - Bush Hog

bushhog.com

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• 
  DSC00382.jpg

  1.2 MB · Views: 563

Jeff, my tractor is 2-wheel drive. FEL / Cab.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

30 HP tractor and 6' disc ? I can't make the math work out on that. We have a 5' tuffline disc we occasionally use with a 33 HP tractor. On a garden. If you got a 6' heavy enough to cut pasture, your tractor couldn't lift it. I'd use a 4' disc on un plowed ground. Then it's only a definite maybe at that.

 

[Ricn]

Wow, lots of great ideas from so many. Thanks a bunch for all the input ideas. I may end up ripping with my boxblade, drag off any rocks then rototill it all as I have those implements already. I can pick a small area to try out, see how it goes.

 

[oosik]

I've tilled three open fields on my property. I've used my LPGS with ripper teeth - I've used my moldboard plow then a disk set and finally a really heavy field cultivator. The LPGS with ripper teeth ended up producing the smoothest finish. Mainly because after ripping the pud out of the field - I drug it with the LPGS - teeth up.

 

[JCoastie]

Not a USC alumni. Don’t care what faculty there believes.

You should, since they receive tens of millions of federal tax dollars every year, that's money you and I pay to them thanks to uncle sam.

 

[Yander]

Years ago I had a 5 acre lot with no tractor and was borrowing my parents walk behind tiller to till about an acre at a time and seed it. I bought a boom sprayer and sprayed it with round up before tilling it. At one point, I had sprayed roundup to get a kill on the yard and then waited for the round up to work {7-10 days) during that period we were getting a lot of rain so I couldn't till until it dried up a little.

I left the grass in my seeder since I was using it regularly and one of my young sons found the seeder and decided to seed a long strip of that soil before I even tilled it. In fact, I didn't even know he did it.

A couple weeks later I saw this very nice stand of grass in a very long strip about the width of my seeder and I knew what had happened.

My point being, grass will grow with very little to no surface tillage at all. It needs a weed free environment so not competing and water. It will grow. There are even people who plant right on top of a late snow, say late March, and let the snow melt and create a moist cool environment for cool season grass to germinate. I've not done it but it seems like it would work.