Farming for Beginners - equipment questions

[Jsheds]

I've been reading the forums here for many years and appreciate all the help and experience offered, but I've still got quetions. I'm not new to tractors, but have no experience with farming beyond a small backyard garden. I have about 10 tillable acres in northeast PA that I would like to experiment with. It's been more than 10 years since the soil has been worked. I've been keeping the weeds and small brush mowed and did try roto tilling some small patches last spring, but even with the tractor mounted tiller, the sod layer made for slow going. The soil is pretty good, not sandy, but no clay either however there are a LOT of fist to grapefruit sized stones. What I would like to do this year is plow the fields to turn the sod over and disc then plant.

I have a Ford model 1910 4WD tractor with a loader and ag tires. It's about 30 engine horsepwer. The Ford literature says that this tractor will pull a 2 bottom plow, but doesn't say what size. Anybody know what size plow I can pull with this tractor? I was guessing a 2-12" or 2-14" but would like more than a guess before I spend money on a plow that I can't pull. Will I need coulters to cut the sod to be able to plow these old fields? What about trip shanks for the stones? I would like to have a bigger tractor, but I don't for now. So what can I realisticly do with what I have?

My other question is about planters. I would like to be able to plant corn, sunflowers, pumpkins, beans as well as some some smaller seeds like radishes. I've read every thread I can find on planters, but I'm still lost. What would be a good fit for my tractor? I would like to be able to place fertilizer at the same time as planting, and realize that maybe one planter can't plant all the seeds I want to use. I'm looking for a simple machine that is easy to maintain with good parts avilability. I see Ford 309's, JD 290's, MF 039's etc. Will one of these do what I need? Or would I be better off looking at a new planter from Cole or Yetter or someone else? How big of a planter can I use with this tractor? I see a lot of 4-row pull type planters for sale for less than a 2-row 3-point, but don't know if I could use one of those or not?

Thanks for your help!

 

[nybirdman]

I started with a L3130 Kubota(31hp),pulled a 2/12 Dearborn plow with no problem.It doesn't have shears(that would be nice but using what I have).
Any planter you find is going to be very expensive.You may want to look at a three point spreader for fertilizer and food plot seed.The garden stuff either plant by hand or use a walk behind type seeder.
I plow,roto-till,plant and use an old spring tooth harrow to cover(food plots)

 

[samhudson3]

You may want to check out this garden seeder first:
EarthWay :: Product :: 1001-B Precision Garden Seeder

I plant a huge garden with this and it works like a champ. Price is right.

 

[randy41]

i would plow and disk to start off as you mention. i can pull a 2/14 with a 1710 4wd. its a struggle in dry sod. you've got a few more horses so you should be ok. it has no coulters.

 

[Jsheds]

I have the Earthway seeder and it works great on my small garden, but it doesn't get along well with stones and I'm lloking to plant several acres. I tried the push seeder last year and it didn't work well at all in the field. The biggest problem seemed to be the stones and trash from roto-tilling (roots, stems etc.) I couldn't get good seed placement or coverage on the seed. I had to go back through and cover everything afterwards. The push seeds was just to lightweight to work well in those condtions.

 

[Jsheds]

i would plow and disk to start off as you mention. i can pull a 2/14 with a 1710 4wd. its a struggle in dry sod. you've got a few more horses so you should be ok. it has no coulters.

Thanks, that's what I wanted to know. The 2-14's are pretty easy to find around here, so that's what I was hoping for.

 

[Carl_NH]

If you can find the 2/14 with coulters that is best to cut thru sod and roots rather than tearing the roots.

As far as the trip plow, I used both, and unless you have big rocks 10" below ground they dont trip usually but if you can get a plow with coulters and trip setup thats great.

For planters two row are likely more popular for smaller acreages as if you get a 4 row and only use two of the four rows you will either have a wide spacing between rows using 1 & 4 or 1 & 2 you will be driving over the ground again. I think for your acreage 2 row would be better.

For the different seeds corn-sunflower - beans you will need different seed discs in the planter so find a planter that accepts different plates.

On the fertilizer most of the planters have large fertilizer bins but if used they will usually require some tweaking due to corrosion over the years of use.

 

[slowzuki]

Little rocks like that won't trip a plow so you won't need that style. All seeders won't like rocks laying on top or roots etc. An old 2 row plate type planter is your best bet although they don't do small seeds. Aren't radish seeds small like grass seed? If so maybe broadcast and roll or harrow them in? Don't have any experience with them yet but got a call from a friend to plant some as cover crop next spring with the brillion seeder.

 

[kansas john deere]

A good rule of thumb for a plow is for every inch of plow in the ground you will need 1 hp. So if you find a double 14in plow you will use 28 hp.on average. :thumbsup:

 

[Jsheds]

Thanks guys. It's easy to find a plow with trip beams or coulters, but not usually both. It sounds like I need the coulters for the roots but the trips aren't all that critical for the soil I have.

I see quite a few 2-row planters and it seems like the plates are available either used or aftermarket for most of them. I didn't think i'd find a corn style planter that would plant the tiny radish seeds, but you never know until you ask. Are there any planter brands that you would recommend or stay away from? What about 'plateless' planters?

 

[slowzuki]

Re roots, if they are bigger than your pinky they are going to need to be gathered with a spring tooth harrow or landscape rake etc. I had a 2" softwood tree root hook a bottom while plowing with a 160 hp tractor and it stopped it dead.

Coulters are for cutting through clumps of sod, straw and stalks, not wood.

 

[flusher]

Like you, I started with a small parcel of flat pastureland (6 acres out of 10 on my place). I mowed the weeds as short as possible with my 6 ft brush hog and 2008 Mahindra 5525 (54 hp engine, 45 hp pto). Then plowed with a 6.5 ft wide offset disc with a DIY drag attached (a piece of chain link fence with some concrete paver blocks for added weight) going over the ground three times.



The first year I planted Kanota oats. The seedbed wasn't perfect (quite a bit of trash on the surface) but I had to live with that because my soil is thin gravely loam and not suitable for turning over with a moldboard plow (which just flips the bad soil to the top and buries what good topsoil I have)



I planted oats with an old 10-ft wide Minneapolis Moline P3-6 grain drill that I restored



got pretty good germination



and a pretty good stand of oats



This year I planted two acres of a Lana vetch/annual ryegrass mix, two acres of Austrian winter peas and two acres of bell beans. I used a DIY drop seeder for the vetch/ryegrass



and a 2-row JD 71 Flexi planter for the bell beans. I broadcast the peas and used a cultipacker to press the seeds into the soil.

[ATTACH]245215[/ATTACH]

 

[Jsheds]

Re roots, if they are bigger than your pinky they are going to need to be gathered with a spring tooth harrow or landscape rake etc. I had a 2" softwood tree root hook a bottom while plowing with a 160 hp tractor and it stopped it dead.

Coulters are for cutting through clumps of sod, straw and stalks, not wood.

The only roots I have to deal with are from the weeds that have been growing there for 10 plus years, mostly goldenrod. There were a few aspen ssedling the first time I mowed, but they were very small. When I tried roto tilling last year, I had a very hard time getting throough the thick sod layer with the tiller. From what I've read here, the coulters should cut through that to let the plow flip the soil easier.

 

[Jsheds]

Flusher, what is the planter in the second last picture?

 

[flusher]

Flusher, what is the planter in the second last picture?

That's a 10-ft wide DIY drop seeder I made a few months ago. I salvaged a pair of John Deere grass seed boxes from a old Minneapolis Moline P3-6 grain drill. Welded up a frame from square tubing to attach to the 3pt hitch. Made a 2-bounce seed chute to spread the seed evenly in a line. Added sprockets, axles, chains and drive wheels.



I included a hitch so I can attach my cultipacker to the seeder and do the seeding/packing in one pass.

 

[300UGUY]

I had a 2 - 16 eagle hitch plow that worked great. I had a Ford 309 planter, but plates are very expensive. I now have a JD70, and the plates are easier to come by, and cheaper.

 

[Herkypilot]

That's a 10-ft wide DIY drop seeder I made a few months ago. I salvaged a pair of John Deere grass seed boxes from a old Minneapolis Moline P3-6 grain drill. Welded up a frame from square tubing to attach to the 3pt hitch. Made a 2-bounce seed chute to spread the seed evenly in a line. Added sprockets, axles, chains and drive wheels.

View attachment 245370View attachment 245371

I included a hitch so I can attach my cultipacker to the seeder and do the seeding/packing in one pass.

Very nice!

 

[Briar Hill Brittanys]

That's a 10-ft wide DIY drop seeder I made a few months ago. I salvaged a pair of John Deere grass seed boxes from a old Minneapolis Moline P3-6 grain drill. Welded up a frame from square tubing to attach to the 3pt hitch. Made a 2-bounce seed chute to spread the seed evenly in a line. Added sprockets, axles, chains and drive wheels.

View attachment 245370View attachment 245371

I included a hitch so I can attach my cultipacker to the seeder and do the seeding/packing in one pass.

Dude, great idea. :thumbsup: Adding it to my "bucket list" of implement builds. Mark

 

[HCJtractor]

I would never buy a plow without trip protection. If faced with having either coulters or trip protection, I would choose the protection. My first plow was a Dearborn two bottom that I carefully restored, used it for less than two hours , snagged a rock and broke the frame bolts. Fixed it again, and immediately had the same thing happen but this time bent the frame. I replaced it with a Ford three bottom with shear pins and it works great. It has no coulters and they really don't seem necessary, especially if you cut (bush hog) the field first as low as possible. Or you can also Roundup first to kill everything. I have found that a field that has been sprayed will plow much easier. That being said, I usually don't do that, but at least cut every thing first. You may not have rocks big enough to damage your plow, but why take that chance. By the way, I break shear pins regularly. I probably go through a half dozen when I plow my food plots. It's no big deal to replace them, as it only takes a few seconds.

 

[FarmerG]

I'm the opposite. If your field isn't just full of rock, I would buy the plow with the coulters every time. Coulters are invaluable for keeping trash from collecting on your plow. Believe me, when u have to jump down and clean the trash out from the hook on your plow for the 20th time in 2 hours, you will be glad you figured out how to use and adjust your coulters.

Also, draft control is your friend. If you only have position control, then a trip plow might be the way go. (I don't even know how to plow without draft control, it would be awful) Position control is great for blading, scraping ,brush hogging, etc.....but for anything like plowing or disking, draft control is your answer. I turn out an occasional rock that is softball size or bigger in one of my fields, and have two really rocky spots, and my family has been using the same 2 bottom plow since we bought a tractor in 1952. The awesome part of DC is that it floats the plow in the ground and adjusts its depth automatically depending on what you encounter. If I hit a big rock, the plow jumps out of the ground, or at least floats right over it.

Trash is my enemy with plowing. If you cut your fields first, give them some time to rot the trash down before you start plowing (usually 2-3 wks) I can flip over sod with foot tall grass or higher all day long without stopping, but give me a bunch of weed trash in a field (johnson grass residue is the worst) and it will take me twice as long to get the field done.

Good luck!