Food plot implement choice

bushhog28 · Sep 21, 2015

Food plot implement choice. Couple acre plot, has stumps below grade.

Perfecta 10
or
Fred Cain field ripper

Do I need to run a cultipacker behind either one or both of these to prevent soil washing?

dusty3030 · Sep 21, 2015

If those are the two you have then use what you got, but hanging a stump just right with either will tear something up.

A conventional disk harrow would be better, it will ride up and over the stumps. A chain harrow or drag after the seed is sown to cover it up.
A cultipacker next will be best but not a have too.

If you have some high dollar clover or brassicas out there then I would lean towards cultipacker being a better bet than not using one. For cereal grains that are cheaper and higher seed rate just sow them a little thicker drag them under and be done with it.

jd870 · Sep 21, 2015

I would use a disk harrow for tillage.

bushhog28 · Sep 21, 2015

I have been looking into tandem/offset disc harrows, just not sure the discs will survive compared to a spring loaded ripper.

A HD tandem disk for my tractor is about 3-5k. A drawbar offset disk runs about 10-15k. 3pt offset about 5k, the Brown Mfg looks decent. Not that I'm to worried about price, I want to get the best implement I can for the job and not be tearing it up. Taking a 15k disc to stump ground has me a little concerned.

dusty3030 · Sep 21, 2015

Offset is overkill for food plots.
For a two acre plot I would go used tandem like this one -
630 John Deere Disk

bushhog28 · Sep 21, 2015

I plan to grade 30 acres with it later. Also has stumps below grade. I'm giving that area time to rot though, like atleast a few years.

mx1alex · Sep 21, 2015

Depends on what you want to plant. I've planted wheat/clover/turnips/radishes with just a spreader and timely rains on fields I burned down with glyphosate. Bigger seeded stuff like soybeans or corn you really need to get it in the ground a bit.

jeff9366 · Sep 21, 2015

dusty3030 said:
A conventional disk harrow would be better, it will ride up and over the stumps.

I have both a Dirt Dog All Purpose Plow/Field Cultivator and a heavy Monroe Tufline Disc Harrow. Behind a powerful tractor you are less likely to damage the Disc Harrow.

If I lived in North Carolina I would consider a Cultipacker and a Disc Harrow from everythingattachments.com

I have an ETA Cultipacker; there is nothing sophisticated about this implement from any supplier. ETA's Cultipacker is fine.

Food plot seeds are strong germinators. The ground does not require fine preparation. A soil test is advised for optimum germination rates.

rbtjr · Sep 21, 2015

I would love to hear how your planting turns out. For tillage I use a disc harrow. I did that on a 1/2 acre plot, then ran over it with a pulverizer to smooth it out, and planted clover. The clover came up well on about 3/4 of the plot--at least it looked that way-- but then I neglected it and the weeds took over. Obviously I don't know what to do to maintain the clover after it comes up and gets fairly well established--or maybe the problem was that it just looked pretty good but really wasn't well established.

mx1alex · Sep 21, 2015

rbtjr said:
I would love to hear how your planting turns out. For tillage I use a disc harrow. I did that on a 1/2 acre plot, then ran over it with a pulverizer to smooth it out, and planted clover. The clover came up well on about 3/4 of the plot--at least it looked that way-- but then I neglected it and the weeds took over. Obviously I don't know what to do to maintain the clover after it comes up and gets fairly well established--or maybe the problem was that it just looked pretty good but really wasn't well established.

Mowing is the best form of weed control for clover.

jeff9366 · Sep 21, 2015

bushhog28 said:
I plan to grade 30 acres with it later. Also has stumps below grade. I'm giving that area time to rot though, like atleast a few years.

Not a reasonble expectaton for a tractor, even a large, heavy tractor. For thirty acres hire a bulldozer and operator.

rbtjr · Sep 21, 2015

Aha. I just mowed the plot with the rotary mower, but I didn't mow very close to the ground. Any thoughts about that--i.e., in order to let the clover flourish, do I need to mow the plot low? Thanks.

mx1alex · Sep 21, 2015

You just want to clip the tops of the clover. It will knock down the weeds and encourage more growth from the clover thus out-competing the weeds.

rbtjr · Sep 21, 2015

Makes sense. Thanks.

bushhog28 · Sep 21, 2015

jeff9366 said:
Not a reasonble expectaton for a tractor, even a large, heavy tractor. For thirty acres hire a bulldozer and operator.

It will be years before i take my disk or whatever i buy to it. Stumps are 3 years old, might try a disk when they are 7 years old. So you think the ETA xtreme disk is the way to go with a cultipacker.

jeff9366 · Sep 21, 2015

I do not think a Disc Harrow will do anything to ameliorate stumps in less than 20 years unless the stump is soft and very porous wood.

Pine, Oak, Hickory, Gum, Bay will take longer than 20 years.

Disc Harrows are a form of tiller, for mixing soil. Incidentally to mixing, a Disc Harrow will level plow furrows. A Disc Harrow will not level dips, hills nor swales in ground.

For removing stumps or leveling thirty acres of uneven ground you need a bulldozer. Time is money. Make the land productive.

jeff9366 · Sep 21, 2015

bushhog28 said:
So you think the ETA xtreme disk is the way to go with a cultipacker.

I think buying from ETA most of the markup due a retail outlet/middle tier is eliminated. Freight on a heavy Disc Harrow from Ohio (Brown) or Mississippi (Monroe Tufline) to North Carolina could easily be $700, which would then be marked up as part of retail outlet's cost.

ETA is located in North Carolina. Freight from ETA is pretty low and included in price. ETA is a volume shipper.

bushhog28 · Sep 21, 2015

Forgot to mention, i have clay soil.

So what implements would you use to prep soil if there wernt stumps? Chisel plow and cultivator?

jeff9366 · Sep 21, 2015

bushhog28 said:
Forgot to mention, i have clay soil.

So what implements would you use to prep soil if there were NO stumps? Chisel plow and cultivator?

A Chisel Plow is a heavy duty Field Cultivator, more or less. It is a conservation plow. Not best for clay.

In most parts of North Carolina a moldboard (turning) plow would be used to "break" soil/sod mixture the first time, then a heavy Disc Harrow would be used for secondary tillage, with winter in between the two stages. Late winter/spring freeze thaw cycles help to break up clay. Disc Harrow reduces clods further. Disc Harrow with 9" pan spacing better for cutting. Disc Harrow with 7" spacing better for smoothing. For food plots, 9" spacing. This for commercial crops. Not required for food plots.

If field is tilled with a HEAVY Disc Harrow twice per year it may only require plowing once. In Florida, where two crops are normal and some get three crops of hay, Disc Harrows with 22" - 24" -26" pan diameter are the norm. Turning plows are around but seldom seen working. NOTE: Most of Florida has sandy-loam.

bushhog28 · Sep 21, 2015

So in clay,
Commercial No stumps... Plow, disk, cultipack

Food plot with stumps, disk, cultipack

I bet a plow would survive first pass better than a disc. Might just take me to first stump though.