How to get a pasture to bare dirt?

[Yander]

Question: How quickly are you wanting this done. If you are not in a hurry, plow it now or this fall and let it mellow through the winter and hit it with a disc and a drag in the spring. Seed it as early in the spring as you can, assuming cool season grass.

If you want it done this summer, then I agree with the glyphosphate comments. Just do not mow it before you spray it and give it at least 10 days to completely kill things before you start working the soil.

Either way will work. They have been tried and true methods by farmers and wanna be farmers for decades.

 

[paulsharvey]

Also, if you want this acre dead dead, 2-4D and glysophate will kill the plants, but not seeds, and you will have new growth pretty quickly. If you want the vegetation to stay dead, look at some of the sprays meant for fence line control. Some of those will kill everything down for months, and prevent seed from germinating. Don't use it if you want a garden/lawn/food plot.

 

[Jrasband]

overgraze it than go over it with a disker over the course of 10 days until the field is brown than plant with a no till. How lumpy is the field? What made the field lumpy do you know? A disker will smooth out small bumps. You do not need to get the field to bare dirt to plant it with a drill, a little mulch on top if fine.

I do not like to use and "cides" as they are poison and I do not want to put anymore poison in my body. They are completely unnecessary and are very harmful for all life.

 

[paulsharvey]

If you rototill, and don't compact it back down, you will develop ruts again, depending on soil type. So, if you are replanting, and you till and then plant in the same direction, I think after a few good rains, you will see your prefect smooth area has settling in areas.

All of this depends on if you are replanting, and how/what you replant. If you have a tiller and really fluff the ground up, and want grass, your going to need to either cultipak or track everything in before planting grass, or you wont get good/even germination, and you will get settling in areas.

 

[jeff9366]

And weighed more than 2500 lbs.

Ford 8N​

Mechanical

Two-wheel drive

Ford 8N Weight
Shipping	2,410 lbs 1093 kg
Operating	2,717 lbs 1232 kg

 

[paulsharvey]

I dont know I've ever seen an 8N or Ford NAA that didn't have filled or weighted wheels or tubes; so that's about another 600 lbs over that 2700 pound operating weight.

Also, I think a lot of us over estimate or have rose colored glasses on some of that old equipment. It was (well, not really in a lot of Fords cases) cutting edge in 1940; but a equal HP/weight/tired machine of today would out work the 8N. Just most of today's 25-30hp machines have too small of wheels/tires, and many times the wrong type of tires, for proper field work.

 

[bsekf]

Mixture of Roundup and 2,4d. (you will need 25 gal of herbicide mix per acre) Let it burn down and disc with a weighted disk and drag something heavy behind the disc. Adjust disc for aggressive cutting. You may have to make several passes.
Next spring hit it with the herbicide mix again, let it burn down then sow seed and cultipack. Then pray for rain! (I presume you will replant grass seed)

Every time you disturb the soil you will get weed seed sprouting and will need to address them.

 

[Yander]

Round up will give you a total kill if applied right. Save the 2-4D for later in the year when the grass, you just seeded, is established (at least 2 or 3 months) and the broadleaf are trying to compete with the grasses. It will compete until your grass is thick enough to choke out most broadleaf.

Then just apply 2-4D (I just use Amine from TSC or rural king) yearly in first week of Sept. to control the Dandi's. Dandelions are taking in nutrients, to store through the winter, in the fall. You will then be virtually dandelion free in the spring and can spot spray any that come up in spring.

 

[whitravis]

A lot of farmers would just turn it with a one bottom plow. Let it sit for the grass to die a bit and then disc it. I have reservations that 33hp will handle a two bottom plow.

Appreciated!

 

[whitravis]

Appreciate lots of good answers here. Only equopmen I have is a brush hog. I can rent other equipment. Plan is to use the area as a lawn where kids can run around and not twist an ankle. Will use a different species than the field grass there now. Wondering about clover as low maintenace