How to get a pasture to bare dirt?

[paulsharvey]

Sucks to see how much people want to take the lazy idiot route and use poison. I have been cultivating and growing crops for going on a decade and not once have I used that nasty stuff.

I believe you mean cheap and effective route. Shame on everyone who would suggest a cheap and effective method to do something. Now; if the OP had said he refused to use modern technology, yep, get you 4 mules and a turn plow, and turn it 3 times, and wait 3 seasons of rain to level it out.

Seeds are already there, and your best bet is to kill them with a herbicide. You Can turn plow them, but you will be fighting invasive/native vegs for years, and in the end, you'll resort to spot spraying at the least.

Use precautions, but herbicides are used on every road, sidewalk, farm (minus the 0.1% organic ones), ect. Be smart, but use the tools available.

 

[rScotty]

I have an acre of field grass. Its also lumpy and bumpy. I want to get rid of the grass and smooth the field with a box scraper. Kill the grass, run a disc over the field, then the scraper box, or??

Or kill the grass then turn it under with a two bottom plow?

33HP

I wouldn't use any chemicals; doing that limits future options. The best way is also he easiest: Just plow it and then disk it and then till it. You may have to do so several times regardless of what method you use.
That will give you the best long term results and make the best soil.

 

[Jrasband]

I believe you mean cheap and effective route. Shame on everyone who would suggest a cheap and effective method to do something. Now; if the OP had said he refused to use modern technology, yep, get you 4 mules and a turn plow, and turn it 3 times, and wait 3 seasons of rain to level it out.

Seeds are already there, and your best bet is to kill them with a herbicide. You Can turn plow them, but you will be fighting invasive/native vegs for years, and in the end, you'll resort to spot spraying at the least.

Use precautions, but herbicides are used on every road, sidewalk, farm (minus the 0.1% organic ones), ect. Be smart, but use the tools available.

your wrong!

 

[charlessenf]

I have an acre of field grass.

Googol'd you post title and go a million answers:

https://www.google.com/search?q=How+to+get+a+pasture+to+bare+dirt&oq=How+to+get+a+pasture+to+bare+dirt&aqs=chrome..69i57j33i160l2.3694j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Best I can determine the answer is "It depends."

 

[LD1]

The issue is the sod clumps. Even if you spray it and kill it.....try tilling it a month later and you are still fighting clumps of sod that will eventually break down and you will be right back to a lumpy yard in a year.

So if you want to spray.....I would suggest keeping it sprayed for a year to truly have bare dirt and not remnant vegetation that will cause issues.

The quickest way to get rid if the vegetation and have actually workable dirt is to turn it with a plow. And a 2-12 plow should work fine....and take about 2 hours to do the acre.

Then disc it with a harrow or drag behind, seed it, then cultipack or a light (store bought) water filled lawn roller.

Apply 24d for the first couple years if you want a clover/grass mix. 24d wont kill the clover unless you go really hot with it. But will kill most of the other undesirable broadleaf weeds in the yard. If you desire clover....stick to 24d and 24d alone. Anything with dicamba, MCPP, MCPA, triclopyr, etc will knock out your clover.

And while many dont like clover....it is a good compliment to grass. Grass needs nitrogen....clover puts nitrogen back into the soil lessening fertilizer need if you desire a green yard

 

[mra400ex]

Cut/Mow it short as you can. Then spray to kill it. If possible I have had success by burning all the old grass off. A chisel plow I have has broken the ground a little. Then till or disc. Like another post said, a disc (6 to 7 foot) behind our smaller tractors takes a lot of time because they don't have a lot of weight

 

[Fields_mj]

Anything with dicamba, MCPP, MCPA, triclopyr, etc will knock out your clover.

FWIW, Triclopyr normally doesn't kill clover unless you hit it pretty hard or use it every year. I've used it in the spring to kill Creeping Charly. It did a number on the clover, but didn't kill it. The clover didn't bloom that year, but has had no issues blooming since. If anything it probably restored a more healthy balance of grass/clover. I prefer to avoid chemicals when I can, but my patience has limits...

 

[bill karrer]

I never use a plow or disk and haven't for many years. Wether it's last year's garden or untouched grass sod, just take a good tiller to it. It would not hurt to mow the plot as close as you dare first. A good tiller will break up that sod, till it under and smooth at the same time. Yes, you will probably have to go over it more than once and then let it lay for a week or so. Go through your tilling process one more time and you will have a good seed bed. If you are looking for an acre of lawn, we are rapidly approaching the fall seeding time in many areas. Get that grass seed started and it will have a good start this fall. Next spring, your front line of weed control will be mowing the lawn. Mowing the grass actually encourages its growth which crowds out weeds and weeds don't respond well to being constantly mowed down.

 

[Fields_mj]

Sucks to see how much people want to take the lazy idiot route and use poison. I have been cultivating and growing crops for going on a decade and not once have I used that nasty stuff.

A friend/co-worker of mine is starting to go organic on his farm. This is his first year. He brought in 100 acres of winter wheat this summer. Yield was down 30% BUT so were the costs so his profit was the same. Those fields already have a reasonable amount of microbes and earth worms are already coming back in.

I wouldn't call chemicals the lazy route. If you want big yields, that's what you have to do. The problem is how most farmers measure progress/success. Historically the goal has been to maximize yields and Chemicals do that better than anything else, especially if you're doing no-till. The problem is that the better the yields are, the less the market pays for the crop, and the more Dupont and their friends charge for the chemicals. There's big money to be made, but the farmer doesn't end up getting to keep much of it. If we can shift the focus to minimizing cost, the profits can stay pretty close to the same in the near term, and go up in the long term as the land becomes more fertile on its own. It's hard to see yields drop by 30% and not feel like it was a bad year, but when your bank account says you made just as much money, it eases the pain

 

[dbritt]

Bring it here to Missouri for the summer. It will all be dead and dried up by the end of August.