New Garden, First Attempt at Plowing

[yeagisyeag]

Well, I finally got to drop my plow into the dirt! Can't say it went exactly as planned, but I'll still label it a success...

To start off, I found some poison ivy in the sod where I wanted to put in a new garden at our property. So, I used my dirt scoop on 2 different occasions to remove the sod. Like a few have mentioned before, I did have problems with traction using my turf tires, even with chains installed.

This morning, I took my plow out for some fun. It is a Dearborn 2 bottom 12" that I removed the front plow from. I will say that this plow pretty much bullied my little B7100! That's the word I'll use, bullied. I couldn't keep a straight line to save my butt, that plow was yanking the rear end to the left something fierce! Traction was a significant problem.

Even though it was still a bit wet, I managed to turn over most of the soil. I think I'll try going back over it when it dries up a bit more. I will use a borrowed troybilt tiller to finish things off, just will be at the mercy of the weather for any more work. Rain is in the forecast from Thursday to Saturday. Good thing it's not really safe to plant yet.....

I'm attaching a few photos, I planned on taking a video but it was a pretty amateur event, didn't think I wanted any more evidence.....

Would there be a problem with plowing this again? I thought I would go over it a few more times to get things broken up a little more. There are also some areas where I had to raise the plow because of traction, so some places aren't broken up as well as others.

Jim

 

[NSBound]

Well, I finally got to drop my plow into the dirt! Can't say it went exactly as planned, but I'll still label it a success...

Jim

Jim, when I finally get my first tractor, soon, if my first attempt looks like yours, I'll be really happy! I bet the more you play the better it'll work, and I wouldn't hesitate to go over that again. I'll be waiting for the after-tilling photos, I bet they'll look like a professionally tended garden plot!! Good job!

 

[js5020]

Well Im sure it was an experience for ya, and not to bad a job for a first timer. You probably would have been better off removing the rear bottom and keeping the front one and moving your tires around to get away from the furrow, using the back bottom probably got the draft on the machine way outta whack and caused the major drag, the bottom should be close to the center of the tractor and then you move the tires in or out to obtain the proper distance for the bottom to take the right size cut. As far as going back over it well you are gonna have issues with that as the sod is all loose and will just push and wont roll under, might be a mess.

 

[ampsucker]

looks to me like you have the jist of it!

if it were me, i would lay on some organics (compost, manure, dead leaves, etc.) and then turn that under by plowing perpendicular to the direction you already went. that will help bury the sod and also give you a chance to further break up the strips under the spoils from the furrows you just plowed.

then hit it all with a tiller.

there are several good threads on plow adjustment. do a search. a decent plow with a good adjustment should glide pretty well through the soil. it also shouldn't push the tractor side to side too much unless you hit something major. i'm thinking you don't have your geometry correct when the plow is all the way down and that is why you are getting pushed around.

one adjustment trick that helped me is to put the ground side wheel (as opposed to the one that rides in the previously plowed furrow - in your case, the left side is ground side and right side is furrow side) up on a board the depth the plow can dig. so, for example, a 12 inch plow can dig about six inches deep so put the left side wheels of your tractor on a 6x6 or equivalent piece of lumber. then adjust your plow behind the tractor so the plowshare is more or less level with the ground. that will get you close. then tweek it in the field.

also make sure you hitch will allow the plow to dig a full six inches below the ground level wheel.

good luck and happy farming!

amp

 

[JDeerekid]

I second what JS5020 said. With taking the front plow off you will never be able to track right with the rear plow. I would put the front plow back on and run it with like normal with both bottoms. If it doesnt work then try taking the rear plow off. You need to be able to put the rear right tire in the furrow and still cut right.

I wouldnt plow it again as you will make a mess and still not get any better results. I would just go ahead and till it.

 

[greenmule]

Yeah,adjust the plow for level after your one side is in furrow[if you can],you also got to adjust it side to side,[if you can],so's it cuts in right spot,need to play with that part a little.
And the reason it looks like that[well],is cause you were not able to go at a fast enough speed to turn over right,[well,maybe],looks like you were raising and lowering it as you got stuck.Practice makes better,but you got to have the right plow for machine and have it set up right.

 

[ToadHill]

Not bad considering you haven't plowed before and as other people said, you should use the front plow and remove the rear if you want to follow the furrow with your right tires.

I"m suprised the 7100 did as well as it did in what looks like very wet ground. Wet ground will make plowing at least twice as difficult.

Before you break your back with a tiller, let the ground dry out and make a drag out of something ( I use an old metal bedspring with some cement blocks on it) and run it around the garden, It"ll break up the soil and you may not even need the tiller.

 

[yeagisyeag]

Thanks all for the well wishes and advice.

I think this plow was made for a much bigger tractor, for a couple of reasons:

First, it is pretty tall when out of the ground, so much so that my 3pt barely keeps the share from hitting the ground. Actually, when I was turning around, it was dragging in some cases.

Next, and the reason why I removed the front bottom, is the frame from the front bottom actually hit one of my lower 3pt arms. It extended forward quite a bit. I've got a photo from when I first bought it that I'll post.

On another note, I mowed the property for the first time today, and am pretty jazzed about that. 2.5 hours of mowing and my Kubota barely used half a tank of fuel!

Jim

 

[Stimw]

I bought a small plow a few years ago and I googled how to plow and came up with directions!! And a lot of info I never would have considered.
One term that is used for plowing is "Suck" , it refers to the angle of the plow to the ground. Too much suck and the plow will porpose, not enough and it will keep coming out of the ground.
When everything is ajusted you just run your front tire in the furrow you just cut and if it is straight all the rest will be.
If you have the time before you have to plant I would wait a couple weeks giving the sod time to start rotting and then turn it again.
Something else that I have figured out is the more times you till and plant your garden area the better the soil texture becomes. I have been working my same area for 8 years now and my soil just keeps getting smoother and richer. Any manure or compost that you can keep working in really helps.

 

[cruzer]

Looking at the picture with both plows it looks like the front plow could be moved back by adding a couple holes were needed to bolt it up to the frame.

Stew

 

[Ford850]

Jim,
I think it would plow better if you can get the bottom back to the line where the front bottom used to be. And I think you can do it fairly easily by swapping the main beam and the 'Z' bar, side for side, as it sits now. First remove the main beam with coulter, bottom, and tail wheel attached. Then remove the heavy Z-shaped support. Now attach the main beam the to right side of the frame where the support was (next to your angle iron). And flip the Z support so it attaches to the left side of the frame and comes across to the right to connect to the rear of the beam. You'll end up with the bottom on the right side, but not have the front of the beam in the way of the 3ph. It sure looks like you could do that by removing 4 or 5 bolts. That would eliminate the side force on the tractor I think. Good luck.

 

[2manyrocks]

My Mother used to raise a large garden and she always said not to work the garden when it was wet because it made hard clumps in the soil.

 

[milkman]

Jim,
I think it would plow better if you can get the bottom back to the line where the front bottom used to be. And I think you can do it fairly easily by swapping the main beam and the 'Z' bar, side for side, as it sits now. First remove the main beam with coulter, bottom, and tail wheel attached. Then remove the heavy Z-shaped support. Now attach the main beam the to right side of the frame where the support was (next to your angle iron). And flip the Z support so it attaches to the left side of the frame and comes across to the right to connect to the rear of the beam. You'll end up with the bottom on the right side, but not have the front of the beam in the way of the 3ph. It sure looks like you could do that by removing 4 or 5 bolts. That would eliminate the side force on the tractor I think. Good luck.

I just went and looked at the pic of the plow and I have to agree with you, the framework looks to me like it is on the wrong side of the beam, but hard to tell without seeing it from behind hooked to the tractor. Another thing, looks way too wet to plow, but it sure is hard to resist once the plow is hooked up.

 

[greenmule]

One things for sure,when he said he dropped the plow,that looks like what happened[over and over and over],couldn't resist.

 

[BobG_in_VA]

The others are correct....you need to be plowing with the front bottom, not the rear for a one bottom plow to be right....You can take off the 3rd bottom on a Dearborn/Ford plow to make a 2 bottom, but not sure about a 2 to one..you need whatever bottoms you have to be no more than 12" from the inside of the the right rear tire where it sets in the previous furrow... you might be able to "cut" off the rear beam behind the the bolt up to be able to keep the front bottom only, but I'd rather see you re do the 2 bottom, sell it as such and search for a 10-12" one bottom. BobG in VA

 

[yeagisyeag]

Jim,
I think it would plow better if you can get the bottom back to the line where the front bottom used to be. And I think you can do it fairly easily by swapping the main beam and the 'Z' bar, side for side, as it sits now. First remove the main beam with coulter, bottom, and tail wheel attached. Then remove the heavy Z-shaped support. Now attach the main beam the to right side of the frame where the support was (next to your angle iron). And flip the Z support so it attaches to the left side of the frame and comes across to the right to connect to the rear of the beam. You'll end up with the bottom on the right side, but not have the front of the beam in the way of the 3ph. It sure looks like you could do that by removing 4 or 5 bolts. That would eliminate the side force on the tractor I think. Good luck.

That's cool! I really didn't think of that! I've been trying to figure out how to use the front bottom, there'd really be no way to do it without cutting things up, which I don't want to do.

From what I've read here before, I want the rear point of my share to be close to even with the inside of my right tire. I'll have to recheck to make sure, but I think that's what it looks like now.

Those bolts are huge and rusty, but they actually didn't give me too much of a problem when I unbolted the front bottom. Guess I'm less worried about the bolts, and more worried about how I'll hold everything up when it's loose. That stuff is HEAVY and really unbalanced.

Lemme get back out there, hook things up, and take a few pictures.

Thanks,
Jim

 

[yeagisyeag]

One things for sure,when he said he dropped the plow,that looks like what happened[over and over and over],couldn't resist.

LOL that's no joke! When I lost traction I would lift the plow and then re-drop once I got moving again. Like milkman said, it was hard to resist trying it out!

You should have seen all the ripped up sod chunks laying around from when the plow hit while turning around!

Good news is there has been 4 dry days, 1 day with a little rain, now things look good and dry until Wednesday.

Jim

 

[greenmule]

Yeah,its rained every day here for past 9 days,[sun is shining today though].

If you had right plow for your machine you would be set,they make different sized plows,and if you had a new small single bottom plow that adjusts from side to side,you could plow with that machine.

 

[yeagisyeag]

Yeah,its rained every day here for past 9 days,[sun is shining today though].

So you feel my pain, then.....

Aside from the weather, the other limiting factor to my progress is the 1 hour drive to our property where the garden is. I trailer the tractor there and back every time, so I like to make my trips count, that is I go when I can spend the most time possible out there.

If you had right plow for your machine you would be set,they make different sized plows,and if you had a new small single bottom plow that adjusts from side to side,you could plow with that machine.

I do agree. I may wind up reassembling this 2 bottom and selling it w/most parts repaired, then save up a little more for a new 1 bottom.

Thanks,
Jim

 

[greenmule]

Well it rained today too,10 out of 11 days,told my wife and little girl to get ready cause we was going to plant tomatos and peppers[we bought going on two weeks ago],this weds,in the mud or not.
Supposed to rain thurs and friday.