Avenger
Veteran Member
I am actually dreading asking this question, but I need some advise.
I need to plow a large field.
*sigh* What size plow should I get?
:mur:
I know, it depends on all sorts of things. Soil types, moisture, weight of tractor, HP of tractor, hills, tire types, size of moldboards, etc. Here is what is going on:
I have been asked to maintain a large field of... weeds. I am being "contracted" for this work. Thats not important here. The owner would like me to turn this field to dirt, get the roughness out, plant a grass mix, and "maintain it like a lawn." Its just under 10 acres. First things first, I need to turn it to dirt, and in doing so will take out much of the roughness.
I have a 6ft rototiller, but it only goes down about 5 inches and will take several passes. The tiller is great for smaller areas, like a garden plot or food plot. Not a field. Here is my plan that I have come up with.
Plow the field, disk the field with a pull type disk (looking at the DHP Pull Disc Harrows - Bush Hog), use a spreader to seed the field, then run it over with a cultipacker. Maintain the grass with a boomless sprayer and finish mower.
Fist things first though. Gotta plow it.
The general rule of thumb for plowing is 20hp per moldboard. But that SOOOO depends (see list above) but following this rule, I can only pull a 2 bottom plow. Here is my exact situation: LS gear tractor with 45hp, Filled R4 tires. I am crossing about 10 acres of rather steep hills, some of the terrain is dry (southern facing steep hill side that does not hold water) but in the valleys, it is mostly wet (damp in the early fall). I am guessing some rocks, but this was a wheat field about 10 years ago, so hopefully not many rocks. A 2 bottom, 14in plow seems like the solution. Plowing 7" deep, 28" per pass. It will take forever, but faster than rototilling and I only need to do it once. I am worried though, that it will be too much plow for my setup. Thoughts?
And do you have any recommendations on plows? Have you plowed with your LS? How did it go?
I have plowed fields before. The largest was a 9 bottom plow working in dry land wheat fields. The smallest was a 4 bottom roll over plow that pulled a cultipacker in the row crop fields. I have experience plowing. But not with this tractor.
I need to plow a large field.
*sigh* What size plow should I get?
:mur:
I know, it depends on all sorts of things. Soil types, moisture, weight of tractor, HP of tractor, hills, tire types, size of moldboards, etc. Here is what is going on:
I have been asked to maintain a large field of... weeds. I am being "contracted" for this work. Thats not important here. The owner would like me to turn this field to dirt, get the roughness out, plant a grass mix, and "maintain it like a lawn." Its just under 10 acres. First things first, I need to turn it to dirt, and in doing so will take out much of the roughness.
I have a 6ft rototiller, but it only goes down about 5 inches and will take several passes. The tiller is great for smaller areas, like a garden plot or food plot. Not a field. Here is my plan that I have come up with.
Plow the field, disk the field with a pull type disk (looking at the DHP Pull Disc Harrows - Bush Hog), use a spreader to seed the field, then run it over with a cultipacker. Maintain the grass with a boomless sprayer and finish mower.
Fist things first though. Gotta plow it.
The general rule of thumb for plowing is 20hp per moldboard. But that SOOOO depends (see list above) but following this rule, I can only pull a 2 bottom plow. Here is my exact situation: LS gear tractor with 45hp, Filled R4 tires. I am crossing about 10 acres of rather steep hills, some of the terrain is dry (southern facing steep hill side that does not hold water) but in the valleys, it is mostly wet (damp in the early fall). I am guessing some rocks, but this was a wheat field about 10 years ago, so hopefully not many rocks. A 2 bottom, 14in plow seems like the solution. Plowing 7" deep, 28" per pass. It will take forever, but faster than rototilling and I only need to do it once. I am worried though, that it will be too much plow for my setup. Thoughts?
And do you have any recommendations on plows? Have you plowed with your LS? How did it go?
I have plowed fields before. The largest was a 9 bottom plow working in dry land wheat fields. The smallest was a 4 bottom roll over plow that pulled a cultipacker in the row crop fields. I have experience plowing. But not with this tractor.