Sub-Soil plows

[DonWorrell]

Has anyone used a sub-soil plow? I have a wet area in my feild. Will breaking it up with a sub-soil plow help?

Should I run the plow about every 5, 10, 15 or what distance apart?

Will a 35HP tractor be big enough to pull one. i am trying to breakup sod.

Any advice will help.

Don

 

[jmarotz]

Wait till fall to break it up when the ground if dry, the ground has to shatter. If you do while it is wet you will only be making ditches that have the sides compacted more that they are now.
You should have no problem with a 35 hp tractor pulling a single shank.
Try to get at least 18 inch or more depth. 24 to 30 inches should be enough distance apart.

 

[Greyfields]

I have a subsoil "ripper" which is 7 shanks along a 6' wide implement. I find that I have to remove a few teeth to avoid getting anchored into the ground. Not having draft control doesn't help much either. But, it's likely thta if your land has been plowed before, the subsoiler will help with drainage.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Greyfields I think the implement you have is a "Scarifier" often used for pasture renovation. I have one myself, a Landpride SF77, which as you describe is 6' wide with 7 shanks that are the same as the teeth on a box blade. This tool can go down maybe 14" and would be good if you already have one. A true subsoiler goes down maybe 18" or more and requires even more hp. Your 4120 would be lucky to pull a 2-shank subsoiler at a normal working depth; a 7 shank would probably require 150hp or more.

Don, if you're going to buy a special implement, I would buy a decent real subsoiler as made by Unverferth or Worksaver, and only buy a one shank model. Better to make multiple passes at 2/3 throttle than get fully stuck and unable to go even 1mph with too many shanks. Operating speed isn't real high - maybe 3-4 mph - but two or more shanks may be beyond your tractor.

 

[OldMcDonald]

Subsoiling might not be the answer. Have a good look at the area in question. Try to take some levels of the surrounding part of the field. A simple device is a clear plastic tube tied to a graduated stick at each end. If the wet area is a low spot then subsoiling is no use, it will only create easier access for the excess rainfall from the higher ground. The purpose of subsoiling is to break up hard pans below the surface so that the water can drain down. If the wet area is a low spot, then you need to run a drain out of it. If it is not low, then dig a hole or two now whilst it is easy digging and see if there is a hard pan. If so you need to subsoil through and below this pan - when conditions are right as explained above.

I have lots of pans and pull a 2 tine home built subsoiler with my 45 hp New Holland. A new tractor, plenty of grip, but I sometimes still need diff lock, so I agree that a single tine will be enough, and further agree about buying a well-known make. I cannot always wait for the best conditions, as I crop year round on part of the property, but as an example I have sudan grass in for hay on about 5 acres now, and I can see better growth along every subsoil line through the crop. I did a run prior to making the seed bed, some good rain went down through the pan and the roots followed it down as the land dried out. Old McDonald.

 

[DonWorrell]

Subsoiling might not be the answer. Have a good look at the area in question. Try to take some levels of the surrounding part of the field. A simple device is a clear plastic tube tied to a graduated stick at each end. If the wet area is a low spot then subsoiling is no use, it will only create easier access for the excess rainfall from the higher ground. The purpose of subsoiling is to break up hard pans below the surface so that the water can drain down. If the wet area is a low spot, then you need to run a drain out of it. If it is not low, then dig a hole or two now whilst it is easy digging and see if there is a hard pan. If so you need to subsoil through and below this pan - when conditions are right as explained above.

I have lots of pans and pull a 2 tine home built subsoiler with my 45 hp New Holland. A new tractor, plenty of grip, but I sometimes still need diff lock, so I agree that a single tine will be enough, and further agree about buying a well-known make. I cannot always wait for the best conditions, as I crop year round on part of the property, but as an example I have sudan grass in for hay on about 5 acres now, and I can see better growth along every subsoil line through the crop. I did a run prior to making the seed bed, some good rain went down through the pan and the roots followed it down as the land dried out. Old McDonald.

I have an extremely hard pan. Someplace I can't dig much deeper than 6 to 10". I have 5 acres about 1/2 half of it hold water in August after a rain.

The area is lower than the rest of the feild but my land is almost flat where the hard pan is. My hard pan is brownish grey more grey than brown. I had a terrible time getting my land to perk. We finally found enough good land to perk. I thought for a long time I would never build or have to build a Wisconson mount for a septic system.

I am hoping subsoiling the area will help. I would rent one if I could. I think my problem will be I don't have enough tractor. I only have a 2wd 35 horsepower tractor.

Don

 

[Z-Michigan]

I think you can probably pull one shank with your tractor. The nicer ($$$) subsoil plows are better designed with a parabolic curve that requires less hp. Worksaver is probably the best compromise of quality and price in this category, if you go to their curved nicer model (they also make a straight cheapo model like KK makes).

What are you using the land for right now - annual crops? Any option to put it in hay for a year or two? Certain crops, notably annual ryegrass and alfalfa, send down deep roots that may help break up the hardpan.

 

[Tom_H]

Don,

I have a very hard pan called durapan, ciilca cemented clay that's turned into a water impermeable rock. My land is flat and has clay atop the hardpan, so it turns into a bog during our rainy winters.

Sub-soiling would not make a wide enough trench when the soil is wet. My sub-soiler needs to be at an angle perpendicular to the ground and have 300 or so lb. of ballast on the frame to dig into my hardpan at all (and this has to be in hot dry summer). Even then, it only scratches into the pan about 1 1/2 inches. (Tractor is Kubota BX2200-a subcompact.)

Some possibilities:

1. Till, plow, etc. then use a box blade to carve a swale from the low spot to some other location that's even lower.

2. Use a box blade to completely recontour the land.

3. Find out how thick your pan is and what's below it. (My pan is 4 to 16 ft. thick, but has sand below it.) All septic systems here use 3' w x 33' deep multiple dry wells filled with river cobble. Depending on your geology, you might get someone with a huge auger to drill a deep hole through the pan at the low spot. Refill it with sand or rice hulls, etc. something that the eater will perk down through.

4. We have more and more vintners turning the land in our area into vineyards. They rent a Caterpillar D11R with two 8 ft. deep rippers and rip the pan from 3 directions (120 degrees apart). We only get 17 in. avg. rainfall, so there is enough space for the rain to perk down to 8 ft. but not enough rain for the soil to get boggy. Also, since the water doesn't go below 8 ft. the vine roots can still reach it. This size dozer requires permits, escort vehicle, etc. and is about $5k, minimum cost before you even start putting hours on the monster machine. Getting a deep ripping dozer might work for you if you can find one. If you get enough rain to saturate this newly loosened soil, however, you could still have the pooling problem.

5. Maybe some combination of the above.

Let me know if you have other ?s re. this. Good luck!!

 

[gabby]

Has anyone used a sub-soil plow? I have a wet area in my feild. Will breaking it up with a sub-soil plow help?

Should I run the plow about every 5, 10, 15 or what distance apart?

Will a 35HP tractor be big enough to pull one. i am trying to breakup sod.

Any advice will help.

Don

I have a single shank subsoiler that can bog down my 7610 Ford (85 hp) in hard dry ground running 16" deep. The subsoiler shank is designed for a cable plow and it's vee'd sharply along the front edge but it still pulls hard, and I don't even have hardpan. It's just a tight sandy clay subsoil.