What do I need?

[def38]

I have 6 acres that is in clover and weeds and some light brush. I mow it routinely with a flail mower. There are still some rocks and trash that surface from time to time.

I am located in middle Alabama with somewhat firm but not hard red clay soil. I wish to plow the soil and seed with Bermuda. I have a box blade with 6 rippers, a new landscape rake, a new 4 gang notched disc harrow, a drag harrow and a MF231S Perkins powered 45 HP tractor with good not excellent rear AG tires.

Do I need to buy some sort of cultivator to break up my ground before seeding? If so, what is recommended?

 

[jeff9366]

If the pans on your Disc Harrow are 20" or more in diameter you should be able to till/mix/smooth your land after it has been mowed/scalped with your Flail Mower. Adjust the Top Link short, so more weight is on front, cutting gangs, less weight on rear smoothing gangs.

A Disc Harrow with 20" diameter pans has about 50 pounds total Disc Harrow weight bearing on each pan/disc. A Disc Harrow with 18" diameter pans has about 37 pounds Disc Harrow weight bearing on each pan/disc which is not enough save for garden use.

A Disc Harrow with 20" pans will penetrate 6" to 7" in moist soil, on the third pass, with gang angles aggressively adjusted. Once you have tilled to the depth you want, adjust the gangs less aggressively to smooth, then drag before seeding. (Alternately, when soil is fairly smooth after Disc, make a couple passes with Landscape Rake to windrow rocks and trash to the side.)

Disc Harrow Adjustment: https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...ing-three-point-hitch-mounted.html?highlight=

Many alternative implements are used to "break" harder ground. Moldboard/Turning plows are optimum for this task. Moldboard Plows invert the soil. The cheapie alternative is a Middlebuster aka Potato Plow which does not invert soil but is pretty effective at breaking soil crust with some vegetation. Buy a solid Middlebuster; they take considerable stress. You may not require a Middlebuster, or only need to bust 20%-40%-60%-80% of your six acres, not 100%.

VIDEO: tractor middlebuster potato plow - YouTube

I have not had satisfaction using Box Blade rippers to rip soil, however as you have one, try it.

 

[def38]

Agreed regarding the BB rippers. Doesn't do well. I failed to mention my EA potato plow. But, I'll try the disc after the next rain using the adjustments you suggest.

Thank you Jeff.

 

[mred2]

I live just north of Tuscaloosa. I plan to subsoil some of my pasture and overseed it. My subsoiler goes about 16 to 18" into the ground. This breaks the hard pan. Your ground may not have a hard pan. On new ground, mow it as close as you can. You may want to spray to kill off the weeds first and wait a couple of weeks for it to die. Then disc, disc, disc, different angles to the field. As you go deeper, you can take some angle out of your disc to help level. Drag your field, I assume you do not have a cultipacker, you may want to drag more than once. You want to pack some the ground back down. Plant your seed. I use a spreader on the back of the tractor, but a hand spreader works good with small seed. And with the price of seed, you do not want to waste it. Drag again to cover the seed. If you have a smooth side to the drag, I like using it. You do not want that seed too deep in the ground. And wait. I think the ground has to be at least 70 degrees for it to come up. You will find a lot of people plant it in the fall, along with other cover and it will lay there until it is ready to come up.