Best Way to Handle Botched Plowing

Fergienewbee · May 9, 2012

Last year I tried plowing a small sod field with a rusted plow. You can imagine the mess. I want to re-plow it this year--plow is nice and polished. I planto disc the big clumps first. Does that make sense? The plot is on a hillside, so I plow the slope east/west and the flatter portion north/south, at least that's my plan.

Larry

Allan in NE · May 9, 2012

Forget the plow, take your heavy disc and just disc the fire out of it to level it back out.

Allan

Tx Jim · May 9, 2012

I think a chisel or field cultivator would be my preferred implement for that task.

RayP(MI) · May 9, 2012

Cut up the sod with a disk, and level with some sort of a field cultivator, or spring tooth harrow (drag). Been there, done that.

Ken Macfarlane · May 9, 2012

I replowed a botched field last year that had half sodded itself back together. 2 weeks after plowing we rockpicked, disced it and dragged it. Owner had planted it as lawn with a brillion.

paul · May 9, 2012

Don't remember your location, but getting time to plant, not plow.

If you are in clay ground I would get out the field cultivator, or the chisel plow if you had to, and work it with that.

If you are on courser soil I'd get out the disk and work it over hard.

In my area a plow is used in fall. In more southern areas I understand they work well in early spring. Getting kinda late to plow, work down, and get rain on it to mellow out the ground?

Plowing I try to do in biggest chunks of field, drive the longest way possible, as rough as a plow leaves the ground it doesn't wash 'here', the erosion happens when you finish off the soil fine with the field cultivator ordisk. But this can be a local thing, different in different conditions?

--->Paul

fixerupper · May 9, 2012

Allan's right, disk the heck out of it. It's too late to get the field up in perfect shape this year no matter what you do. Cut up the sod, field cultivate and plant. Then fall plow for next year. Jim

RodinNS · May 9, 2012

Put the plow away. Disc it into submission. A heavy offset would be prefered for the first passes.

Rod

mkirsch · May 9, 2012

I'm glad you guys think the OP has an equipment-$#!tting dog...

With a name like "Fergienewbie" I bet he's got an old Ferguson utility tractor with a two-bottom moldboard plow and a light 3pt disk at his disposal.

If he's got a heavy offset tillage disk and a big tractor to pull it, bully for him, but I'm betting not.

Fergienewbie, in the make-do category, try to wait until its a little wet and then disk the snot out of it.

If you can adjust the angle of the disk gangs, set them for maximum angle.

If you can add weight, add as much weight as you can stand.

If you have an old I-beam, pipe, or even a heavy log 6-8' long, chain that to the back of the disk and drag it along behind to bust up the clods and smooth things out better.

Get it smoothed out as best you can and then plow it again. This time get the plow digging evenly front to back, side to side. If you can't make it work, bail out. Don't root up the whole thing and make a mess out of it again.

Fergienewbee · May 9, 2012

Mkirsch;

You hit the nail right on the head. I have a TO-30, a Ferguson 2B plow, a 3-pt disk, and old beat-up/shot pull disk and an old drag that I'm using as a 3-point chained to a carry all because it doesn't pull right and gouges a trough. This is a half-acre plot that I'll probably put into millet or cow peas for deer browse. I'd sure like bigger stuff, but the handle says it all.

Thanks to everyone for the response.

Larry

Best Way to Handle Botched Plowing

Fergienewbee

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Allan in NE

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Tx Jim

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RayP(MI)

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Ken Macfarlane

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paul

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fixerupper

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RodinNS

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mkirsch

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Fergienewbee

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