Farming an acre with old stuff

Here's this for discussion.

I kinda want to just "farm" say a couple of acres. Maybe a food plot for deer hunting or a large sweet corn patch. I don't know, I just have land that I can plow and I've always wanted to "farm".

What kind of implements would I need? And if I do it what should I plant and why?

I have a '46 Ford 2n in the process of making into w worker again. And a MF 65 diesel.

I have a 2 bottom dearborn 81-1 plow, and I'm about to get a 3 bottom Ford 101 plow, and maybe a 8 foot pull behind disc from a Elderly Lady a mile away from here. Also maybe a little old drag.

What is required to do this? Maybe even just one acre. The chances of getting myself a harvester of some sort is kinda slim. I know I would need some kind a planter.

Any advice? Ideas? Any body do anything like this before? What else would I need?

Well if you want to say plant corn yep you need the plow and disk and a drag of some sort plus you need a planter if some sort. I do a couple of food plots but they are very small and I pretty much just throw the seed out and what comes up comes a up but this is also where I would not even think about putting a tractor

Where are you, for growing season and rainfall?

What kind of dirt do you have, sand, clay, low peat, high gravel knob?

I realize you aren't on to for the money, but where wheat grows on the dry plains you won't grow corn, and where corn grows on the deep rich soils you would be wasting time with wheat.....

Then, what do you want to see growing? Nice tall corn, a field of wheat or oats or small grains? A mix of "fun" stuff to feed the deer you won't ever harvest like clover and turnips and other mix?

You need to fit the crop to your climate and rainfall and dirt; and it needs to be a crop you are excited to grow so it will do well.

Corn needs a corn planter.

Small grains, fun stuff, beans, and so forth you can do with a grain drill or a spinning seeder.

Paul

I have seen this trick a guy had an old grain drill and by simply covering a couple holes he got the row with he wanted. I have an old Minnie an that even list the rate of corn.

Plow , disc , drag then plant. For only an acre you can hand seed small grains or even corn with one of those old "clapper" type that people use for decor now. Weed control should be considered or you will just have a mess. A lawn sprayer or even hand held could be used if its a small area. Sweet corn would be good, stagger the planting dates so it doesn't all come ripe at the same time. Then you will need to control pests like raccoon's and so forth. You can just leave whatever crop you have for the wildlife and disc it down the next spring and start over. I would get a soil test so you know where you are at, shouldn't cost more than 20 dollars for the test. Have fun !

Everyone who does this ends up raising a good crop of weeds for themselves and neighbors.
Be sure whatever you do, that you have a sprayer or some kind of weed control plan in place to take care of noxious weeds.
It could be anything from a garden hoe to the local co-op floater, just be sure you have a plan and it gets done.

You have enough equipment. However you will need a sprayer. For only an acre or so,a small (hand held) broadcast seeder will sufficeFor small grains..Go to TSC(or similar) and get 25 gal 'ATV' type sprayer and buy or build a set of 'booms'.

sweet corn, some edible beans- make a BIG garden. Plow and disk you've got or are getting, planter you know you need- but a compact 2 row may be more than a old 4 row-- lots of the slightly older JD ground drive single units on tool bars- some people buy 8 row rigs for $200.00 to $500.00 and make 3 or 4 two row units for the deer plotters and gardeners, sell for $200.00 to $500.00 per 2 row unit, make 300% of cost- 200% profit when small parts, stock steel bars and welding rods figured in base cost. Want some excersize?- use a GardenWay small planter and walk the rows with a hoe the first year, the get a quick mount 1 or 2 row cultivator on tool bar, single or 2 row ground drive planter- old Cole or Yetter/JD unit. Old Ns in some areas had a cultivator on tool bar for 3 pt with sliding prongs that would get a single planter in center- plant and do some weed control first pass, lift or remove center planter and do 2 more passes with cultivator, have wide row and do hand harvest of corn and some beans- old style corn picking with large bag - a relatively slow 1/2 to 1 acre harvest by hand in a couple 3 to 4 hour sessions. for staggered sweet corn harvest- 1/4 acre in morning hand strip and toss in large green house wagon a yard wide, 2 yards long or thereabouts in the old horses @ss wide 42 inch standard rows. Have a good stout fence and turn in couple sheep / couple hogs to glean at end of garden season, then have Christmas ham and/or roast mutton when snow falls. Culivator for Ford Ns not as good as front mount IHC for Cubs or A's- but good enough for many southern tobacco farms that had large gardens and some hay ground on side of limited tobacco allotment in larger farm land. Cultivator instead of larger sprayer, mix some sweet corn, old Reeds Yellow dent for green corn use on table and some beans in side rows- 2 years of doing old way and then a tiller might be considered- but proper cultivator and simple planter, timed planting for table use and leftover gleaning by the venison- moderate cost, decent return for table and some side money. For some people documented sales of farm produce of a certain minimum results in a much lower tax rate for agriculture use compared to 'developement' land. 2 tractors and a plow already- rad the gardening posts from the New Jersey posters, consider turnips for a couple seconds. <--- Teasing Alert! RN

Ya but, he could use a cultivator....instead of chems, and get more seat time.

Yep,I was about to suggest a cultivator,but then he'd have to buy a planter,too.....More toys You dont need a cultivator for small grains.