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Discing Question

N

nrowles

Member
Obviously this is a newbie question. I just cleared a couple acres last summer to goof around. Over the winter I bought a 6' 3 pt disc. I'm going to make garden in the yard this year so without a tiller I thought I would disc an area. It didn't seem to work too well. Just stirred up the first couple inches with many passes. Ground was pretty damp too. Do I need to loosen the dirt first, and if so, with what? I do have a box blade that I could use the shanks to dig up the dirt a bit. What about the couple acres though? Seems a little odd I would have to take the time to take a box blade around just to disc it.

Teach me.
 

If the ground was damp, you should not have been working it. You will end up with dirt clods that are as hard as rocks.
 
Call you local soil conservation office, they will have a soil penetrometer you can borrow to check to see if you have a compaction layer. Also most of those little discs do not have enough weight to dig in well, you might try stacking some more weight on it and try again.
 
Get yourself a subsoiler. Very cheap. Subsoil it both ways about a foot or 18 inches apart. Then disc the crap out of it. Worked up a lot of ground that way.
Richard in NW SC
 
(quoted from post at 11:54:33 04/06/18) Get yourself a subsoiler. Very cheap. Subsoil it both ways about a foot or 18 inches apart. Then disc the crap out of it. Worked up a lot of ground that way.
Richard in NW SC
Click to expand...

Along with the other implements mentioned, I take it this is something I would have to do every time I disc? Do farmers have to do this or do they just have bigger machinery that digs in?

I had already though about adding weight to the disc so maybe I will also do that.
 
A 6' 3 point disc it too light to do anything more that what you got. You need to plow first, then the disc is used to finish the process.
There are different kinds of discs. "Offset discs" (at least that's what we always called them)run deep and give about the same results as a plow. "Finishing discs", like what you have, are much lighter in weight and are used to smooth up and prepare for seeding, usually after a field has been plowed. It takes a lot more tractor to pull an offset disc compared to a finishing disc. For example, a tractor that could easily pull a 12' finishing disc would have a full load with a 6' offset disc.
Your box blade ripper shanks might help a little, but I would doubt it will give you the result you want. The suggestion to use a sub-soiler would work better, but would take so many passes, you would be better off to find an old one or two bottom plow and do it right.
 
I have added weight to our disc, it does make them work better. My father had a 7 foot offset disc that had an old car engine on it for
weight, took 50 hp to pull it but it worked great in new ground, would chop up brush and sticks.
 
I first plow.

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Then disc.

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Then I use a spring tooth drag.

2vEj4it5xevZ4.jpg
 
Because it wouldn't take the third picture for a smaller patch I sometimes use this disc. It does not work the grouns as well as the old Oliver pull type disc.

2vEj4R9LxevZ4.jpg
 
There are three I oliments to work up ground.

First is primary tillage. This rips,busts up, or turns the ground. A plow. A chisel plow. A tougher than average heavy field cultivator. A subsoiler. A
real heavy disk with very large blades - real heavy deal. Any of these going 8 inches or deeper.

Follow with secondary tillage. In clay soils, a field cultivator. In non-clay soils, a disk works well. Often go about 4 inches deep. In some
conditions doing this two or three times maybe with some rain between works best. All depends how lumpy, and where you want to end up.

Follow with a finishing deal - typically a drag or harrow. Often goes an inch deep.

In the right soil, without too much 'kraut' or trash on top, with the right moisture, one can make a lighter disk or field cultivator work up the
ground. That takes a lot of experience to realize when something can be accomplished, and it won't work 'the best' but it can be done.

Sandy ground you can get away with a lot, disk might work all by itself. Wet clay ground you really have to plan out, if it's dry you can't get an
implement to bite in the ground, if it's wet the implement will just plug up with playdough and make a hard packed subsoil. Lot of details and 'it
depends' there.

Paul
 
Dang, thought I proofread three times...

There are three parts to working up ground. Not even sure what those first couple words were trying to be....
 
What you have is a finishing disc. It is used in the second step of three. First step is a plow to turn over and loosen the soil. Then go over it with your disc. You can pull a drag harrow behind the disc and do steps two and three at the same time.
 
If you are near any small town or larger, you should be able to hire someone that moldboard plows garden plots. In the snow belt it is best to fall plow, but spring plowed is better than nothing.
 
So if I have a Diesel MF135 and I decide to go the plow route, am I looking for a 2 bottom plow? I would assume a 3 is too big but I could use a 2?
 
Hi, My disc cuts in pretty good when its angled. I
have to watch what's going on because it moves a
lot of dirt so you have to go about 1/2 disc over lap
on the next loop. Ed Will Oliver BC
 
First off. You said you cleared a couple of acres> Next question is what did you clear and how did you do it? Any brush involved or just mowed grass? If there was anything with roots you will not get it to work up untill you get rid of the roots.
 
(quoted from post at 16:08:05 04/06/18) First off. You said you cleared a couple of acres> Next question is what did you clear and how did you do it? Any brush involved or just mowed grass? If there was anything with roots you will not get it to work up untill you get rid of the roots.
Click to expand...

It was pulpwood pine cleared with a dozer. No stumps or roots. Put buckwheat in it last summer and winter rye over the winter. Will be terminating the winter rye and putting 1/2 in corn and 1/2 buckwheat over summer and clover mix this fall.
 
I would recommend that you replace the toplink with a chain and use a turnbuckle to adjust the chain so that it barely lifts the rear of the disc. This will allow the disc to follow the contours of the ground better.
 
Hi, My disc cuts in pretty good when its angled. I
have to watch what's going on because it moves a
lot of dirt so you have to go about 1/2 disc over lap
on the next loop. Ed Will Oliver BC
 
This is close to what I would say. Ground should crumble in you hand. Not too wet and not too dry. Would guess he needs a lot more weight too. Best would be to deep plow the first time.
 
Not any idea where you are from, but if you get winter with deep frost and snow , Fall tillage is near
always your best bet. Ploughing, or deep chiseling to break up compacted top layer of ground is important
unless you have large scale no till planting equipment, and want to spray to burn down for weed control. I
would guess just discing will look like you are doing some thing now , but likely just packing the heck out
of the moist ground.
 

If you can pull it, get a Sub-Soiler and rip it up good..TSC sells some at a reasonable price..

One single shank is about a perfect load for a WD Allis...
 
Your tractor is about 33 hp at the drawbar so yeah, two bottom sounds about right...it kinda' depends on the soil type, hills etc.....
 
Thanks for all the replies. Definitely getting some good input here. A disk is all I thought I needed to work the first few inches of ground. I'm more familiar with food plotting than farming and the food plotters always talk about discing and I never noticed any plowing. Food plotting just isn't on the same level as farming.

For all of you mentioning the subsoiler, is there a reason you don't think I can use my box blade? Those shanks are probably 6 inches deep without putting the blade to dirt and there are 5 of them. Before I go and buy additional equipment I may try that first.
 
(quoted from post at 14:13:17 04/06/18) I don't know about the present situation your facing. Just remember that road builders use a disk to PACK the ground..
Click to expand...

Never seen that here in NH Gordy, I have seen a video of one in use on a slope beside a road, but here they spread and level it with a dozer in lifts of a foot or so then compact with a vibrating roller.
 
I would ditch the 3 pt disc. About worthless for anything. Get a good little 8 footer pull type and put some weight on it so it can work.
Leave the box blade in the shed for working your driveway.
Get a plow.
 
Since you have it, and explained it's capabilities......with it tilted max nose down, why not try it as a subsoiler. I am a firm believer in a
subsoiler first (regardless of the tine length) as I am in clay soil, and then with lots of weight on the disc have at it...followed by a spike
toothed harrow...ASC has them as does TSC, or a used tractor seller, to smooth things out, pulled by your lightest vehicle that can pull it....I
use a ZT lawn mower for small plots.

I have used about 500# (old tractor wheel weights) on that size disc and get remarkable results as compared to without.
 
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