Plowing pattern with single Berta Rotary Plow

   / Plowing pattern with single Berta Rotary Plow #1  

bsaltzgiver

New member
Joined
Mar 22, 2012
Messages
9
Location
Mansfield, Ohio
Tractor
Grillo G85D
Hi Folks,

I saw some pictures posted of some plots plowed with the swivel Berta Plow, and because it rotates, you can always discharge the soil in the direction of the already worked soil regardless of the tractors direction. Most importantly, one of the tires is always resting on unworked ground. Traditionally, with the single plow, what I've done is to start one furrow near the "middle" of the plot I'll be plowing, turn around, put the left wheel in the furrow, and continue to push soil "away from center", towards the right side of the plow. After about three passes, I then put the other wheel (the right wheel) in the furrow, and the soil is then discharged back into the furrow. I continue this pattern until the plot is done, managing to work the soil with the tractor running in both directions.

The problem I encounter with this method is that while I'm throwing soil away from the center on the first three passes, the wheel not in the furrow is running on top of loose, already worked soil, causing it to have much less traction, and messing up the depth of the plow. This often times leads to the engine getting stuck in the soil, which, well, is a pain :) It's been my experience that once you get the furrow dug out to the the proper depth, controlling the subsequent passes are quite simple, but I really struggle getting the furrow dug out with the current pattern I'm using.

What do you folks do with your single berta plow? I know one option is to just start on one side, always dischaging in one direction as you make your way to the other side of the plot, but in that method the time you spend getting back to the other side is wasted, as you are not working any soil on the return trip to the starting position.

Any suggestions or ideas?

Thanks,
-Bruce
 
   / Plowing pattern with single Berta Rotary Plow #2  
Hey Bruce,

Your frustration with a one-way rotary plow is the same with traditional one-way moldboard plows, and the reason I paid the extra for the two-way (rollover) Berta plow. I have a F145 5-16 plow to pull behind my 125hp 4430 John Deere. Every year, I have to plow the opposite direction in every field. Year 1 - all in, year 2 - all out, year 3 - all in, and so forth. This poses a second more serious problem - since I'm on hilly ground and farming in contour strips, I plow half the field downhill every year. I have the same choices you have - either go back "empty", or plow downhill. Even if I choose to plow downhill, I still have enough times where I am running around without the plow in the ground to get to points in the contour strip where it widens out. Considering these frustrations, I am buying a 4-16 rollover plow this spring.

To your question - When I give a demonstration on the rotary plow to buyers, I usually open the furrow in the middle of the ground to be worked on the first pass. I have the throttle wide open to throw the soil as far as possible. I then simply start plowing from that one furrow -in, in, in, in, etc. I tell them that the next year they should start on the furrows to the outside from last year and throw out, out, out, out. This means you will always have two dead furrows - one on each side the first year, and two together the second year. You can rake the furrow in a bit to make it less deep, but you should maintain it as a furrow for next year's plowing. With a double plow, you would have a single dead furrow to the left side in year one and to the right side on year two (that is, unless you're on a slope, then you should always plow uphill every year).

If you're on raised beds, this is a bit more difficult. Your best bet then is to use the plow to make the beds and maintain the beds, but use a power harrow or tiller on top of the beds. You can replow your hills by plowing them out and back in, but that's as hard on the ground a just using a tiller - and more time consuming.
 
 
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