20 HP Tractor and Single Bottom Plow.

[jekyl]

Hello Folks,

I am looking to put in a food plot that will measure roughly 150 yards by 100 yards. The ground has never been worked up and currently gets brush hogged maybe once a year. My question is, will my tractor handle a single bottom plow to start the process of putting in a food plot? My tractor is equipped with turf saver tires not the bar tread tires. I do have chains for the tractor that I can use for both the front and rear tires. I notice also that the plows come in different sizes; 1x12, 1x14, and 1x16. Any advice on whether this will work or not would be great. Also, if my tractor can use a plow, is it customary to then drag a set of discs over the plowed ground to finish the job? Take care.

1988 John Deere 750
20 HP
Model 67 Loader

Thanks everyone ,

Jim

 

[jeff9366]

Hello Folks,

I am looking to put in a food plot that will measure roughly 150 yards by 100 yards. The ground has never been worked but gets bush hogged once a year.

1. Will my tractor handle a single bottom plow to start the process of putting in a food plot? My tractor is equipped with turf saver tires not the bar tread tires. I do have chains for the tractor that I can use for both the front and rear tires.

2. I notice also that the plows come in different sizes; 1x12, 1x14, and 1x16. Any advice on whether this will work or not would be great.

3. If my tractor can use a plow, is it customary to then PULL a set of discs over the plowed ground to finish the job?

1. YES, you can pull a single bottom plow. There are multiple U-Tube videos showing sub-compact tractors pulling single bottom moldboard plows. Turf tires will work OK. The keys are for the ground to be moist but not wet and to mow, scalp, the area you intend to plow. Some spray Roundup.

LINK: Garden Tractor Plows From Everything Attachments


2. A 1-12 will turn soil and sod properly plowing at a depth of 5" to 7". A 1-12" plow is traditionally thought best for sod busting.

For food plots I would choose a 1-12". Ridges/furrows of less depth, easier to deal with.


A 1-14 will turn soil properly plowing at a depth of 6" to 8"

A 1-16 will turn soil properly plowing at a depth of 7" to 9"

If you look for used single bottom plows, be aware that many (Brinly) come with a SLEEVE HITCH for gas garden tractors. Sleeve hitch is NOT compatible with your Three Point Hitch.

3. To be effective a Disc Harrow must have 40 pounds bearing on each disc or 'pan'. This means 18" diameter pans. Maybe the Deere 750 can pull a 16/18" Disc Harrow, probably not. I assume the Deere 750 has 4-WD. Plan 'B' for smoothing could be a Landscape Rake or Rear/Angle Blade or Plan 'C' a Box Blade. Seed bed does not have to be absolutely flat but neither do you want seed buried 6" in a furrow.

Or you could till seed bed with a PTO powered roto-tiller, after plowing. Then no need to smooth with another implement.

4. A Cultipacker is optimum for insuring seed contact with ground, as 1-1/2 ridges it produces help prevent runoff before the seeds germinate. Cultipackers are made with 8" and 9" cast iron wheels for sub-compact tractors. As Cultipackers just roll, they create very little resistance to a tractor. (A water filled lawn roller is good too.)

Plan 'B' for seed would be to drag a beam, log or piece of fence over the seed bed with chains. Or a log or old tires ON a piece of fence. Food plot seeds are strong germinators.

I learned to tractor on a John Deere 750.

Good luck.

LINK: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/308251-disc-harrow-selection-18-45-a.html?highlight=

 

[newbury]

When I first got to TBN I was advised to either "plow and disc" OR "rototill".

Since for my B7610 size (23HP) new tillers are around $2,000+ and the combo of plow and disc is about $1000+ I searched CL and auctions religiously.

After about 4 years of searching and not finding ANYTHING used for a decent price that wasn't a rusted out piece of dog doo I gave up and bought a 1 bottom plow because I REALLY needed to cut earth. For about $450.


About a month later a really good 5' KKII tiller showed up for $800.

And since then I've read of many people just using a disc, no plow for food plots..

So I'd advise read up some more and ask some locals that do food plots before deciding the method your going to use. A lot may decide on soil type and moisture.

 

[Egon]

Should be able to handle a single bottom. If there are traction problems fill the bucket with dirt and put on rear chains. Be advised that a sod turning plow has different moldboards than a worked land plow. Either one will work for you.

You will also need a disk to break up the turned sod.

 

[amaxwell]

Hello Folks,

I am looking to put in a food plot that will measure roughly 150 yards by 100 yards. The ground has never been worked up and currently gets brush hogged maybe once a year. My question is, will my tractor handle a single bottom plow to start the process of putting in a food plot? My tractor is equipped with turf saver tires not the bar tread tires. I do have chains for the tractor that I can use for both the front and rear tires. I notice also that the plows come in different sizes; 1x12, 1x14, and 1x16. Any advice on whether this will work or not would be great. Also, if my tractor can use a plow, is it customary to then drag a set of discs over the plowed ground to finish the job? Take care.

1988 John Deere 750
20 HP
Model 67 Loader

Thanks everyone ,

Jim

My advice is to find a good used 3 point tiller if you can. With the tiller you can turn ,break up ,and smooth everything ready to plant in one step with a few passes.
Then if you have enough room to make wide rows you can then till between the rows also. I don't like hoeing weeds. Check to find a tiller just wider than your tire tracks.

 

[jekyl]

Thanks Jeff. This is very helpful. The ground there is usually moist. It's right next to a swamp but it is not excessively soft where I want the plot to go. It's a low lying piece of property. So, barring any odd extremely dry year the soil should be fairly soft. Because it is usually soft I considered a tiller but boy they sure are expensive. The other issue is that apparently my tractor can only handle a 4 foot tiller. Due to the PTO rating. Also, my tires measure 5 foot across due to the bigger turf saver tires. As a result the tiller and tractor would sit at an angle. However, I did watch that video at everything attachments and they used that link to level the 2 bottom plow after the first run was made. So that is probably not an issue. My tractor is a four wheel drive. Here is a more complete list about my tractor;

1988 John Deere 750
4x4
Model 67 Loader
20 HP
PTO 18 HP
PTO 540 RPM

The advantage of buying that tiller though is that I can use it here at the house and at the hunting property. Tilling three acres though seems an awful lot of tilling?

Thanks again,

Jim

 

[jeff9366]

Used tillers are available. Low prices for used implements come when snow is on the ground and the potential buyer has cash in hand. I recently saw a used Deere 60" tiller on Craig's List for $450 asking price.

Check eBay (BUSINESS & INDUSTRIAL > HEAVY EQUIPMENT > ATTACHMENTS), check Craig's List, look in your local paper, check rental busineses, estate sales. An independent used car lot near me has tractors and implements occasionally.

As your ground is soft you should be able to pull a used five foot wide roto-tiller fine. After you have plowed, the tiller will just be breaking up clumps and leveling. You need a tiller as wide as the outside width of your turf tires (+/-).

I put 500 hours on a JD 750 personally. I know the tractor. Stout machine.

I can use the tiller at the house and at the hunting property. Three acres seems a lot of tilling?

I do not believe you can pull a Disc Harrow heavy enough to be effective with the Deere 750. So a tiller will be your Disc Harrow.

Seat time is good time.

 

[newbury]

<snip>
The advantage of buying that tiller though is that I can use it here at the house and at the hunting property. Tilling three acres though seems an awful lot of tilling?

Thanks again,

Jim

Tilling will give you good soil in one or two passes. Plowing and discing will automatically take two passes minimum. I can rent a PTO tiller for about $80 from Sunbelt rentals for Saturday/Sunday, or about $225 if I want it for a week. You might want to try renting and keep looking on CL etc.

For MY hobby usage I couldn't afford buying a tiller, and I felt I couldn't pass up the $800 bargain I found.

But continue to investigate, if $$ are important you MAY be able to get by with just a disc.

I started out with a shovel and a cultivator back in the 60's.

This

is inexpensive.

But the tiller is better

 

[nybirdman]

Bush hog as low as you can,Roundup(generic version) and your single bottom next.First year will be the hardest it gets easier as the years go by.A tiller will always work better on the smaller tractors than a disc will;you just can't pull enough weight with the smaller tractors.
Another option(less expensive) after plowing is a three point cultivator.This will help level and break up the clumps.

 

[flusher]

Hello Folks,

I am looking to put in a food plot that will measure roughly 150 yards by 100 yards. The ground has never been worked up and currently gets brush hogged maybe once a year. My question is, will my tractor handle a single bottom plow to start the process of putting in a food plot? My tractor is equipped with turf saver tires not the bar tread tires. I do have chains for the tractor that I can use for both the front and rear tires. I notice also that the plows come in different sizes; 1x12, 1x14, and 1x16. Any advice on whether this will work or not would be great. Also, if my tractor can use a plow, is it customary to then drag a set of discs over the plowed ground to finish the job? Take care.

1988 John Deere 750
20 HP
Model 67 Loader

Thanks everyone ,

Jim

My first tractor was a 2005 Kubota B7510HST (21 hp engine, 17 hp pto). I installed about 1/3 acre of landscaping around my new house using a King Kutter middle buster plow ($150 from Tractor Supply) to break up the undisturbed soil. The I bought a used Yanmar RS1200 rototiller (48" wide, $300) from a local grey market tractor dealer to finish the job.

Your food plot is about 3 acres in size. For a food plot you really don't have to use a moldboard plow to flip the top 8-10 inches of topsoil. You could get yourself a disc and work up the top 3-4 inches. My neighbor gave me an old 7-ft wide Towner offset drag disc that needed a little grease to get working properly. I made a DIY drag from a 4' x 7' chain link fence, chained it to the disc and plowed my 7-acre hayfield with my 2008 Mahindra 5525 tractor. A near zero cost solution.

Good luck