Food plot implement choice

[bushhog28]

Food plot implement choice. Couple acre plot, has stumps below grade.

Perfecta 10
or
Fred Cain field ripper

Do I need to run a cultipacker behind either one or both of these to prevent soil washing?

 

[dusty3030]

If those are the two you have then use what you got, but hanging a stump just right with either will tear something up.

A conventional disk harrow would be better, it will ride up and over the stumps. A chain harrow or drag after the seed is sown to cover it up.
A cultipacker next will be best but not a have too.

If you have some high dollar clover or brassicas out there then I would lean towards cultipacker being a better bet than not using one. For cereal grains that are cheaper and higher seed rate just sow them a little thicker drag them under and be done with it.

 

[jd870]

I would use a disk harrow for tillage.

 

[bushhog28]

I have been looking into tandem/offset disc harrows, just not sure the discs will survive compared to a spring loaded ripper.

A HD tandem disk for my tractor is about 3-5k. A drawbar offset disk runs about 10-15k. 3pt offset about 5k, the Brown Mfg looks decent. Not that I'm to worried about price, I want to get the best implement I can for the job and not be tearing it up. Taking a 15k disc to stump ground has me a little concerned.

 

[dusty3030]

Offset is overkill for food plots.
For a two acre plot I would go used tandem like this one -
630 John Deere Disk

 

[bushhog28]

I plan to grade 30 acres with it later. Also has stumps below grade. I'm giving that area time to rot though, like atleast a few years.

 

[mx1alex]

Depends on what you want to plant. I've planted wheat/clover/turnips/radishes with just a spreader and timely rains on fields I burned down with glyphosate. Bigger seeded stuff like soybeans or corn you really need to get it in the ground a bit.

 

[jeff9366]

A conventional disk harrow would be better, it will ride up and over the stumps.

I have both a Dirt Dog All Purpose Plow/Field Cultivator and a heavy Monroe Tufline Disc Harrow. Behind a powerful tractor you are less likely to damage the Disc Harrow.

If I lived in North Carolina I would consider a Cultipacker and a Disc Harrow from (Temporarily blocked due to reports of company closure)

I have an ETA Cultipacker; there is nothing sophisticated about this implement from any supplier. ETA's Cultipacker is fine.

Food plot seeds are strong germinators. The ground does not require fine preparation. A soil test is advised for optimum germination rates.

 

[rbtjr]

I would love to hear how your planting turns out. For tillage I use a disc harrow. I did that on a 1/2 acre plot, then ran over it with a pulverizer to smooth it out, and planted clover. The clover came up well on about 3/4 of the plot--at least it looked that way-- but then I neglected it and the weeds took over. Obviously I don't know what to do to maintain the clover after it comes up and gets fairly well established--or maybe the problem was that it just looked pretty good but really wasn't well established.

 

[mx1alex]

I would love to hear how your planting turns out. For tillage I use a disc harrow. I did that on a 1/2 acre plot, then ran over it with a pulverizer to smooth it out, and planted clover. The clover came up well on about 3/4 of the plot--at least it looked that way-- but then I neglected it and the weeds took over. Obviously I don't know what to do to maintain the clover after it comes up and gets fairly well established--or maybe the problem was that it just looked pretty good but really wasn't well established.

Mowing is the best form of weed control for clover.