Newbie with 18 Acres - Trees ripped out...now what?

[noobfarmer]

Last year, I bought 18 acres that were completely overgrown with Russian Olive trees. I ripped out all of the trees with an excavator and put them in burn piles. I'm now trying to convert the land into good pasture and plant hay. Not sure what tools I need. And I'd gladly welcome and friendly advice.

Here's what I have:

• Belarus 9345 Tractor - 98hp
• Box Blade with scarifiers
• Brush Hog Mower

The ground is very heavy in clay content (40% +/-). And it's full of 1"-2" roots from the Russian Olive trees. No rocks. Highly compacted soil.

I'm thinking of getting a very-heavy duty tiller from China and trying to just beat the land into submission. But I'm not sure if a plow and cultivator/disc combination might work better. My tractor's lowest speed is 1.4mph. And I'm told by some that this is too fast for a tiller, though the Chinese manufacturer said it would work just fine.

Any advice is much appreciated!

Thanks,
Doug

 

[MMagis]

A disc will do exactly what you need in a fraction of the time the tiller will do it. And do it better in my opinion. Depending on the soil, you may also need to run a chisel plow through it first. You can handle a decent sized hydraulic disk with that tractor. But before doing anything, I’d have the soil tested and add lime/fertilizer as needed.

 

[jeff9366]

I concur with MMAGIS, above. If you get a Disc Harrow with 24" or 26" diameter pans it should be heavy enough so you will not need to plow.

A Chisel Plow or a Field Cultivator, which is a light duty Chisel Plow, will "cup" roots and drag them out. Field Cultivator is an excellent soil aerator.

YES on the soil test and amendments.

Photo #1 Athen's Chisel Plow, Photo #2-#5 Dirt Dog's Field Cultivator/APP

LINK: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...ement-vine-root-removal-woods.html?highlight=

 

[Ed of all trades]

If you use a plow of any kind you will have to deal with the roots that you pull up but if you just disc it a few times the roots will be mostly underground and you can just plant on top of them. If ti were not for the roots I would say get a chisel plow but with the roots I would just disc. Ed

 

[noobfarmer]

Thanks for the advice guys. I guess I'll skip the tiller and go for a combination of cultivator (i.e. to pull up roots) and disc.

There is also a lot of swamp grass, reeds, cattails on the property. Will I need to mow this just prior to disc-ing the field?

 

[jeff9366]

It is exceptionally easy to sink a tractor in mud to its axles. Be very cautious approaching reeds and cattails.

Pond/swamp edge work is best accomplished with a tracked excavator with a long reach.

A Cultivator will normally go down 6" and is engineered for juvenile plant disturbance, not roots.

The right tool is a Chisel Plow or an All Purpose Plow/Field Cultivator.

It is best to Bush Hog very short before doing ground contact work.

 

[noobfarmer]

Would something like this be heavy-duty enough for roots?

Fred Cain Tractor 9 Shank 3 Point Field Cultivator, Ripper, Tillage Tool, Jitterbug, Field plow, Bermuda grass plow

Ideally, could find a used chisel plow. But there's not a lot of used tillage equipment in my area.

 

[jeff9366]

Yes. Look at Photo #5 in Post #3. However, your Belarus 9345 has a Category 2 Three Point Hitch. You will need a complementary Category 2 implement, not Category 1 size.

I researched two years before deciding a Field Cultivator was what I wanted for root removal. No regrets.

The Fred Cain and Dirt Dog Field Cultivators are 99% identical; both are direct copies of Harry Ferguson's implement dating from 1934, one of the first four implements designed for the tractor Three Point Hitch.

If you read my LINK in Post #3 you will find tines are 1/2" steel, very strong, then have overriding spring protection. I use mine hard in Florida sandy-loam. With your clay, you should pick a time when the soil is firm but not dry. To aerate you want to "fracture" the soil, not stir up mud.

( A roto-tiller would beat out the air, leaving you with adobe brick.)


eBay LINKS (2): Field Cultivator -parts in Heavy Equipment Attachments | eBay


Chisel Plow -parts in Heavy Equipment Attachments | eBay


Photo #1 Harry Ferguson on Ferguson tractor with mounted Ferguson "Tiller"/Field Cultivator.

 

[jenkinsph]

Thanks for the advice guys. I guess I'll skip the tiller and go for a combination of cultivator (i.e. to pull up roots) and disc.

There is also a lot of swamp grass, reeds, cattails on the property. Will I need to mow this just prior to disc-ing the field?

Is this land irrigated? That would be important to know as to what grass would be the best choice. I live in New Mexico under similar conditions as Utah. You can use a good rotary tiller, field cultivator, box blade, disc, in most cases. If you don't have any large rocks a chisel plow would work too.

The comment that a disc will do it in a fraction of the time a tiller will do it is BS. Tillers and discs can both do a good job and from start to finish there won't be much difference in the time it takes to get to a finished seedbed. I would keep my options open when shopping for the tillage equipment and see what I could find for the best price. You may find a good deal on a disc or a good deal on a tiller and since both will work that may save some money.

Most of my work is laser leveling irrigated fields that need to be reworked to make them water properly. In the last twenty years the new equipment has made it easier to get a closer grade with less hassle. I use a tiller for most of these fields because it is much easier to transport than a disc. I use a box blade with rippers to level the fields, tiller to prepare for seeding and a section harrow and land plane for smoothing. So there are several ways to get the job done and I would pick the methods that you can get the best deal on.

 

[leonz]

Last year, I bought 18 acres that were completely overgrown with Russian Olive trees. I ripped out all of the trees with an excavator and put them in burn piles. I'm now trying to convert the land into good pasture and plant hay. Not sure what tools I need. And I'd gladly welcome and friendly advice.

Here's what I have:

• Belarus 9345 Tractor - 98hp
• Box Blade with scarifiers
• Brush Hog Mower

The ground is very heavy in clay content (40% +/-). And it's full of 1"-2" roots from the Russian Olive trees. No rocks. Highly compacted soil.

I'm thinking of getting a very-heavy duty tiller from China and trying to just beat the land into submission. But I'm not sure if a plow and cultivator/disc combination might work better. My tractor's lowest speed is 1.4mph. And I'm told by some that this is too fast for a tiller, though the Chinese manufacturer said it would work just fine.

Any advice is much appreciated!

Thanks,
Doug

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Are you a hobby farmer or are you intent on selling hay and renting pasture land on a monthly basis ??????

I bet your a hobby farmer.

Don't waste your money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That tiller wont last, your not going to break that land into submission with their "tillers", first you need loaded tires and a heavy wheeled york rake to pull it all up and then burn the roots and trash before you do anything.

AND THERE ARE ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
you did not see them because the olive trees roots being invasive pushed them away from the base of the olive trees.


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See if you can rent or hire a tractor and hydraulic rock picker like the Schulte brand picker.




You need gypsum first and then hire the plowing done by a neighbor that has a hydraulic reset plow with at least a 14 inch moldboard and fluted disc coulters.

You need lots of gypsum to dissolve the clay before you do anything. Be sure to do it when there
is no rain in the forecast for a while.

After that you can plow it all under and then do more clean up work.

As far as tillage machinery:

If you insist on doing it yourself and with your ground conditions I would contact the folks at www.northwesttiller.com and see if they have a used strawberry bedder tiller for sale as that frame size tiller
will take care of all your ground prep needs and then you can buy a small heavy three
point disc harrow only after you spread the required amount of gypsum after a soil test.

A Northwest brand tiller will break up ground to 14 inches deep in one pass and make it ready for seeding.

hiring a neighbor with a sure stand grass drill will save you time and money and you will not waste seed like you
would with a spinner spreader.

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Having the local cooperative come in with a spreader truck full of gypsum will save you time and money.

You have to understand that the reason the Russian Olives were there is because nothing else would grow
there and the birds spread the seeds from the Russian Olives.


You need to understand that if the soil is hardpan clay below 14 inches your not going to have any luck unless you can hire a dozer with a deep moldboard plow or a someone with a "whirlwind" levee plow to tear it all up.