Farnam Pasture Restorer - What's Wrong?

[To20Chris]

Farnam Pasture Restorer - What\'s Wrong?

I posted on this attachment last year, and Ken Sweet kindly told me what it was, but now I'm having a hard time making it work. I’m hoping that someone who has experience with one of these might be able to give me some tips. My understanding is that it would cut "slits" in the ground, allowing fertilizer and moisture to get to the roots. Well, moisture is not a problem here of late! Anyway, I have tried it a couple of times now, and I always have the same problem – it just tears things up way too much. It rips up clods & uproots the grass, and then the larger clods get stuck in it and start to drag off the surface. The one benefit is that it cuts up viney roots that run in from the tree line.

I’ve tried to set the angle so that the blade on bottom is running about flat, so it won’t pitch the soil upward. Is this correct?

I note that the shanks are square front (1/2”?), and I think that might be responsible for some of the problem. The “T” blade on the bottom has an edge (it could be sharper). I’m thinking about grinding an edge on the front of the shanks, as well as sharpening the blade part. I guess in the end I figure anytime you drag something that blunt an square through the ground, it’s gonna tear things up – so how did these ever work in the first place??
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[To20Chris]

Re: Farnam Pasture Restorer - What\'s Wrong?

Here's the blade - it wasn't raining when I used it!

 

[Darren]

Re: Farnam Pasture Restorer - What\'s Wrong?

For some reason, the old ways, and impliments, don't go out of fashion. The book "Plowman's Folly" was published a long time ago. Used copies are readily available. I think it was written in the early part of the 1900's. Maybe in the 30's. It was the observations of someone that wanted to restore soil fertility but didn't understand the need for disturbing the soil.
Plants will do much of the work for you if you let them.

It's odd that what was considered extreme at that time, has come full circle to some extent with no-till operations. Pasture fertility can be greatly improved by mowing appropriately and planting cover crops. You can actually end up with too much nitrogen in the soil with some cover crops like hairy vetch. Stuff like clover can be frost seeded without ever turning an ignition key. Seeding even five acres with a hand cranked seeder isn't all that bad. In fact walking the ground while cranking away can be down right peaceful.

 

[sweettractors]

Re: Farnam Pasture Restorer - What\'s Wrong?

Wait for the soil to dry up some--Ken Sweet