Converting rocks, foxtail and weeds to hay pasture

[40Kchicks]

I am in the progress of restoring my lower 20 acres of pasture from weeds and foxtail to grass hay this summer. Next year I will do the upper 20. I have the lots of 4-20” rocks. Most of these rocks are in one area of the pasture. The pasture has been picked before but I wouldn’t want to run any equipment over it yet so this month I sprayed it with roundup and it is wilting away now. I don’t really want to plow it because I’m afraid it will just bring up more rock. This is what I’m thinking. First sift the larger rocks off it with my sifting bucket then use the flail mower to break up the dead grass. This is the part I need help with. Should I use a chisel plow with the spring teeth or can I just run a disk and harrow over it? I don’t have a chisel plow, disk or harrow yet. I would like to get away with buying the least amount of equipment I can. I have never plowed or ran a chisel and have little experience with a disk so I’m hoping someone that knows what the right equipment to use is can point me in the right direction. I have at my disposal the Kubota M9000, the Cat skid steer, a sifting bucket, tooth bucket, a small ripper attachment for the skid steer, and a leveler blade or as some call it a land plane.

Thanks
Eric

 

[Egon]

What would be the use for the grass?

Using a combination of the sifting bucket and landplane should work on the rocks but will take time.

If the future involves mowing or haying the area I'd suggest some cultivation and more than once at spaced intervals. Cover crops could be planted in between and then turned under as green manure. Of couse it will also entail more time removing rocks but best for end result.

Think I'd go for a plough and disc for the cultivation. A heavy drag will also help smoothings out.

The result you whish to end up with will greatly influence the choice of implements. For a proper agricultural type result with good quality grass will take time and work and cultivation.

Egon

 

[40Kchicks]

Eventually my goal is to have two big areas of good grass hay that are bailed up and used to supplement the winter grass for my livestock. The livestock will be about 60 ewes (sheep) and lambs, a couple beef cows for personal use, and a horse or two that we have. If all goes as planed there will be extra hay that could be sold. I have several areas that will be cross sectioned off for the livestock to rotate around during the spring when they will be moved off the flat hay pasture.

So how well does a plow go through ground that has these field stones in it? I was thinking that it would be better to not disturb them and just break up and remove the rocks from the surface.

Thanks for the advice.
Eric

 

[Egon]

Okay - you want a workable pasture with good grass!

Means cultivation, rock removal and more cultivation. Plan on at l;east three years minimum to get to the desired soil condition.
Plow will work fine just as it has for the past many a year. :grin

also find out what is the best grass combination for yor area.


Egon

 

[40Kchicks]

Egon, could you better define cultivation. What kinds of implements would work best. There are so many types of plows. I looked online and found several types of trip plows and a rotating plow. There is also a spring/spike plow. I’m heading into unknown territory here.

As far as grass goes I live in Linn county Oregon which has named itself the grass seed capital of the world. Almost all the fields are grass seed and grass seed warehouses are everywhere.

I took a picture of the now dead field that I want to fix up because everyone wants pictures.

Thanks
Eric

 

[40Kchicks]

Sorry about the small picture I didn't get my resize working right but you get the idea. This is a picture of my leveler that my brother and I built about 4 years ago. It levels out my chicken barns great.

Eric

 

[Egon]

Nice looking equipment. It would also work very well on road maintenance.

Mith -- Take note!

Egon /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[slowzuki]

Around here the ground is similar to yours. People plow it with a spring trip self reseting plow (has moldboards) then pick the rocks with a sifting bucket or pto driven rock picker.

It is planted and used for a few years, next time it is plowed, say 5-10 years later, more rocks show up and they are picked again.

The cycle repeats here, fields that have been worked since the 1600's still spit up rocks that need picked.

 

[40Kchicks]

That leveler has been great. You just set the height and go. It knocks of the high spots and fills in the low spots. There isn’t any down pressure except for the weight of it but it still works really well. I built it for about $400. The next year I separated one of the wheel legs and put a hydraulic cylinder on it so now I can go up and down and side to side. I included a picture of when I was building a new road and manure barn this past fall and used it to level out the rock. We had rented a ride on compactor that we rode around after everything was leveled out. For several days we had gravel delivered, then I would level and grade it, then we would compact it.

Eric

 

[40Kchicks]

Just so I don't leave you wondering how it turned out this is a picture of the finished road and new 50X80X16 manure shed at the end of the road.

Eric