DK50 SE HST Plow Sizing

[SwingOak]

I'm going to burn and turn 5-1/2 acres later this summer to covert former horse pasture to hay. I'm thinking the DK50 can probably handle a two bottom, and maybe a three bottom if it's not bigger than 12", but my plowing experience is limited to dragging an ancient two bottom horse drawn plow with a Farmall H, and that was 30 years ago. Hardly makes me an expert... Anyone turn any dirt with a DK50, what are you using, and how's it working out? Thanks!

 

[jeff9366]

Do not burn. Turn under everything green for humus.

How deep do you want to turn the earth? Moldboard (Turning) Plows turn earth over a narrow, inflexible range.

12" plow will turn 5" - 7"

14" plow will turn 6" - 8"

16" plow will turn 7" - 9"

A three bottom 12" plow, properly adjusted, will plow three touching furrows totaling 36" wide and 5" to 7" deep.

A three bottom 16" plow, properly adjusted, will plow three touching furrows
totaling 48" wide, and 7" to 9" deep, but requires a great deal more power and traction to pull.

Used three bottom plows are not hard to find, sometimes can be rented.

If you plow after your first hard freeze in the Fall, letting freeze/thaw break down the furrows during Winter, then disc harrow in the Spring two-three weeks before last frost, you should not have to disc more than twice; maybe once. You will need to drag, but you can tow a drag behind your Disc Harrow.


MORE:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...oard-plow-wisdom-farmwithjunk.html?highlight=


If your pasture is smooth enough now, but compacted so water stands, you should consider using a pasture renovator, then, after a soil test and addition of nutrients, see if grass comes back stronger the succeeding year. You can overseed if desired.

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Hay+King+Renovator&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

 

[motownbrowne]

R4 tires, or R1?

 

[SwingOak]

Thanks Jeff, great info!

The fields are primarily bluegrass and mostly red (with some white) clover, with maybe 5% orchard grass. There are areas that at the moment are pure dandelions with sparse bluegrass. Alfalfa only exists here and there on the fence lines. Visually it was nitrogen poor, so to get things started we put down 100# urea, 50# AMS, and 100# potash per acre. I will have the soil test results back next week, and will subtract what we just put on for the next fert round, which probably won't be until after I drop whatever hay I have starting in a week or so when the weather gets right.

Red Clover is a bear to make dry bales with, it takes a long time to dry down and often makes moldy spots in the bales if not completely dry. That might be fine for cows, but not horses, and we have a horse farm. Bluegrass is also not very good for making bales either.

So we want to get rid of all of it and start over. We could just "burn" the field - kill off everything there with Roundup/2-4.d, and no-till drill. That's not going to fix the compaction issues, so we decided to turn it over to loosen everything up. The agronomist recommended we burn it (chemically) before turning it over. Once we do that and the finishing is done, it will also clean up some holes and low spots out there and smooth things over.

The field is dead flat (the highest point on our property is the septic mound), it drains well, and there are zero rocks. Not even a pebble. it is clay rich, and will probably not be easy to turn because of the compaction issue. Our agronomist says hard ground has been an issue everywhere this season because of the winter we had. Even ground that was plowed last fall did not loosen up as we did not have much in the way of freeze/thaw cycles. It froze up solid and stayed in the deep freeze for four months. It was the coldest, snowiest winter here in central Wisconsin in 25 years or more. The cold, wet spring didn't help either.

 

[SwingOak]

R4 tires, or R1?

I have R1's. R4's would not have been much good knowing there was potential for soil work, so the dealer swapped them out for me.

 

[motownbrowne]

You should be able to pull pretty hard with r1s on it.

Plowing will only loosen the top 6-9 inches. Have you thought about subsoiling also?

I'd think a three bottom plow would work, but if you want 16" plows maybe only a two bottom. With the hydro and low range, you'll have a lot of pull, but you need to keep your speed up to get good turning.

 

[SwingOak]

Plowing will only loosen the top 6-9 inches. Have you thought about subsoiling also?

I've got black soil down to 8-10", what's below that is a dark red-brown color. It drains pretty well, and as I recently learned with my post hole digger once you get down through the black stuff it loosens up until you get to about 3'. About a month ago I set and drove in 4" round cedar fence posts just by using the loader. Line up the center reinforcing band on the bottom of the loader bucket and press it in. I have video...

 

[jeff9366]

FARMWITHJUNK Re: Two Bottom Plow

Originally Posted by SouthernX

I'm in the market for my first 2-bottom plow. Why do they make 12" vs. 14" plows? Two inches isn't exactly a big difference. Is this just a historical artifact?

Here we go....As a general rule, MOST plows are designed to plow @ a depth of 1/2 their width (+ or - 1"). (i.e. 12" plows @ 6" deep, with exceptions, 5" to 7" --- A 14" plow @ 7", range from 6" to 8" ---- 16" plows @ 8" deep ranging from 7" to 9")

With smaller tractors (hp & weight/available traction) tailoring a plow to the tractor can be critical. It's very easy to get "too much plow".

Plow much deeper than a specific plow is designed for and sod/plowed strip tends not to want to roll completely over. To a certain extent, wider plows don't suffer as much from not plowing as deep as they are intended, with-in reason of course.

Now, a typical 2 X 12" plow will be moving dirt 24" wide and 6" deep. A 2 X 14" plow will be moving dirt 28" wide and 7" deep. (144 sq. in vs. 196) Also worth considering, 3 X12" plows cut 216 sq. in as opposed to a 2 X 16" plow moving 256 sq. in.....so THREE bottoms moves less dirt than TWO in that case. Throw in for good measure the fact that OFTEN, the deeper you plow, the harder the soil, the harder the plow pulls. In the end, 12" plows pull easier in most conditions. You just don't get the depth with them.

12" plows roll a smaller slice of dirt/sod. Some old timers used to say you shouldn't turn sod with a plow any bigger than 12". Bigger plows leave the surface too rough....Can't say as I always buy into that theory, but, can't argue with the old timers. (although sons and grandsons often do....)


FARMWITHJUNK Re: Maybe I Don't Need a Plow

There's more'n one way to skin a cat..... You're correct in your thinking about loosening the ground before tilling. Hitting a rock in loose soil SHOULD be less abusive than hitting the same rock buried in solid, virgin soil.

Now....How you go about breaking up the soil is open to several options. If you have the HP/traction, a chisel plow would do the job AND would help bring rocks to the surface.

A field cultivator will do much the same, but in broad, general terms, field cultivators are lighter in construction than a chisel plow, not lending themselves to breaking virgin soils.

Subsoilers/middlebusters will achieve much the same results as a chisel plow, but on a smaller scale. Single shank subsoilers won't "rake" rocks out of the ground like a multi-shank chisel plow though.

Something else that needs to be considered is SIZE of the rocks. Smaller (baseball to football size) rocks, I'd moldboard plow, pick up rocks, run through it with a field cultivator, pick rocks again, THEN till S.L.O.W.L.Y. at a shallow depth, pick up rocks once more, till at full depth, and then one final rock picking.

 

[ksbrdmkr]

There can be a lot of variables in the type of plow also. We plowed many years with a 3-16 allis plow on a WD 45 (45 hp). The DK 50 has enough power for the three bottom as long as it is loaded with enough weight for traction and use the draft control for tough spots. My thought on plowing is that it turns the weeds/grass over for a better kill, if you are going to spray the growth a chisel and disc should work.

 

[SwingOak]

My dealer said a lot depends on the soil conditions but I should be fine with a 2 bottom 12" or 14". If I get a 3 bottom to stick to 12". Sounds like that echoes the sage advice given here.