Plow and Disk?

[jgreyt]

What size bottom plow and disk could I expect pull with a 2wd 29 hp tractor?

I have red clay. Everywhere.

 

[Bird]

12" or 14" single bottom plow; don't know about the disk.

Bird

 

[cowboydoc]

I'd agree with Bird on the plow, maybe with the right soil and a really good plow you could do two but I don't think so in red clay. Disc 4-6'

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Rule of thumb for disk:

3 1/2 - 6 dbhp per foot of disk width

Plowing takes some umph and mass...
With your red clay, I believe that's the real challenge... you may need Bird's Kubota tractor to assist along with Richard's horses to help pull.../w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Remember your high school science days using a small suction cup/plunger stuck on glass... almost impossible to pull off... that's how it's going to be trying to plow with that small amount of hp and a 1 bottom plow in clay... {don't forget the massive amount of ballast to add to your tractor}...

 

[jinman]

I just hate to guess on something like this since I grew up on a Ferguson 20 and pulled a two-bottom plow through everything. So, with all due respect to Bird and JMIII, I would suggest as follows:

...there's that "tried and true" Rule of Thumb which says you should try to borrow one from a friend/relative first because everything that's not on your ground is just speculation. I wouldn't buy without givin' it a try. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Your clay could be less clay than you think. /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif


JimI

 

[JohnMiller3]

<font color=blue>......there's that "tried and true" Rule of Thumb which says you should try to borrow one from a friend/relative first ...I wouldn't buy without givin' it a try. </font color=blue>

{Always...when in doubt, try it first...}

Absolutely, couldn't agree more...

"You are what you eat, drink, think, say and do..."

 

[Bird]

I'll buy that, JimI./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif I just know what I can pull in my clay. Yesterday, I plowed the garden under - plowed really deep with a single bottom middle buster, and kept moving in low range, 4WD, but with a considerable amount of wheel slippage (and moisture content at the time was perfect for the job - if it had been much drier I couldn't have gone very deep).

Bird

 

[jinman]

I think we are all in agreement here, Bird (you, CBDoc, JMIII, and me -- What a concept!/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif). It's just the method where we might differ. I would start at the top and work down and you would start at the bottom and work up. In all honesty, I normally take what I can get at the best bargain price. If I thought my tractor might be able to pull a two-bottom plow in "normal" soil, I might buy a two-bottom and then take off one of the moldboards when I was in clay.

I'm just brain-stormin' here and bouncing some additional ideas off you guys. Bird, if you are having trouble pulling a one-bottom, how in the world do you have such a great looking garden? Did you bring in soil and mulch? I seem to remember you saying you did. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

JimI

 

[Bird]

JimI, as far as the garden is concerned, this past Spring was the first time I've used a plow on it. In the past, I've just made multiple passes with the tiller. Even in the off season, I keep it tilled to keep any weeds and grass from getting a foothold. However, early this year, I decided to turn it with a plow to get a little deeper than the tiller will go, and now since the freezers are full, my wife used the last of her canning jars last weekend, and the grasshoppers were rapidly destroying everything, I mowed it down Monday (except for the bell peppers, okra, and tomatoes) and then yesterday turned it under with the plow. And of course, over the past 4 years, I've added large quantities of wood chips, rabbit manure, cow manure, and "mushroom soil" (turkey manure, straw, and I don't know what else that the mushroom plant used - they grow one crop then discard the soil and start fresh for the next crop).

Bird

 

[DFB]

A 2wd NH3930(50hp) with loaded tires pulls this double 16 thru our rocky New England soil.

DFB