Disk and pasture renovator and Horse Pasture?

[HoustonBrama]

What is the difference in a a disk harrow and a pasture renovator? I have an old disk I bought at a auction for $100. I was told I could adjust it for less or more "tillage". I couldn't seem to get it to adjust. I need to plant some new seed in my small pasture. I don't want to do as much damage to it that the disk did (killed all the grass) but the "pasture renovator" looks almost identical to a disk. Am I just stuck with disking my pasture every time or is there really a difference in these two implements that I don't get? Please educate me.

 

[MarkLeininger]

A disk harrow is a disk that has a relatively shallow cut into the soil, unlike a disk that's used to plow under a field before planting. A renovator is designed to leave growing grasses as intact as possible while still breaking up the soil compaction and allowing moisture to penetrate. It has thin disks and special cutters that go in front of them. We overseed our pasture every year and pull a drag harrow, which looks like a piece of chain link fence with tines that point down and scruff up the top surface so the seed can make contact with the soil. Do you really have a problem with compaction or do you just need to get the new seed to grow?

 

[Mike120]

The simplest answer is that a disc will turn the ground over and a pasture renovator will just cut slits in the ground to let air and fertilizer get to the root zone. Weight and the number of discs/teeth determine how deep each will cut. Agressiveness on a disc is determined by the angle....more angle=more agressive. The more passes you make with a disc, the more it breaks down the clods, and the closer you can get to a powder consistancy.

The size of the pasture, the number of horses on it, weather, how often it is rested, fertilized, soil tested, type of grass, etc, determine how often you should have to do anything to it. I have 14 seperate paddocks for an average 20-25 horses and I rarely strip a paddock and reseed it. If I get an area that they have compacted so bad that grass will not grow on it (fence line, water trough/feeding area), I'll usually use a tiller on it and reseed it while it's resting. I'll also fertilize it, mow it, and spray it for weeds while it's resting, depending on what it needs. I've got a soil test kit (LaMotte AST-5) so that's easy to determine.

Except for Spraying/fertilizing/cutting/raking/baling, we never go into the hay fields so I don't worry much about compaction. If I needed to run a pasture renovator over them, I'd borrow one before I'd buy one. It would rust out before I could wear it out.

If I do need to strip a paddock, I'll typically disc it to turn over the soil (a disc will cut into very compacted soil) and then run over it with a tiller to smooth it out. I spread seed with a cone spreader 10# of bermuda with 100# sand, and run over it with a chain harrow (drag) to improve the seed soil contact. Sometimes I'll run over it with a pasture roller....just depends on how I feel about it. I keep horses out until the grass is about 6-8".

When I plant rye for the winter, I just overseed it in the fall...I can do that while horses are in there.

If you manage your pasture and the grass in it, you should rarely have to do much with it. A fence to allow resting is probably your best implement. It's also the cheapest.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/70392-hay-king-pasture-renovator.html

Here's a link to mine. Sorry Kosse, I must of lost track to this link back when I changed computers.

I've even thought of "renting" it out to my online tractor friends. It works best a few days after a rain when the ground is a bit softened. My little 4310 with 30HP, 4WD, and a full load in the FEL (to help the front wheels bite) will actually pull it if the ground is softened, but not if it sinks to the hubs. You'll probably need 40HP to do it right.

 

[HoustonBrama]

Okay, I'm on track. My ground is hard naturally by my location in TN. I do have alot of grass and clover already but it is just not as thick as I would like and some really thin spots (notice the hill in the picture) Using the drag harrow, and over seeding, would I spread my seed and then drag it or do this before AND after?

 

[Mike120]

Good gosh, that's not a pasture....it's a park!

I'm assuming that the hill you are refering to is the brown area before the trees.

I can see some thin spots in the grassy area, what kind of grass are you using? Bremuda or any type that creeps will migrate to the bare spots if you make it attractive with extra humus, fertilizer, water, etc. First you need to understand why it's bare. Soil is not always uniform and it's likely that those areas are more compacted because of higher clay content, or because the horses are fond of the surrounding grass and like to stand there. You can probably fix them with spot treatments. I typically use liquid lime for ph in my paddocks because I can't take them out long enough for granular to work.

The brown hill is a different story. I'd get a soil analysis on it first to make sure it will support grassy life-forms. It looks like a spoil pile which means it may not be topsoil and be very limited in nutrients. Address that first. To answer your question though, I'd drag first to loosen the soil, spread seed, and then drag it again or roll it. You're just trying to make sure you have a good seed/soil contact. Rain will make it sprout, but it takes good soil to make it grow. Weeds are generally opportunistic plants that will grow in conditions that grass doesn't like. Soil management is usually a lot cheaper than chemicals. It's just slower.

 

[Rara Avis]

Why bother?...
You have great grass...

Remember as soon as the horses get on it...it WILL CHANGE...

 

[HoustonBrama]

Thanks Mike. I've had a soil sample done for the whole area but not just that one spot. I think I'll do that. I want to get this whole side growing well before I cut the horses loose on it. My soil sample came back looking real good. All I needed was a little lime. But as I said, that was a sample of the whole area. Thanks again.

 

[Mike120]

Paul's right, you've got great looking grass. A shame to put horses on it but they'll add to the park affect......for a while.

If you are fertilizing, you'll eventually need lime. My feed dealer gets me liquid lime from Pennington Seed, I just apply it with a sprayer. It's a little pricey but it works pretty quick. If you put down granular do it in the fall, it'll take all winter to take effect, but it's cheaper than liquid. Just keep the horses off until it's had a good rain.

Look at the humus level on those bare spots. If there is a dairy near by you can fix it with composted cow manure.

Good luck you've got a great looking place!