970 deere bottom plow

[lbzduramax]

I have heard that I may want to use a bottom plow on some ground I want to plant vegetables on. Its been pasture ground for as long as I know, and was told that on soil like that, a tiller shouldnt be used at first.
Any help of this and what size bottom plow my 4x4 970 deere 33hp can handle is appreciated.

 

[gwdixon]

I have heard that I may want to use a bottom plow on some ground I want to plant vegetables on. Its been pasture ground for as long as I know, and was told that on soil like that, a tiller shouldnt be used at first.
Any help of this and what size bottom plow my 4x4 970 deere 33hp can handle is appreciated.

A single bottom plow would work great. A two bottom plow would be right on the edge. Forget a three bottom. All this depends on the kind of soil you have - loam, clay, bottom land, silt, big rocks, and probably a lot more. If you are only doing an acre or less a plow is not really needed.

A box blade with rippers could be used if you already have one. Just extend the rippers and spend a day driving around ripping up the ground. Let the pasture grass dry up and rot for a week and hit it with a tiller.

If you use a plow it will also tear up the soil but it will need to be disced or a lot of harrowing to get it back to level.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Pasture ground will usually be VERY compacted. Animals compact soil to a greater degree than running heavy equipment over it. And pasture usually has animals on it even in wet weather, when soil is at it's most vulnerable (to compaction)

That said, plowing will be tough sledding......I'd stick with a single bottom plow, 2X12"'s at the very most. Growing up, I spent a LOT of hours plowing on dads tractor. 32hp Ferguson F40. It would handle 2X12"'s just fine, but 2X14"'s would stop it in its tracks in hard ground.

 

[ncnurseryman]

I have a 970 also and have used a two bottom plow. You can't let it get too deep, it just won't pull it, but if you run it shallow, let it dry, run it again and disc you should be okay. What about killing off the grass first, that would put less strain on the 970.

 

[countryboycansurvive]

Run over it with a disk first to cut up the sod and you should be able to pull a 2 x 12" or a 1 x 16" fine.

 

[vtsnowedin]

Not my field of expertise but let me stick my neck out here and propose that plowing new ground if done right. ?? Rolls the sod completely over so that all the grass ,weeds and roots end up upside down with about six inches of soil over them that shuts out sunlight to them. This kills all the grass and weeds and starts the sod to rotting if there is enough moisture present and this releases the nutrients in the sod for the crop you plant above it to use when it's roots reach the layer of rotting sod. A well plowed field would be uniformly covered with round rolls of soil following the contours of the land with few if any horse manes of half rolled grass showing. Chopping it up with chisel points or spraying it with herbicides would be a waste of fuel and money if you were going to plow it right in the end.
Getting ready to duck back into the hole I crawled out of so go ahead and shoot.

 

[hizoot]

Not my field of expertise but let me stick my neck out here and propose that plowing new ground if done right. ?? Rolls the sod completely over so that all the grass ,weeds and roots end up upside down with about six inches of soil over them that shuts out sunlight to them. This kills all the grass and weeds and starts the sod to rotting if there is enough moisture present and this releases the nutrients in the sod for the crop you plant above it to use when it's roots reach the layer of rotting sod. A well plowed field would be uniformly covered with round rolls of soil following the contours of the land with few if any horse manes of half rolled grass showing. Chopping it up with chisel points or spraying it with herbicides would be a waste of fuel and money if you were going to plow it right in the end.
Getting ready to duck back into the hole I crawled out of so go ahead and shoot.

You need to come out more often! Hopefully ,this explanation will be a revelation to alot of folks....it was for me . With plowing ,your using the top layer turned under to help with nutrients ,etc,and the bottom dirt turned up over the vegetation gives the seedbed for your crop...your using the soil as efficiently as possible