best implement to till land

[drjay9051]

I have about 3 acres I need to turn over to plant pasture. I have told use a disc harrow, a moldboard plow and a tiller by different people. One guy even suggested a box blade with the teeth full down!! What is the "best" way to go? I could rent a tiller for !00 a day but I would neeed to walk behind it. I suppose I could buy a discer (hopefully used) Is one better than another to fully turn over earth? I really dont see how a discer works but have been assured it is quite good. Any thoughts.

Thanks
Jay

 

[Jimbrown]

Well it depends on several things. Where are you? How hard is the dirt? How much vegitation is on the land and what kind? And do you already have any of this stuff? The tiller they are talking about is not a walk behind but one that attaches to a tractor, probably over kill. I would choose a disc if the ground is not rock hard. A box blade with the rippers down would also work. Probably not as good unless it is rock hard ground.

Next would depend on if I already had any of this stuff or which I could get at the best price.

 

[JerryK]

Traditionally, if you have heavy sod and want to get rid of it....you plow the sod under then disk it up. This puts the most amount of the old stuff down under the ground. If the soil is loose, and their is no heavy growth you want to get rid of, you can just disk the piss out of it then plant. So....depends...
[ not much of an answer, eh? ]

 

[drjay9051]

I am in Ocala florida. Land is partial growth, older pasture. Soil is sandy. No rocks to speak of. I do have a box blade but I would probably need to make quite a few passes. I just found the three point tillers, EXPENSIVE!!, but probably quite good. I suppose I could hire someone but thats no fun

J

 

[wolc123]

Tillers are good for less than an acre. For a pasture of (3) acres you definitely want a plow and a disk. A tiller would do the job but would be much less efficient. What is your time worth?

 

[Logan]

I used a disc harrow to prepare a little over an acre in south Georgia. The land here is sand and had been a stand of four or five year old planted pines and wild blackberries. The pines were removed with a bulldozer two years ago and the land had grown over with weeds, nut grass, and new blackberry bushes. I mowed it first and then harrowed. I had never used a set of harrows before and I was very impressed with how well they worked.

 

[Egon]

For three acres I'd go with the tiller as first choice. Plow and disc as second choice and just a disk as third choice but only if you have enough tractor to pull a proper disk.

 

[ToadHill]

I believe with sandy soil a disk with weight added and several passes will be all you need to turn over this soil

 

[JoeinTX]

"I believe with sandy soil a disk with weight added and several passes will be all you need to turn over this soil.."


I would agree. No more land than you mention, and with that type of soil, a tandem disc plow is your best all-purpose bet.

You should be able to find a decent used 5-6' disc and with it all of your tillings needs should be met.

 

[teg]

What tractor do you have?

 

[ddivinia]

I have about 3 acres I need to turn over to plant pasture. I have told use a disc harrow, a moldboard plow and a tiller by different people. One guy even suggested a box blade with the teeth full down!! What is the "best" way to go? I could rent a tiller for !00 a day but I would neeed to walk behind it. I suppose I could buy a discer (hopefully used) Is one better than another to fully turn over earth? I really dont see how a discer works but have been assured it is quite good. Any thoughts.

Thanks
Jay

Down here:

Chisel
Disc
Harrow

 

[JerryG]

For larger areas like that, I would use:
Moldboard plow
field cultivator or disc

I like to use the 11 shank field cultivator or as we call them in this area, field tillers much better than a disc but we have millions of fist size flint rocks. It covers a larger area and levels the soil nicely. Even with our rock, when you plow and cultivate this way, you sink in the soil when you walk across it.
Is this going to be a one time thing or are you going to be doing land prep yearly?

 

[JerryG]

I want back to look up what tractor you have since it wasn't in your Bio. I don't know how big of a plow it could pull but you might be just as well of with a PTO powered tiller. Given the size of plow that you would have to use, the tiller might be just as fast or maybe even faster. Also that way you could get by with only buying one implement instead or two. Or you might be able to rent one at your local rental store.

 

[ddivinia]

Also, if this is a one time deal - have somebody come in and knock it out for you. No sense in buying a huge amount of equipment for a one time job.

D.

 

[drjay9051]

As requested, I have a Kioti CK 25 , 25 HP. Seems to be a bit of a debate between disc and tiller. I have seen tillers work the soil, however I cannot imagine a disc doing anything other than just cutting a bunch of grooves in the soil?? Angle frame vs box frame disc? Just looked at KIng Kutter site. Lots of tools that look like they work. A bit confusing between middle buster plow, moldboard plow etc. All in all it seems like I would cover the most ground the quickest with a tiller or maybe a disc, I would think 5 footer??

Really was going to make this a one time deal to plant pasture but who knows. I never thought I would use my box blade as much as I do. Lastly, how about a field cultivator (looks like a frame with lots of tines. Except I dont think this will turn under the weeds.

Thanks for all the help

J

 

[Jimbrown]

You can do what you want but if I already had the box blade I would just put the rippers as deep as i could and start ripping. May have to make lots of passess in different directions but I think it would do a "good enough" job and you don't have to buy anything you may never use again. If it does not get the way you like then do the same thing with a disk over the top of what you ripped. Broadcast the seed clippings ect and then disc over it again. I bet you have lots of grass.

 

[flusher]

I have about 3 acres I need to turn over to plant pasture. I have told use a disc harrow, a moldboard plow and a tiller by different people. One guy even suggested a box blade with the teeth full down!! What is the "best" way to go? I could rent a tiller for !00 a day but I would neeed to walk behind it. I suppose I could buy a discer (hopefully used) Is one better than another to fully turn over earth? I really dont see how a discer works but have been assured it is quite good. Any thoughts.

Thanks
Jay

Before considering tillage equipment you need to know how deep you need to till. This depends on the type or types of soil involved and the amount of soil compaction. If there's a lot of clay, you may have a drainage problem that has to be fixed. Get a soil test to find out what's out there.

Compaction depends on how the land has been used previously (grazed? plowed? lie fallow for years?, etc). If its been grazed or plowed, there may be a hardpan layer 12-24 inches below the surface that will cause a drainage problem. If so, you'll need to use a subsoiler pulled by a sufficiently large tractor to rip this layer. For example my neighbor used a single shank parabolic subsoiler and a 75-hp (engine) MF tractor on his alfalfa field this year prior to discing.

Do you have a handle on compaction? If not, you need to do a little test digging on your 3 acres to find out before spending a lot of time and money on this project.

 

[JoeinTX]

As requested, I have a Kioti CK 25 , 25 HP. Seems to be a bit of a debate between disc and tiller. I have seen tillers work the soil, however I cannot imagine a disc doing anything other than just cutting a bunch of grooves in the soil?? Angle frame vs box frame disc? Just looked at KIng Kutter site. Lots of tools that look like they work. A bit confusing between middle buster plow, moldboard plow etc. All in all it seems like I would cover the most ground the quickest with a tiller or maybe a disc, I would think 5 footer??

Really was going to make this a one time deal to plant pasture but who knows. I never thought I would use my box blade as much as I do. Lastly, how about a field cultivator (looks like a frame with lots of tines. Except I dont think this will turn under the weeds.

Thanks for all the help

J

A tandem disc will not produce the finely pounded ground that a tiller will, no doubt, but it comes as close as any of the tools you mention. Many people fashion a drag (piece of pipe or railroad track or crosstie) that you attach behind the plow to further smooth the plowed ground. As for speed, you'll disc faster than you'll till.

As for you, a 5' would be max size to attempt with your tractor and the difference between angle-iron frame/box frame is primarily weight....the boxed frame should be heavier and stronger and produce a better result but you could go with the lighter one and add weight as necessary.

Tillers, even used, are pretty expensive rigs with a lot more moving parts than a tandem disc. If you're planning on a one time thing or just don't know yet, I would hire out first as suggested above or go the cheaper route with the disc before spending much more on a tiller that you may decide you don't even want anymore in a year or two.....

 

[andrewj]

I disagree with all but a few posts above.

first, quite a bit depends on compaction. If it has been forest for the last 100 years, you have the worst scenario as you have compaction as well as high acid.

If it was pasture before, and just grown up, first I'd bush hog it now. then in a month or two, pay someone to bottom plow it for you. you don't have enough tractor to bottom plow that land unless you pull a single bottom and spend a long time on it. Ford 8ns bottom plowed sand land all day long back in the day, so I guess you could too but bottom plowing is just hard long grunt work for a tractor and there is actually a learning curve with a bottom plow, so you'd be back here asking how to do it. just pay that done.

Bottom plowing does a few things: first, it can be bad since it inverts the soil layer, putting GOOD topsoil under BAD sand/clay where the topsoil can't be used! Now if your topsoil goes down a foot or two, then no worries. In your area, topsoil is probably going to consist of sand plus organic material that is currently being worked on by bacteria. bury that bacteria under a foot of "turned" secondary layer, and you set back your topsoil process.

second, bottom plowing buries "slash" from bush hogging as well as buries new seeds...but it uncovers seeds that may be 100 years old! you'll see stuff growing you never seen before.

Bottom plowing also loosens the soil for 8 inches to a foot down. This increases the water carrying capacity of the soil. Instead of running off, it can trickle down. I also suggest deep ripping beneath the hard pan if you hav one, this will also assist with water infiltration.


Sooooo here's a plan.
step one, bush hog
step two pay to have it bottom plowed if the conditions above apply
step three, use a MECHANICAL tiller, also called a chisel plow or field renovator to "comb" or plow the field.
step four, soil sample and apply lime accordingly.
step five, broadcast some wheat and KY 31. I think bahia also does well in your area.
step 6, enjoy!

I would not attack 3 acres with a pto driven tiller.

you are late. you should have been planting fescue and wheat in sept/oct. So I'd say you can still get a cover crop down but don't expect an early cutting of hay.

right now

 

[drjay9051]

Thanks for all of the input, everyone.

Here's what I did last night. Took my boxblade and set the teeth all the way down. Shortened the toplink and lowered the box until only the teeth were in the ground( about 6-8 inches deep). Tried a small area and it works quite well. Really turned the soil and ripped up lots of roots. A second pass and than the drag and it looked great. Third step would be to roll it and than seed and roll again. I think I will take this route for the entire pasture, but again thanks.

If anyone can tell me why my method is not advisable I'm all ears.

J