Buying a disc for deer food plots

[jaxs]

That's a good piece of equipment pictured in post 10 but not for a compact tractor. By the time you remove enough shanks to alow your tractor to handle it,it's a waste. If you have a box blade,that's all you need. If you don't have a box blade,buy one,you will find plenty of use for it. Drop the rippers and make a pass or two with blade above ground ,scatter seed then make another pass or two with blade barely skimming soil to cover seed and you are done.

 

[jeff9366]

Excellent.

Measure F/C to be sure it is set up for a Category 1 Three Point Hitch, not a Category 2 Three Point Hitch. Category 2 equipment is heavier and will overwhelm your light, 2-WD tractor. (Or take in a Category 1 Draw Pin from another implement to compare to F/C pins.)

Category1/Category2 Hitch SPECS: TractorData.com - Three-Point Hitch

TEST with three shanks in the ground before making further mods.

Make an opening offer of $150.

 

[jeff9366]

That's a good piece of equipment pictured in post 10 but not for a compact tractor. By the time you remove enough shanks to alow your tractor to handle it,it's a waste. If you have a box blade,that's all you need. If you don't have a box blade,buy one,you will find plenty of use for it. Drop the rippers and make a pass or two with blade above ground ,scatter seed then make another pass or two with blade barely skimming soil to cover seed and you are done.

My experience with Field Cultivators and Box Blades are contrary to yours. The OP and I share sandy soil conditions.

I found a Fred Caine in the brush and converted it to fit my little Kioti 2610 HST. Still playing around with tine numbers. It was a 9 tine unit. Ive dropped it to 3 tines for now. Pulls nice and easy in my heavy clay soil older pasture so it turns out to be a very handy thing to have since its adaptable to even a smaller tractor. I think Im going to put two more tines on it and see if I can handle that many. It probably will in some of my already worked areas.

Dirt Dog All Purpose Plow / Field Cultivator
Dirt Dog Model APP 66-5
Total Width 66", Working Width 62", Five Tines, Weight 284 Pounds, Paid $835.00
​

Field Cultivators and Chisel Plows have parabolic shaped tines in common. Parabolic tines pull much easier through soil than angled shanks, such as those equipping Box Blades. From my observation, this is because parabolic shaped tines have the forward part of the tines in nearly a horizontal position working the soil. Field Cultivator tines are tipped with sharp, chisel points further reducing draft resistance.

Each sharp chisel point on my Field Cultivator is 2" X 10" = 20 square inches, oriented horizontally. Chisel points are uniform 5/16" thick. Tines are 1/2" wide.

Box Blade shanks are angled at 45 degrees to reach the bottom of road potholes and chip out surrounding hard road surface. They are designed for rigidity to apply bludgeon force. Box Blade points have an edge but get fat immediately.

Each blunt Box Blade ripper point on my Rollover Box Blade is 1-1/4" X 5-1/4" = 6-1/2 square inches, oriented at 45 degrees. Orientation at 45 degrees hugely increases draft resistance. Box Blade shanks are 5/8" wide.

The engaged five tine Field Cultivator pulls easily, relative to my five shank Rollover Box Blade, with shanks down.

 

[jaxs]

My experience with Field Cultivators and Box Blades are contrary to yours. The OP and I share sandy soil conditions.

Actually,you don't share sandy soil conditions with op. Sandy soil in East Texas is red. In Texas,we call that stuff in your picture black clay. It's no wonder your experience is contrary to mine. At any rate I'm not saying box blades are the BEST implement for food plots but work just fine and can be used for other purposes.

 

[BMan2005]

Is the property close by you where you will be doing the food plots? And do you have access to a sprayer for the back of an atv or utv?

 

[bambam31]

We have started to do no till deer plots here in Alabama. We spray two weeks before planting, broadcast the fertilizer and seed and mow the dead vegetation over the seed and fertilizer with a bush hog. This method takes significantly less time, less fuel and is less wear and tear on your equipment. You must have a good stand of vegetation to cover the seed. Our plots with poor soil with less vegetation do require disking. All you have to do is scratch the surface to get enough soil to cover the seed. You do not have to turn under ever blade of grass and weeds to get a food plot to grow. Deep tillage is not necessary. Our plots look like a mowed field after we plant but they have ALWAYS come up. They may not start out as pretty but not one deer on our property has ever complained.