Chisel Plow

[NMJohn]

Hi all,

I bought a 2004 L2800DT with a FEL last week, and after completing the 400 hour service on it, I am starting to plan my first big project with it. I have a 1/2 acre space that I want to prepare for planting next spring. The soil is mostly sandy but does hold some shape when squeezed, but overall I think it's poor soil (mostly weeds and goat heads).

I am going to have the soil tested so I'll better know what to do to improve it, but after a lot of reading I am going to start with a chisel plow. The ground has not been worked in over 20 years, so I think it's a good place to start.

Based on my reading, it appears you should plan 10hp per blade with a chisel plow, so I am going to hunt down a 3 blade chisel plow. Might be pushing it a bit with the L2800, but since the ground is pretty sandy I think it's a safe bet.

After that I am planning on adding a bunch of horse manure (I have a free source) and also the leaves from several large trees I have on my lot once fall kicks in. I'll till this in with a 5 foot tiller I have. I would really like to do a cover crop, but I'm getting a late start here in NM for that so it'll have to wait until next year.

Any advice?

Thanks in advance.:thumbsup:

 

[jeff9366]

A half-acre is a small area for a Chisel Plow. Will it be a garden? Would not a PTO powered tiller be a more versatile implement for 1/2 acre?


If a Chisel Plow is the right implement for you:

Consider Buckeye Tractor's relatively light, modular, tube-frame Chisel Plow.

Buckeye Tractor Online Catalog Page 14-01 Chisel Plows

Brillion manufactures big boy Chisel Plows that are almost duplicates of the original Graham-Hoeme Chisel Plow.

http://landoll.com/content/files/1113/6692/2137/Chisel_Plow.pdf


Not really a Chisel Plow, consider if an angle-iron frame (<$900) Field Cultivator may be 'enough' in your sandy soil.

Fred Cain Tractor 5 Shank 3 Point Field Cultivator, Ripper, Tillage Tool, Jitterbug, Field plow, Bermuda grass plow

What these two implements share is PARABOLIC SHAPED ground engaging parts.


What implement(s) do you plan to use after the Chisel Plow? Disc Harrow? PTO powered roto-tiller? Row-crop (<$600) cultivator with center shovel?

Everything Attachments Field/Garden Cultivator with Option for Furrowing and Bedding Attachments | Buy Garden Cultivators Online With Free Shipping From Everything Attachments



Here are some relevant threads from the T-B-N archive:

https://www.google.com/search?clien...tractorbynet.com&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&gws_rd=ssl

Note implicit and explicit references to importance of PARABOLIC SHAPED ground engaging parts.



And some general implement information from LSU:

http://www.lsuagcenter.com/NR/rdonl...45263BDD8/11557/pub2917tractorimplements1.pdf

 

[motownbrowne]

The 10 hp per shank may be for drawbar HP, not PTO HP. I'm not sure on that, but it'd be something to keep in mind.

I agree with Jeff, though, that just using a rototiller would be best. Maybe a subsoiler too, but it doesn't sound like you're combating compaction, so it's probably not needed.

 

[texasjohn]

Got a box blade?? Might just use it's chisels for your purpose. A true chisel plow digs deep, is good for a first couple of passes on untilled ground. After that, the implement gets little use. A box blade would have multiple uses. something which is often overlooked is how deep you sink the shanks into the ground. For no more space than you have, you can sink shanks shallow on a first pass, then deeper later until ground is worked as you desire. Shallow placement requires less horsepower than deep shanks.

You're on the right track...work the ground, add stuff to make it better, work it again, give it a rest, work it again, repeat...the tiller will be your friend once the initial load of weeds is removed. Might mow/shred the weeds to start with so they are not messing things up as you start working the soil.

Test the soil, if you wish, but your plan for adding manure and leaves is likely to remain unchanged...we all use the free sources we have for improving soil...buying stuff gets expensive. Your free sources are good.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have a thread on rippers that I bought for $300 and they do a fantastic job of ripping up the soil and vegetation. They can go twice as deep as you can get the box blade rippers to go due to having the box blade on the back and limited to how short you can make the top link. The best you can get is about halve the length of the ripper. With this one you can go up to the beam if you have the power and no springs like the Fred Cain field cultivator which allows the plows to roll back like in the video, you could see the top of the chisel tooth so about 4" deep is all it was going. Of course with many passes you can eventually get it to go deeper.

 

[Gary Fowler]

One other thing, these are built for a Cat I tractor but I have them on my Cat II LS P7010 and have stalled it traction wise with this ripper and not bent of broken anything so they are well built and the price wont break the bank.