Cleaning a plot for planting.....

[Boeing]

Guys I have spent time and money TRYING to produce deer food plots on my land. I have one 2 acre field and two 1/2 acre plots, The larger one was knee high sage grass, thistle and weeds when I bought the place. I used a box scraper with diggers to dig, dig, dig the rocks, stones, roots and most of the growth out. Then I added tons of lime, mixed Imperial whitetail clover and fertilizer. I got a pretty good clover return in about 3 months. The next spring it was about 50% clover and grasses. Then I bought a DISK and rolled it over and over and over....it doesn't get to the dirt. It just rolls over the grasses. The smaller plots were tall grasses or sparse with too much tree shade. I sprayed one with Round UP which stopped the growth but doesn't help cleaning the patch of waste/dead grasses. PLEASE, tell me how to rid these grasses and weeds to "get down to the dirt" I just know that there is dirt down there....I just have to find it. Thanks

 

[oosik]

In my experience here, on my 80 acres, it takes a LOT HEAVIER disk harrow than you would imagine to break virgin ground. Especially when there is native grasses which are acting as a soil binder.

I have an old, but seldom used, Land Pride DH1048 - disk harrow - 48" wide - 422 pounds. I set it at its most aggressive setting - it continues to roll over my virgin fields as though it had rubber tires rather than disks. I put a 400# concrete blob on the disks - helped but still not good enough.

I had considered burning my grasses, weeds and sage brush on one three acre field. Problem being I had little or no means to control the burn and it would very likely become a wildfire.

My neighbor had a set of disks - far too small for any of his needs - it is 13 feet wide and say it is 3420 pounds.

So - I borrowed it. Getting it home - 4.5 miles - another complete story for later. No officer those ARE NOT my slice marks down the county road.

Anyhow - its what I call an X style. Set the disk gangs - it was a GOOD load for my M6040 - in 4WD. Now THAT set of disks broke ground nicely and tilled to a depth of around 8".

In all - made three complete passes over the three acre tract - broke the virgin sod - rolled the sod/soil - broke the clods up nicely. I planted a clover, native grass mix.

Glad the neighbor has that disk set and I can borrow any time. Brand new - a set of Brown disks the same size - $9K to $12K.

I know in my case - this would have been of a big help. Burn the grass to get completely rid of it. Only do this if you can control the burn and the local authorities allow this.

My little disk harrow would maybe work in the sand on a beach. Otherwise - maybe ok for already tilled land.

 

[Boeing]

WOW, what an ordeal....Thanks for the info. My disk is 6' wide with two rows of VEE frame disks. It weighs about 400lb. I was reading that I need to "tilt" the disk "front down" and just let the forward disks cut in would help...I'll try it. I don't have a rotary tiller....I wonder if the digger teeth on the FEL could be raked over the Round-UP dead grasses?

 

[oosik]

Yes - until I got the heavier disks - it was more than a PITA - it was borderline impossible with my light disks.

What helps -
- somehow eliminate the grass, weeds, sagebrush etc - - if this is not possible then........

- break the ground first with something like a plow or rippers(on the 3-point) - - if this is not possible then.........

- shorten your top link so your disk set has most all the weight on the front set of gangs - - you can do this as you indicated

- teeth on your FEL bucket will work - BUT IN REVERSE and in float. Be very careful to much down pressure can bend things on the FEL and or bucket. Drop the bucket - tip it a bit - put it in float - drive the tractor in reverse. Actually depending upon your soil type - teeth on the bucket - drug in reverse - could break the soil enough to let the disks do their job.


As you and I both know now - virgin ground IS difficult to break. There was a good reason all the old sod busters were always shown using a moldboard plow. It would actually get thru the virgin ground.

 

[jeff9366]

It will be slow, but since you only have three acres you want to work I suggest either
1) Midddlebuster/Potato Plow or 2) Subsoiler to cut through dead grass, in that order.

VIDEOS: tractor middlebuster - YouTube
tractor potato plow - YouTube
compact tractor subsoiler - YouTube

If you want deeper soil penetration with Middlebuster or Subsoiler move pin to bottom holes on Lifting Rod stirrups. See photos.

Subsequently you can try your disc when the soil is MOIST but your disc may be just too light to cut. In most conditions a Box Frame Tandem Disc Harrow does not have enough weight until the pans are 18" in diameter and that is marginal, usually requiring multiple passes over a previously plowed field. A Box Frame Tandem Disc Harrow with 20" diameter pans is usually good but your L3010 may not be heavy enough to pull a Disc Harrow with 20" diameter pans.

MORE ON DISC HARROW WEIGHT: https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/308251-disc-harrow-selection-18-45-a.html?highlight=

ADJUSTING DISC HARROWS: https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...ing-three-point-hitch-mounted.html?highlight=

In ground contact work MOIST soil and implement weight are your friends.

 

[jeff9366]

As you and I both know now - virgin ground IS difficult to break. There was a good reason all the old sod busters were always shown using a moldboard plow. It would actually get thru the virgin ground.

OOSIK is the voice of experience.

A !2" Moldboard Plow is most frequently used implement for "opening" ground but relatively cheap well used plows can have interference issues behind CUTS.
Plowing is a difficult skill (sport?) to learn, frustrating many. Plowing on slopes can lead to soil erosion if heavy, persistent rain follows.
So we are reticent about recommending plows for food plots.

A Middlebuster is an expedient, sort-of plow which should work for you. A Middlebuster can be used in the garden and for trenching for wire and pipe, though a shovel is necessary to remove spoil.

 

[morris lipham]

I plant fall green field every year, 2nd week of August I spray with glysophate to kill the weeds, after 2 weeks bush hog it down. Let it sit another week then I take a landscape rake and go over it. Rake into a pile and burn it or to one side of plot. If I don't rake it up in some spots the weeds are very thick and and my 4' disc tends to ride over it. I then disc twice, spread fertilizer then go over with tiller.

 

[nybirdman]

Bush-hog,spray,plow then use your small disc.

 

[boomer1025]

Guys I have spent time and money TRYING to produce deer food plots on my land. I have one 2 acre field and two 1/2 acre plots, The larger one was knee high sage grass, thistle and weeds when I bought the place. I used a box scraper with diggers to dig, dig, dig the rocks, stones, roots and most of the growth out. Then I added tons of lime, mixed Imperial whitetail clover and fertilizer. I got a pretty good clover return in about 3 months. The next spring it was about 50% clover and grasses. Then I bought a DISK and rolled it over and over and over....it doesn't get to the dirt. It just rolls over the grasses. The smaller plots were tall grasses or sparse with too much tree shade. I sprayed one with Round UP which stopped the growth but doesn't help cleaning the patch of waste/dead grasses. PLEASE, tell me how to rid these grasses and weeds to "get down to the dirt" I just know that there is dirt down there....I just have to find it. Thanks

Angle the disc blades and put some heavy weights on the disc

 

[HEC]

If you use any type of vegetation killer be sure and use a proper mask and try and spray down wind , the jury is still out on it I guess but it looks to me they aren't very human friendly .

 

[rbtjr]

We had similar problems with two 1/3 acre food plots on our land. We ended up getting good results by mowing the fields, spraying, mowing again (the second mowing helps spread out the piled-up dead vegetation somewhat), then disking twice (the second time perpendicular to the first) with the 6' X 20 disk set as aggressively as we can set it. We started this process early, more than two months before we wanted to plant, so there was some time for some of the vegetation to degrade at least some. There were some spots in which the dead vegetation was piled up so much that the disk didn't penetrate it. We just worked those spots over several times with the disk coming from different angles and in some spots using the FEL bucket to break up the vegetation piles some. This year we will have a similar problem in one of the plots. The landscape rake is a good idea. Ours was loaned out last year when we were doing this. I might try our pine-needle rake. But of all of this, disking the trouble spots multiple times eventually worked okay.

 

[Boeing]

Thanks Guys, I've hesitated to use my single blade plow cause it pulls up hundreds of rocks that I didn't know existed. I bought the plow to put a ditch in the upper sides of my drive, preventing rain from creating gullys. That helped alot, almost stopping my road erosion problem.
The larger field is on a 15 degree slope but I disk and mow perpendicular to the slope and don't seem to have any erosion problems there. The two little plots are flat.
So....MOW, spray, MOW, plow, disk.....plant?
I have a roll of chainlink fencing that I had thought of using as a "drag" after planting.....Good idea? (clover, turnips, brassica; tiny seeds)

 

[3gunr]

I have had the same issues in the past, you have to mow the grass and weeds down as low as possible. Wait a week or so then spray with glyphosate.If you can wait a month, The vegetation in the ground will be much easier to disk. MOisture will definatly help,You should also put your lime and fertilizer down and disk them in .