Cultipacker questions.

   / Cultipacker questions. #1  
B

BufordBoone

Gold Member
Joined
May 31, 2014
Messages
472
Location
Tuscaloosa, Al
Tractor
Kubota L5740 & M7060
I've been thinking of getting a cultipacker. Primary uses would be:

1 - Breaking up dirt clods to ease later smoothing with a drag harrow or LPGS

2 - Rolling over seeds spread to create a food plot.

I know that weight is a factor. Heavier ones seem to need 3-pt. hitch. Some lighter ones can be pulled by an UTV.

Would it be better to go heavier (600 lbs) and MUCH slower with a cultipacker behind a tractor or a bit lighter (418 lbs), MUCH faster (more passes more easily) behind a UTV?

I've been dealing with hog damage and best fix I've found (so far) is to cut the field, disc the field then smooth the field.

It has been the "smoothing" part that is giving me the most trouble. Three passes with a disc have been just "OK". I'm wondering if a cultipacker would break the clods up into much smaller pieces.

As usual, any advice is appreciated.
 
   / Cultipacker questions. #2  
I had a light cultipacker with a seeder box, a five footer, I think. My understanding was that I'd get better germination and save seed cost because the cultipacker would press the soil around the seeds. I don't remember it breaking up a noticable amount of clods.
This was over thirty years ago and I don't even remember the brand. It had two sets of rollers one behind the other and being small, might have been better suited for landscaping. I was trying to plant hay fields and I believe someone gave me a grain drill about that time. I needed money more than the cultipacker and sold it.
 
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   / Cultipacker questions. #3  
   / Cultipacker questions. #4  
The best way to disc a field to get it smooth for seeding, is to go over it in multiple directions. Go one direction first time, then 90 degrees to that, then 45 degrees to that and so on. After doing that method a few times, you will find that the clods are chopped up better and the little dips and high spots are smoothed out. Use a cultipacker to roll the seed in for better germination.
 
   / Cultipacker questions.
  • Thread Starter
#6  
BAP said:
The best way to disc a field to get it smooth for seeding, is to go over it in multiple directions. Go one direction first time, then 90 degrees to that, then 45 degrees to that and so on.
Click to expand...

I agree and that is just what I've done. At this point, I'm at about 4 passes over the field and still not satisfied with the size of the dirt clods.

Perhaps I'm expecting too much and should plan on making 8-10 passes over the field (I hope not).

Perhaps my soil moisture content (very dry right now) is the issue. I don't know.

Anyway, back to the original question: Will a cultipacker break up the dirt clods and, if so, would I be better off with ~600 lb version and moving slow (tractor) or ~400 lb version and ability to make 4 passes in the same amount of time (pulled behind a UTV)?
 
   / Cultipacker questions. #7  
I had a 6' King Kutter cultipacker 3 pt hitch model. I found it only worked well if the soil was moist and soft enough that you left about a 1/4" to 1/2" deep imprint of your foot in the dirt. Otherwise it wasn't heavy enough to do much good because you are spreading the weight over a lot of plates. For hog damage, I'd be looking at an offset disk to really move some dirt.
 
   / Cultipacker questions.
  • Thread Starter
#8  
skipperbrown said:
I had a 6' King Kutter cultipacker 3 pt hitch model. I found it only worked well if the soil was moist and soft enough that you left about a 1/4" to 1/2" deep imprint of your foot in the dirt. Otherwise it wasn't heavy enough to do much good because you are spreading the weight over a lot of plates. For hog damage, I'd be looking at an offset disk to really move some dirt.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Skipperbrown. I'll do some research on "offset disk" but what is that and why is it different from a disc that mounts on the 3-pt. hitch and is directly behind the tractor.

The day my tractor was delivered, I asked the guy "What is the most common mistake you see new tractor owners make?" He told me "They fail to lift their disc before turning. That rips pans off".

Hearing "offset disc" makes me think it must have some hydraulics to let you lift it out of the ground.

Any additional explanation of "offset disc" would be appreciated...but I'll be heading over to Google.

Thanks.
 
   / Cultipacker questions. #9  
It will depend on the soil type and moisture in the clumps when you disk. A cultipacker won't work miracles, especially on heavy clay for example. I find the a slower crawl pulling my 8' packer (with extra weight added) allows more contact and crushes clumps better on my soil. But the disk left the soil pretty rough unless I made many passes or the moisture was perfect, so I use a tiller more often. I usually use a fine harrow (drag a weighted fence) along with my cultipacker for best results. The packer does an excellent job with one or two passes maximum after seeding.
 
   / Cultipacker questions. #10  
Ford850 said:
It will depend on the soil type and moisture in the clumps when you disk. A cultipacker won't work miracles, especially on heavy clay for example. I find the a slower crawl pulling my 8' packer (with extra weight added) allows more contact and crushes clumps better on my soil. But the disk left the soil pretty rough unless I made many passes or the moisture was perfect, so I use a tiller more often. I usually use a fine harrow (drag a weighted fence) along with my cultipacker for best results. The packer does an excellent job with one or two passes maximum after seeding.
Click to expand...

I agree, sounds as if you worked it a bit too wet for the soil type and let it dry out. Cultipackers will only do so much once the clods harden.
 
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