Disc harrows

[bunyip]

We have found another property that we may buy but the land needs some attention, at the front the grass is patchy and I was thinking of getting a 4-5' disc harrow to turn it over with some fertiliser and mulch then seeding.
Having never used a plough or disc harrow I have no idea how deep they go but the BX2370 should be able to manage it from what I can gather.
The area is about 4-5 acres and it will become an arena and round yard and just an exercise area for the horses but woulod like a bit of grass.
The entire property is 36 acres and is pretty well grassed and clear but just need to divide up into horse and hay paddocks.
Just the harrows I am curious about.

 

[jeff9366]

We have found another property that we may buy but the land needs some attention, at the front the grass is patchy and I was thinking of getting a 4-5' disc harrow to turn it over with some fertiliser and mulch then seeding.

The area is about 4-5 acres and it will become an arena and round yard and just an exercise area for horses but woulod like a bit of grass.
The entire property is 36 acres and is pretty well grassed and clear but just need to divide up into horse and hay paddocks.

Disc Harrows do not become effective until pans are at least 20" in diameter, which requires a minimum 3,300 pound bare weight tractor with 4-WD to pull. Disc Harrows with 20" diameter pans have ~~45 pounds~~ harrow weight bearing on each pan; the key metric for mounted Tandem Disc Harrows.

Consider a three-shank (for BX) Field Cultivator for aerating/tilling animal compacted land. A three-shank Field Cultivator, which is a type of Conservation Plow, will penetrate 10" behind a BX.


Field Cultivator: A Three Point Hitch mounted, secondary tillage implement, used to perform operations such as soil aeration, sub-surface vine and root removal and eradication of deep rooted weeds. Field cultivators are equipped with parabolic curved steel tines, typically spring mounted to permit the tine to move within the soil and shatter clods. Field cultivators are constructed similarly to chisel plows, but are more lightly built.

Today the Field Cultivator is NOT one of the best known Three Point Hitch mounted implements. It is, however, one of the oldest designs, having been patented by Harry Ferguson, inventor of the tractor Three Point Hitch, in 1932-1933. The other earliest Three Point Hitch implements were the Ferguson Moldboard Plow, a Ferguson ridger for potato cultivation and a Ferguson row crop cultivator.

Harry Ferguson, the inventor, termed this implement a 'Tiller'. Ferguson patented arrangement by which the tines are spring loaded, allowing them to kick back if an obstruction is encountered, then return, undamaged, to normal operating position. Field Cultivators sold today are contemporary replicas of the 'Tillers' sold by the Ferguson organization from 1934.

The Field Cultivator and its heavier relation, the Chisel Plow, are both used for conservation tillage.

 

[Jstpssng]

Without plowing, a disc isn't going to do a lot for you. The main use is after the sod has been turned with a plow. They break up the clods and level the furrows.

 

[bunyip]

OK, thanks, a bit of a learning curve and I am not about to dash out and buy a bigger tractor for one job, may have to get friendly with a neighbour.
These harrow discs are only about 8 or 10" so obviously not going to do anything.

 

[clemsonfor]

You will be riding around and around for days with hundreds of pounds on top of that harrow to try and make it cut decent. It will take at least three passes to get it in the dirt. I use a tractor that size for food plots . It's doable but takes forever.

 

[bunyip]

We are on 5 acres at the moment and the BX is more than adequate for what we do, I think it should suffice for the 36 we are looking at but it will only be maintaining and not ploughing, a contractor will come and cut and bale hay, I will just put in the odd fence post, spread a bit of super and a few other tasks, major fencing will be a contract job as I don't want to do that much myself, I am considering a mower just for keeping the front cleaned up as the Husqvarna is not going to be big enough, that is my next option, slasher or flail mower.
We can still buy field cultivators S-TINE CULTIVATOR - Hayes Products - Tractor Attachments and Implements
Not quite as described but close I think.

 

[jeff9366]

S-tine Cultivators are for gardens maintained in good tilth. You will break the tines on S-tine Cultivator trying to penetrate animal compacted ground.

You need to find a spring-protected Field Cultivator with parabolic shaped tines.

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. Spring protection allows tines to store energy when encountering resistance, then to snap back, releasing stored energy to break hard ground.

VIDEO: How to Use a Ripper / Field Cultivator - Gardening Series - YouTube


Haye's Ripper would be more robust than Haye's S-Tine Cultivator but from my experience I doubt its ability to penetrate adequately. Tines are not parabolic shaped. Nor is shank spacing adjustable.

FIVE TINE TRACTOR RIPPER - Hayes Products - Tractor Attachments and Implements

eBay.Australia: T-YK-9 CULTIVATOR / PLOUGH | eBay
Field Cultivators are bolted together from parts. If a nine-shank Field Cultivator is available, surely five-shank and four-shank Field Cultivators are available too.

From $2,225 nine-shank price I think I can guesstimate price of three-shank at ~~$800.

 

[Egon]

Without plowing, a disc isn't going to do a lot for you. The main use is after the sod has been turned with a plow. They break up the clods and level the furrows.

With a BX 2370 you are not going to break ground with either a disk or cultivator. You might be able to use a single bottom plough and then break it up with a disk.

A rototiller might be the better choice for what you wish to do.

 

[clemsonfor]

With a BX 2370 you are not going to break ground with either a disk or cultivator. You might be able to use a single bottom plough and then break it up with a disk.

A rototiller might be the better choice for what you wish to do.

I would about second this. Except with small enough implements he can do it, with added weight possibly. But the going will be slow. It will take hours per acre to get partial results of what a 50hp tractor and transport disk can do in minutes.

 

[Big Barn]

Disc Harrows do not become effective until pans are at least 20" in diameter, which requires a minimum 3,300 pound bare weight tractor with 4-WD to pull. Disc Harrows with 20" diameter pans have ~~45 pounds~~ harrow weight bearing on each pan; the key metric for mounted Tandem Disc Harrows.

Consider a three-shank (for BX) Field Cultivator for aerating/tilling animal compacted land. A three-shank Field Cultivator, which is a type of Conservation Plow, will penetrate 10" behind a BX.


Field Cultivator: A Three Point Hitch mounted, secondary tillage implement, used to perform operations such as soil aeration, sub-surface vine and root removal and eradication of deep rooted weeds. Field cultivators are equipped with parabolic curved steel tines, typically spring mounted to permit the tine to move within the soil and shatter clods. Field cultivators are constructed similarly to chisel plows, but are more lightly built.

Today the Field Cultivator is NOT one of the best known Three Point Hitch mounted implements. It is, however, one of the oldest designs, having been patented by Harry Ferguson, inventor of the tractor Three Point Hitch, in 1932-1933. The other earliest Three Point Hitch implements were the Ferguson Moldboard Plow, a Ferguson ridger for potato cultivation and a Ferguson row crop cultivator.

Harry Ferguson, the inventor, termed this implement a 'Tiller'. Ferguson patented arrangement by which the tines are spring loaded, allowing them to kick back if an obstruction is encountered, then return, undamaged, to normal operating position. Field Cultivators sold today are contemporary replicas of the 'Tillers' sold by the Ferguson organization from 1934.

The Field Cultivator and its heavier relation, the Chisel Plow, are both used for conservation tillage.

Wow. Everything jeff said.

 

[bullbreaker]

Yes many good options have been discussed but then if we talking about disc harrows theres always the serrated notched disc vs smooth disc difference .

Smooth vs Notched Disk Harrow Blades | Gonzales Equipment Sales Inc.

Cutout or smooth blades? | AMCO Manufacturing, Inc.

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/food-plots/275475-notched-vs-smooth-disks.html

 

[bunyip]

Lots of useful information aND no time to have a good look at the moment, next week job when I have some ti9me up my sleeve.
Thanks to all for the input.

 

[redman135]

I think the most cost effective option would be to get a contractor in to do at least the primary culitivation, and maybe the whole job to seeding.
ASK the contractor as they may well know a better way to get the result you want.

Also you mentioned hay paddocks, ASK a hay contractor for advice on gate SIZE AND ANGLE to RACE, as an angled gate rapidly gets narrow, ie 14' shrinks to 8' effective. What is the largest vehicle you will have there? Hay balers are 10' wide for example. Can you get through the gate with a ground spreader? Will your ute and trailer load of hay fit through? Will a full size truck get through if you decide to sell some hay?

On the area you are going to culivate, where do you PLAN to put the fences?

Pet hate: 10' gate with gudgeonsons on inside (down to 9'8"effective width)and customer expects us to get through will a 10' baler.

Last point , good access makes it easier to get a hay contractor instead of being put off or refused.

 

[bunyip]

We have already been down the gate path, the square baler was OK but the rake had problems getting in, we now use 12' gates and a double 10' on the arena as it is a tight turn.
New place will be round bales (I use the BX to roll them up onto the trailer, not the fastest option but I am not in any hurry).
The cultivation will hopefully be a one off as the area will be an arena, round yard, some pens and just a grassed area for horse training and a couple of jumps etc, probably about 2 acres, this will most likely not be used for hay, just let the horses loose every so often to keep it short and put in a few families of dung beetles to keep the mess down, we got hold of about 500 where we are now and it didn't take them long to breed up and have a major impact on horse droppings, about a week and it is pretty much gone.
Of course we need to find the property first and that will be another next week job and a close call with bankruptcy, I just wish real estate here was similar in price to what I see in the US.

 

[clemsonfor]

So you don't have property found yet, and you think it will only take a week?

And you almost were bankrupt, but you want to buy property and keep horses? There expensive!!

Maybe I misunderstood though.

 

[kenmac]

I would agree with the poster that suggested a 3pt tiller. You aren't going to be able to do much plowing with that small tractor.
With a tiller, you could most likely bust up the ground pretty well

 

[clemsonfor]

I would agree with the poster that suggested a 3pt tiller. You aren't going to be able to do much plowing with that small tractor.
With a tiller, you could most likely bust up the ground pretty well

This is probably the best option I agree too. Cost some money but you have it if needed or could sell it after job. Will leave best seed bed as well.

 

[kenmac]

This is probably the best option I agree too. Cost some money but you have it if needed or could sell it after job. Will leave best seed bed as well.

I'm looking at about the same issue right now. Leveling out some land (about 12 acres)
I'm either going to buy a big tiller, or hire someone with a dozer to level it out and fill in places places

 

[bunyip]

So you don't have property found yet, and you think it will only take a week?

And you almost were bankrupt, but you want to buy property and keep horses? There expensive!!

Maybe I misunderstood though.

We are on our 9th property now and we want bigger, we spend a week looking then dissecting as to why it is not suitable, our place is on the market, we will survive this ordeal again.
Of course I am almost bankrupt, we now have 8 horses, two daughters who event, two cars and a 4WD as well as a yacht, Mrs is worried that I may have a mistress, she need not worry, I couldn't afford one.
I am misunderstood, she spends a fortune on new saddles then begrudges me buying a $120 bottle of single malt.
I am retiring later this year, I need a break.
Thank god for my superannuation.

 

[kenmac]

We are on our 9th property now and we want bigger, we spend a week looking then dissecting as to why it is not suitable, our place is on the market, we will survive this ordeal again.
Of course I am almost bankrupt, we now have 8 horses, two daughters who event, two cars and a 4WD as well as a yacht, Mrs is worried that I may have a mistress, she need not worry, I couldn't afford one.
I am misunderstood, she spends a fortune on new saddles then begrudges me buying a $120 bottle of single malt.
I am retiring later this year, I need a break.
Thank god for my superannuation.

9 properties ? LOL I just can keep up these 40 acres and 13 in another location.
Told the wife we need to sell the 13, but it's on the river and she and my two sons out vote me ! LOL

I have no horses,or daughters though