dwight jr
Member
has anyone had any experience with fred cain type cultivator-rippers in rocky hard ground?i live in southern middle tn and in the fall during food plot time its normaly dry and hard. thanks!
hard soil
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coobie
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I would buy a 3 or 5 spring loaded shank ripper/cultivator. IMHO would be a better choice.I bought a spring loaded 7 shank last year from bush hog works great.
jeff9366
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From my experience with Moldboard Plows, which are not CULTIVATORS but rather designed to penetrate soil, neither a Moldboard Plow nor any FIELD CULTIVATOR will penetrate dry, rocky, hard soil. If you have a powerful tractor you are more likely to bend a Field Cultivator than obtain a satisfactory outcome in dry, rocky, hard soil. A Moldboard Plow will just bounce along the surface.
You need to open soil a few days after a soaking rain.
If soil is moist but still hard, consider a sub-soiler implement, which is engineered for disturbing hard soil. Make sure sub-soiler has shear or "trip" protection.
I inspected Dirt Dog's 'All Purpose Plow' at the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, GA. It looked heavy duty. Dirt Dog's 60" implement catalogs 228 pounds and calls for minimum 35 PTO horsepower; it must be pretty stout.
Dirt Dog manufactures sub-soilers too.
I have never seen the Fred Cain Field Cultivator 'live'.
Fred Cain's 60" implement catalogs 250 pounds.
The Fred Cain Field Cultivator is a copy of Harry Ferguson's Field Cultivator going back to the 1940s (or thereabouts) so the design is time tested.
Why not fill in your location in your T-B-N profile?
You need to open soil a few days after a soaking rain.
If soil is moist but still hard, consider a sub-soiler implement, which is engineered for disturbing hard soil. Make sure sub-soiler has shear or "trip" protection.
I inspected Dirt Dog's 'All Purpose Plow' at the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, GA. It looked heavy duty. Dirt Dog's 60" implement catalogs 228 pounds and calls for minimum 35 PTO horsepower; it must be pretty stout.
Dirt Dog manufactures sub-soilers too.
I have never seen the Fred Cain Field Cultivator 'live'.
Fred Cain's 60" implement catalogs 250 pounds.
The Fred Cain Field Cultivator is a copy of Harry Ferguson's Field Cultivator going back to the 1940s (or thereabouts) so the design is time tested.
Why not fill in your location in your T-B-N profile?
Last edited:
FarmWrench
Silver Member
Your soil is hard because of the chemistry and lack of biological activity. Beating it with iron and diesel fuel I'd not going to help.
Get a soil test. Fix your pH. Grow some radishes to break up deep compaction and make pathways for earth worm. Add organic matter.
Get a soil test. Fix your pH. Grow some radishes to break up deep compaction and make pathways for earth worm. Add organic matter.
gwdixon
Elite Member
Just another thought:
If you happen to have a box blade with scarifiers (rippers), you could lower them and get 4" - 5" of penetration. The box blade does not take a lot of HP to operate and will loosen the soil enough to plant a cover crop. The top link may have to be adjusted to get the best angle on the scarifiers.
Try to hit it right after a rain and criss-cross using a checkerboard pattern. If the ground still isn't broken up enough, then the area can be done diagonally as well.
In subsequent years the ground should be easier to work as the cover crop breaks up the soil with its roots.
Disclaimer: A box blade w/scarifiers, as well as a chisel plow, will load up with long foliage and lose effectiveness. If you have standing hay, or the like, on the property then it will need to be mowed and broken down first.
If you happen to have a box blade with scarifiers (rippers), you could lower them and get 4" - 5" of penetration. The box blade does not take a lot of HP to operate and will loosen the soil enough to plant a cover crop. The top link may have to be adjusted to get the best angle on the scarifiers.
Try to hit it right after a rain and criss-cross using a checkerboard pattern. If the ground still isn't broken up enough, then the area can be done diagonally as well.
In subsequent years the ground should be easier to work as the cover crop breaks up the soil with its roots.
Disclaimer: A box blade w/scarifiers, as well as a chisel plow, will load up with long foliage and lose effectiveness. If you have standing hay, or the like, on the property then it will need to be mowed and broken down first.