How do I disc the pastures to prep for planting

[stevenf]

Kensfarm, $300 or more unless your selling it around here you could eat corn for every meal for a year and not have $300 invested serious I've seen it often for 20 ears for a dollar and typical is 10 ears for a dollar. I guess this is a great example of why farmers have such a time making ends meet.
I had no idea planting seed could be that expensive as a matter of fact I was asking the gentleman at Atkinson's at what point he would discount it and he said 40 or more bags he'd come down to $27.50 per and 100 or more he'd come down to $25.00.
Thanks again to all that have helped me get started with this discing thing expecially Terrydo we've been PMing back and forth and he's very knowledgeable about farming techniques.
Steve

 

[Panache]

I have used a landscape rake turned around backwards to cover sead if it is planted on a freshly disked plot. I did this w/ chufa and got a great stand. If it is not freshly disked I spread the seed out first and take one pass over with the disk to cover the seed. Do you have draft control on your tractor? It probably would be a second lever beside your 3ph control lever.

 

[stevenf]

Panache, Its a Kubota M9000 with everything except a cab although I haven't gotten to great at the draft control yet. I've mainly been using the box blade on roads and just watching it close to make sure it stays where I want it as most of my roads are hilly so its a constant up/down to keep good contact.
Steve

 

[MMM]

A chainlink drag with croostie for weight works well for me. I've had good luck with perennial plantings after roundup and discing.. Chickory being deer's favorite. It has a deep tap and survives dry summers, but runs around $7/lb.

 

[Panache]

Do you have draft control? It is shown as optional on the Kubota web site. If you do, next time you are disking try adjusting the draft control. It will start to raise the disk any time it starts to dig too deep. Mine will allow me to keep the disks just barely in the soil...maybe 1 inch. This works good for me planting in loose soil where the disks would run axle deep.

 

[sweettractors]

<font color="blue"> I'm sure before I'm done I'll have no less than $200. in seed + fuel + tractor time </font>

Steve, I am not going to be hard on you at all. However, With the current high price of seed, I want as close to maximum germination as possible. The method you describe will probably be lucky to yield 25-35% germanation. The rest of your seed money was lost because the seed was too deep or too shallow--Don't as me how I know these things!!!---Ken Sweet

Sweet Farm Equipment LLC *Rebuilt Plows, Discs, Cultipackers, Sickle Bar Mowers*

 

[stevenf]

Penache, I'm sorry what I should have said was that the tractor is fully loaded with all options except cab and creep trany.
The draft control is indeed a lever identical to the lift lever right next to it. When I was buying a tractor I had no idea that it wouldn't really have down pressure on the arms only lift ability I guess its to keep you from flipping the tractor by getting to severe with your down pressure.
I guess it also explains why the draft control hadn't been making a lot of sense although maybe it still doesn't for a hilly environment. If I have the draft control adjusted and the tractor is on fairly level ground and then I proceed into the field where it goes up and down a lot won't the draft setting be useless and I'll still be keeping an eye on it all the time to keep the disk at the appropriate depth or is it a pressure adjustment rather then a height in relation to the rear of the tractor frame. No I think I figured it out it'd have to be height because the ever changing firmness of the soil would constantly affect pressure, I guess I'll set the draft as best I can and just watch when I'm going up and down.
Penache, where do you think I should set my speed of the lift arms valve fast, medium, slow or?
Steve

 

[stevenf]

Ken Sweet, Your right it was a relatively painless response, although I know that if I asked you how to improve my germination % you'd have me buying a seeder and a cultipacker and, and. I certainly agree that my % won't be as great as if I did it the right way with the right equipment but since I'm just starting out in this adventure I probably better take it a little easy in the aquisition department until I see what else I need and then try to figure out in what order I need them the worst.
Thanks for your gentle reply my honey will sleep easier tonight knowing that worst case I'll be throwing $200 dollars worth of seed on the ground and only $50 of it actually grew anything. Besides somethings bound to come by and eat the seed I hope its good for them so that I can just claim one more method on my county questionaire as to how I'm helping the wildlife. As long as a farmers not reviewing my paper work I should be OK otherwise he'll probably tell me that I'm just doing a cr*ppy job of planting. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Steve

 

[teddydo]

Ken, I will tell you what I said about planting the seed. With small seed, like grass or similar with what he has I would not cover them. The rain will bring them up this tmie of year. it must be warmer in Texas, it is cold and windy here in Mississippi to early to plant much.....teddy

 

[sweettractors]

Generally speaking, One of the most preferred seeds to put in for wildlife plots is clovers or legumes of some kind, Generally these seeds are the size of a pinhead. Grass seeds are usually larger and a completely different critter when it comes to sowing and getting germination--Usually if we sow a field with the reccomended seed rate and only get 1/3 germination, Mother Nature has a way of covering in the blank spots (2/3) with weeds and noxious type plants of her choosing. This situation usually leads to undeserable plants crowding out the good 1/3 that did germinate--Now, Lets start all over and do it again. --Ken Sweet