How long to till 15 acres?

[twarr1]

I agree with everyone suggesting a disk and drag. Using a moldboard plow will cause you a lot of extra work and isn't necessary for planting grass. The Roundup is a very good idea if you have a good spray rig. You could go cheap and disk it, wait two weeks and disk it again before you plant, but keep in mind there is a virtually unlimited amount of weed seed in the soil and they all sprout under different conditions. (Except ragweed. I think it would sprout on the moon), so you might consider a pre-emergent herbicide.
I like to wait for a good packing rain before I sow grass, though it may not be critical in very sandy soil. FWIW, my seed dealer suggests packing the soil before and after planting.

 

[jenkinsph]

Sounds like your primary concern is having a smooth field to land and take off, I would buy or build a large landplane/grader with 10 ft blades and 6 to 8 ft side runners. I would pull this in two directions (opposing) to get a smooth surface. If it is about 1200 lbs roughly it can cutoff the occasional mound or rut, anthill without destroying the grass and roots systems. You could pull this across the ground once a year to touch up the field and the grass should grow back.

 

[MarkV]

If your soil is so sandy that pulling a drag covered existing grass I wouldn't do more than a light disking and drag. I think your problem will be packing the soil to get it firm enough. Keep your eyes out for a roller or cultipacker. With your sand I would think a roller would be best.

Grass seed does not really need loose soil. A 1/4 covering of dirt, good seed to ground contact and moist ground is what you need. The best time to plant fescue is the Fall so the roots can get established before the dryer weather of the Summer, it is a cool season grass. You can plant in the Spring but you need to be lucky and have good damp weather before the summer heat. Does Bermuda grow in your area? It tends to grow closer to the ground and spreads from runners where field Fescue, like Kentucky 31, grows more in clumps. I wonder if the Bermuda would not make a smoother surface for your application. Bermuda is also a warm season grass and likes to be planted in Summer.

Whatever you do I am sure glad I don't have to finish mow 15 acres. What kind of equipment do you plan on using for mowing?

MarkV

 

[Haoleguy]

MNBobcat - MarkV is hitting on a very important point about type of grass, or blend, and time of year to seed and grow. I just went through a full day class on turfgrass management at our UConn Ag Extension office and it is way more complicated than I realized. If you have not done so already I would suggestion you contact your Ag Extension which I believe is Related Websites - Turfgrass Management - University of Minnesota Extension for some additional feedback. These folks not only do research but have experience with large turfgrass management practices at golfcourses, parks, universities, sporting fields, etc.. This might shift your thinking and crystalize the suggestions given thus far..........Gary

 

[beenthere]

Wow! Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'll try to answer all of the questions.

I fly a powered parachute. Its a 3-wheeled cart with a pusher prop on the back and a parachute for a wing. Its critical with these that you always land and take off into the wind (unless you like tipping over). By making the whole 15 acres a runway, I can always take off or land directly into the wind rather than being constrained by a runway. Its a convenience more than anything. I could get by with two perpendicular runways but the big field would be a whole lot nicer.

I went out this evening with my old Farmall H and did some dragging. I discovered that by going over an area multiple times with the drag that it brought up a lot of sand and did a pretty fair job leveling. In some areas, you couldn't see any grass any more.

After seeing how the drag was able to work up the sand, I'm convinced that I could probably use a disc followed by a drag rather than tilling or plowing.

One of the concerns that I have is that my JD 3020 (which is what I mow with) is pretty heavy. If I loosen up the soil too much by tilling or plowing, then get everything level and the grass growing nicely, I'm worried the first time I mow the tractor is going to rut everything up. Whereas, if I lightly disc the top, drag and seed, I'm wondering if the ground won't be more solid and less likely to rut when I mow?

I do plan to spray round-up but not until after the grass in the field starts to green up. My farmer friend explained that round-up works by getting into the roots and only works when stuff is growing.

Lets say I do disc and drag....I was planning on seeding with a brillion because I can't find a no-till drill. The brillion does require really loose dirt (sand) to work, doesn't it? Would I need to go over the field with a cultipacker after using the brillion?

I'm sorry about all of the questions. I'm trying to educate myself and do things right. I'm going to get soil samples tomorrow and drop them off at the local feed store.

For what you are looking for (and the concern about rutting when mowing, I'd be looking for a large roller to use each early spring to firm the ground. And possibly the cultipacker would do the job too.

 

[MNBobcat]

If your soil is so sandy that pulling a drag covered existing grass I wouldn't do more than a light disking and drag. I think your problem will be packing the soil to get it firm enough. Keep your eyes out for a roller or cultipacker. With your sand I would think a roller would be best.

Grass seed does not really need loose soil. A 1/4 covering of dirt, good seed to ground contact and moist ground is what you need. The best time to plant fescue is the Fall so the roots can get established before the dryer weather of the Summer, it is a cool season grass. You can plant in the Spring but you need to be lucky and have good damp weather before the summer heat. Does Bermuda grow in your area? It tends to grow closer to the ground and spreads from runners where field Fescue, like Kentucky 31, grows more in clumps. I wonder if the Bermuda would not make a smoother surface for your application. Bermuda is also a warm season grass and likes to be planted in Summer.

Whatever you do I am sure glad I don't have to finish mow 15 acres. What kind of equipment do you plan on using for mowing?

MarkV

Mark,

Originally I had two 60" rough cut mowers I towed (1 slightly offset and behind the other) behind my old Farmall H. I used the rough cuts because I already had them. But it was SLOW going because I only mowed about 6 feet wide at a pass.

Last fall I bought a JD 3020 diesel tractor at a farm auction. I bought a used 15 foot batwing mower from the local JD dealer. The two wings lift hydraulically and it runs off the PTO on the tractor. I can mow the whole field in roughly 3 hours.

 

[MNBobcat]

This morning I took my soil samples in. I should get the results in about a week. I also got a lead on where I can get lime and my friend has a manure spreader he said will work good for spreading the lime.

We went to an implement dealer to look at discs, too, but the guy wanted $1,200.00 for it. It was way over priced for the condition. I'm going to keep an eye on craigslist.

How big (weight and width) of a roller would a guy need to roll the field?

 

[MarkV]

I was wondering if you needed lime. Here in N. Georgia it is a must with our acidic soil. You should check with the local fertilizer/lime dealer in your area. They have spreader trucks that would work better than a manure spreader and for 15 acres, here, the price is very reasonable when you are buying that much. Of course here our soil tests come back asking for 3 tons per acre. If that holds true in your area, 45 tons is a lot to handle.

Does your old farmer friend have a disk? This may be a one time thing for you. As far a roller goes I don't think you could go too big to keep the field as a landing zone. For just bedding the seed when you plant it doesn't take that much. Your just looking for good seed to ground contact.

That batwing is going to come in handy. Glad you were thinking ahead.

MarkV

 

[Gator6x4]

Hi Guys,

I've never owned a farm tractor before last fall so please go easy on me.

I've got 15 acres of grass/weeds on sandy soil. I need to get this field very smooth and get rye and fescue grass seed planted. I talked to a fellow this morning who recommended tilling the field, then going over it with a (I'm assuming something like a harley rake) and then dragging followed by seeding with a brillion seeder. The field has no rocks and was in alfalfa years ago. Soil is all sand.

I can rent a 70 inch tiller. I have a John Deere 3020 diesel tractor which I think is about 70 hp. I would like to hear from some experienced people before I rent the tiller and try and tackle this job. Could I till 15 acres in a weekend? How many acres/hr do you think I might reasonably be able to get done?

I don't think the tiller the gentleman you talked too is a rotary tiller. I think what he is refering too is a device that looks like a straddle row cultivator without the shanks removed to allow one to straddle a crop row without plowing up what is planted in the row. And the pulvarizer was like the photo's show by another poster.