Moldboard Plow

[PaOkie]

Can anyone give recommendations on a good moldboard plow. Likely will be using it with an 55 hp tractor? Thanks

 

[HCJtractor]

Yes. Get an old one. I like the old Ford 101 plow. You could pull a 2 or 3 bottom. Make sure it has trip protection, either shear pin or spring protection. Should find one for $300 to $600. Don't waste money on a new one, like a Leinbach.

 

[PaOkie]

No experience with moldboards as I have have not had to turn pasture into cropland as I am getting ready to do this year. This will be much smaller operation than I am used to as most experience is large scale row crops and I am moving into my own operation on the vegetable side. Tractor is in the works, an LS XU 5055.

 

[zoedog2012]

Yes. Get an old one. I like the old Ford 101 plow. You could pull a 2 or 3 bottom. Make sure it has trip protection, either shear pin or spring protection. Should find one for $300 to $600. Don't waste money on a new one, like a Leinbach.

Very good answer, kinda what the OP was wanting. Not some sermon.

 

[mkreitler]

Good older FORD 101 in 3 fourteen should fit your operation and work well behind a 55 HP tractor.

 

[motownbrowne]

It really depends on the size of the veggie operation you're planning. If you use a moldboard plow, you'll need to follow that with some sort of secondary cultivation, like a spring tooth harrow, or disc harrow coupled with a drag harrow. Or maybe a rototiller. Chances are that you'll need a rototiller for some of your crops anyway. The only way you wouldn't is if you are planning on growing only a few crops and have a good amount of space to work with. In that case, the plow&harrow plan might work, but I'd say you need to give us some more details, or do some more research before buying a plow. If you're doing less than say 8-10 acres of veggies (which is a LOT for a beginning operator) you could possibly be well served by a chisel plow, which doesn't disturb the soil as much as a moldboard and a rototiller. Just my two cents.

here's a couple of links for you:

http://douglas.uwex.edu/files/2013/01/Tractor-Primer-2013.pdf

http://extension.umd.edu/sites/defa...g-Equip-Irrigation-Essentials-web-version.pdf

 

[PaOkie]

Thanks for the info. So here is a brief rundown of my tillage plans. I will be planting about three acres initially with raised beds and plastic mulch. Ground is currently pasture. So thought is use a mold board to turn pasture followed by a disc harrow and finished with a chain harrow then come in with the bedder/mulch layer. One item I am struggling with is whether to use a disc or a tiller. I am leaning toward the disc but appreciate opinions on that.

 

[motownbrowne]

Thanks for the info. So here is a brief rundown of my tillage plans. I will be planting about three acres initially with raised beds and plastic mulch. Ground is currently pasture. So thought is use a mold board to turn pasture followed by a disc harrow and finished with a chain harrow then come in with the bedder/mulch layer. One item I am struggling with is whether to use a disc or a tiller. I am leaning toward the disc but appreciate opinions on that.

Personally I use both, a disc and a tiller, in different situations. There ain't just one was to skin a cat. We grow 1.5 acres of veggies and rarely use the disc. The tiller is much more maneuverable, easier to adjust the fineness of the tillage, and doesn't require a final pass with a drag. We use the disc to "till" in brassica stalks and other stubble after the season, and to prep soil for cover cropping, but we might do the cover crop prep with a tiller if we had a wider model. In your plan you mention above, there shouldn't really be much need for a plow on an ongoing basis. Yes, for the initial turning of pasture (though a chisel plow and tiller would work too), but after it's turned, you should be able to till in following years with only secondary implements, even through cover crops, which you should be using. I'd personally borrow a plow, or have a neighbor come and plow for you. No sense buying the implement to only use it once. We use a plow, but only because we are on a slope. We offset the plow to follow in the left wheel track and put that wheel on the downhill side. The plow moves the soil uphill onto the bed and we till after that. The result is flat beds that looks like terraces going down the slope. We never use our plow to break virgin soil.

 

[zoedog2012]

New Member ZOEDOG: I see thirteen of your T-B-N posts are one sentence; two are two sentences, including #5.

Thanks for sharing.

Well I guess I could write a lengthy dissertation about how poor the land is in Montana when all the OP wanted was tractor size information.
Sorry this is only 2 sentences, but I think you get my point.

 

[oosik]

I turned about an acre of pasture into a garden. This land had NEVER been turned with anything. I first hit it with a 3-14 moldboard plow. Then with a disk harrow that proved to be to light and I finally realized I was not chopping anything - just burning fuel. I borrowed a very heavy duty pto driven tiller and finished the job.

From this experience I found - - the easiest & quickest method is first the moldboard plow followed by two passes with the tiller. I honestly think that using the plow first was better and easier on equipment than trying to do it all with just the tiller. I had to stop and clear grass, weeds etc from the tiller even after first plowing - - I know it would have been a lot more frequent if I only used the tiller.