novice, I chisel plowed todsa now what?

[sqdqo]

I chisel plowed a 5 acre grass field today, went over it twice at different directions. The chisel really tore it up leaving large chunks of sod, very rough to run the tractor on. I need to break the sod up now and have a tow behind 14' disc. Do you just repeatedly go over the sod clumps with it to break them down? How aggressive should the discs be angled? Obviously I am a novice so any good advice is appreciated.

 

[texasjohn]

Me, I chisel three times, each in a different direction. Third time seems to do as much as the other two combined. Leave a little time between chiseling...letting the grass die and clods dry and break apart more easily....the timing and number of chiseling passes depends on the type of soil and grass you have. My dirt works best if the clods get a rain on them then dry out some between trips in the field.

Yes, the next step is your disk. Likely will need to also do this in two or more passes, at different angles, until the field is well worked up. Again, timing will depend on moisture content, grass clump size, etc....experience is your best teacher here. Angle of disks is also determined by experience. You want to be able to achieve a decent field speed which results in tossing the dirt up and onto the disks breaking up the clumps and knocking dirt away from roots. Maximum angle results in maximum dirt movement but also maximum drag...which your tractor may or may not be able to handle. Again, try several angles and speeds...observe the results and select what is working best for your dirt and size tractor.

Working up a field for the first time is kinda an art....you'll figure it out with some experience and get better each time.

 

[sqdqo]

Thanks for the reply. I can't get much speed as the sod clumps are big enough that the ride causes lumps on my head!

 

[Gary Fowler]

The roughest I have ever had to deal with was disking after using a turning plow and the clods dried out. That first pass with a disk was a killer but subsequent passes were fairly smooth, at least compared to the first one.
Your soil type will determine how you disk after chisel plowing. Some heavy clay soils must be disked immediately to break up any clods as they turn into rock like structures if allowed to dry out. Sandy soils can dry out and work better when dry but can be done rather wet also. You will just have to experiment unless you can find an old farmer willing to school you on best practice.

You could also run a tiller over it if you have one. They need to run fairly slow for maximum penetration so the rough surface wouldn't be an issue. If you are just breaking up clods, you may be able to run it as fast as your body and tractor can take the punishment.

 

[countrybumpkin]

You may not be able to get speed up much till you get the large clumps broken down. Again soil type , moisture, disk adjustment size and weight of it also will affect how many passes it's going to take. Some soils if you let dry to much with large clumps can turn them hard as concrete. Takes time to learn but you'll figure it out.

 

[Gary Fowler]

With regard to tiller speed, I had a pasture grass fire once and used my tiller (I had it already on the tractor) to cut fire breaks. I ran it in M 4 on my tractor which is about 8 MPH and it chopped up the pasture grass and small pine trees in one pass enough to stop the fire.

Of course if I am tilling virgin soil I go really slow and let the tines chew into the grass and thorough mix the soil. I can make a pretty good seed bed in one pass at about 1/8 MPH (estimated speed- about the speed of a beetle crawling on the ground)

 

[Creamer]

Agree with TexasJohn - a third chisel pass will be real helpful. Letting it dry a little before doing this is also helpful. i would also let it set a few days before the discing.

The first disc pass I would not angle the gangs much as this does a lot of cutting and somewhat packing it down - speed is not important. After that engage the disc more and increase the speed to throw it more. No need to disc it deep - 3-4 inches is plenty to get it cut up and smoothed out.

 

[sqdqo]

Thanks guys!

 

[jeff9366]

Do you just repeatedly go over the sod clumps with it to break them down?

How aggressive should the discs be angled?

I am a novice so any good advice is appreciated.

A Disc Harrow is one form of TILLER.

For most 'normal' Disc Harrow work the front gangs are set aggressively to cut soil, then throw soil outward.

The rear gangs are set 1-2-3 positions LESS aggressively and wider, to collect dirt to throw inward and to smooth.

In your situation you may want both front and rear gangs set fairly aggressively for one or two passes, until the clumps are pretty well chopped up, then reduce angle of rear gang to smooth.

A good rain putting moisture in the soil will make your work much easier and reduce number of passes over field you need to make.

What is the diameter of the pans on your Disc Harrow?