Pasture renovation with modified with rototiller

[KennedyDiesel]

If you get too much "loft" it settles unevenly and the animals will really punch in. That and riding my little 455 like a bucking bronco over all the sod rolls was an insane act as well.

I've done lawns with my tiller, but since using my Harley rake never again...

 

[john_bud]

Kennedy,

After liming, fertilizing, tilling, seeding you have to cultipack it down tight. Faster germination and the animals won't make 6" deep hoof prints!

jb

 

[Highbeam]

Oh OK, the tiller does fluff the soil pretty well and the settlement isn't always even. I expect similar uneven settlement since I subsoiled the heck out of my pasture before smoothing it out.

 

[diyDave]

Though I haven't tried this method yet, I have a friend who swears by it, and has built the rig. What you do is to attach a bunch of no-till coulters to a tool bar, about 4-6" apart, and weight it heavily. The no-till coulters he used came off of several A-C no till planters from a junkyard. He doesn't have a seeder attached to it, but that's a good idea, as it would add more weight. I am going to give this idea a go- I have an old Farnsworth pasture scarifier that would make a good frame for it.

 

[KennedyDiesel]

Try a Harley rake once and you'll be hooked...

 

[Rara Avis]

Hayfield renovation...
This Old Hayfield: A Fact Sheet on Hayfield Renovation

 

[Egon]

Paul; is this saying a good pasture does not require a bush hog?

 

[Luremaker]

Paul; is this saying a good pasture does not require a bush hog?

As I learn more about cattle I agree with the above statement. The key is proper rotation every few days. My problem is the cattle had 50 acres to graze at will for years and selectively ate all the good stuff and left space for the weeds to grow. I have now divided the pasture into one 15 acre and one 30 acre pasture divided by a natural creek. The remaining 5 acres is now a fenced off creek/natural area. Next summer I'll divide each pasture into 4 or 5 sections with movable electric fence. My biggest problem will be getting water into each of the paddocks. Hopefully this will mean less work at the end and beginning of each season.

 

[gabby]

I made a pass 5 months ago with a Hay King renovator in this bahiagrass. Last week, I noticed the renovated grass hadn't wilted while all the other grass around it was wilted. In a normal rainfall year, the furrows would have healed over. The renovator has coulters running in front of small ripper shanks.

I think the modified rototiller would be less effective.

 

[bjr]

copy and paste this site. It's spendy but it's supposed to bust up the ground. bjr

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