Right Implement for new pasture/food plot?

kubotal3130 · Apr 13, 2010

I recently had a 50' x 500' area excavated with all stumps removed and leveled. He is going to put in some gravel for a small tractor road about 10' wide and the rest I would like to plant some type of feed for deer and maybe some corn. There are still some roots and rock and debris mixed in the soil. My questions are:

What is the right implement for cleaning up the soil? (removing rocks and roots) I get confused with disc, harrow, plow, subsoiler. I just saw a used subsoiler in my area for cheap. I have a 7' York rake and 9' backhoe on my Kubota 3130.

What is a good deer feed that grows green and looks nice? (alphalfa?)

Should I mix in some cow/horse manure? He scraped the loam topsoil and now I have a clay/sand mix. I have about 15 yards of topsoil stacked up and he say it should be screened. Can I do that on my own?

Thanks for any advice.

beersngars · Apr 15, 2010

Well, I am in the midst of a simular project. I had 81 trees removed, ranging in size from 15' to 30' and trunks from 4" to 8", all in a 4~5 acre field, 90% of them were sweet gums. I had them popped out with a dozer blade and he left them lay. I disposed of the trees and stumps. Next we (the wife and I) cleaned and dug out more root for a month. In late October I used a turning plow and let it sit over the winter. Yes it looked like a complete mess again but what else could we do. This spring I plowed again the opposit direction then used my landscape rake for what seemed like fore ever and raked lots more crap out. Last weekend I disked it twice then raked it again. The roots and rocks seemed to be breeding, but I think we are winning now.

quackaddict · Apr 21, 2010

if it were me, burn off the trash, disc it, and plant something like iron peas, clover, or rape(brassicas), and then drag over it with a harrow.

whistlepig · Apr 21, 2010

There is no easy way to get up roots. As far as rocks go there is an attachment called a "Rockhound" that is used on skid loaders. It does an excellent job of removing rocks and also gives a nice finish to the soil. I planted Ladino clover two years ago. It is doing nicely. Deer love alfalfa but alfalfa has to be reseeded every year or so. A good stand of Ladino clover will last 5-7 years if mowed at the right time. The deer swarmed to the Ladino after it came up. My trail camera told me this.

Egon · Apr 21, 2010

For what you describe a disk may be an implement that will get you by. The topsoil you can screen if you build a little grizzly.

Check at your local seed supply store and see what they have and would recommend. I'd suggest some perennials as otherwise you will have to seed every year.

some annuals: Buckwheat, winter rye, peas, beans, oats.

some perennials: alfalfa, clovers, brome, timothy, rye grass