Spike Tooth or Chain Link Harrow?

[trook]

After disking for food plots, what implement is best for busting up the remaining clods and leveling the food plot for broadcast seeding....a spiked tooth harrow or chain link harrow (mat)? Also, please consider that this implement will also be used to cover the seed once it is broadcast.

:confused2:

 

[duckhunter27]

Not sure which is best but i use a spiked harrow after disking to break up clods and to get ready for seed then after a sow seed i flip harrow over and cover seed up seems to work great,

 

[trook]

If I use a drag harrow, I will get one with a frame like the one on the left. The spiked tooth harrow is red and on the right. This is what I'm talking about:

 

[duckhunter27]

Ahhh then i would buy the spike drag and make a chain link harrow to cover seed.

 

[DeeDubya]

I don't know if the tooth harrow is adjustable but the chain harrow gives you 3 options: 1) very agressive with the tines nearly vertical, 2) turn it around for less agressive with the tines at about 45 degrees and 3) flip it over for a smooth drag (like to cover seed).

Also, the chain harrow does a great job to level/smooth a caliche driveway.

 

[HCJtractor]

I had a spiked tooth harrow like that one and I was very unimpressed with it, so much that I returned it for a refund. It was pretty flimsey, and was too light to accomplish much. It just bounced around.

Hard clods are hard to break up, and something heavy like a cultipacker works best. I have found anything you drag around just rearranges the clods, and may not break them up. On the other hand, breaking them up totally really isn't necessary, and some say having some clods remaining is good, as it prevents compaction and a hard baked surface. Last year it was so dry that after plowing, the clods were the size of concrete blocks and just as hard. It was a bear to break them up and it beat me to death driving the tractor over them. It took mutiple passes with a heavy disc harrow to chop them up, and then several cultipacker passes. Our timing was bad. Should have done this when it was wetter, but we did not have rain in late summer and early fall, so we had no choice.

What we do after plowing, and discing, is to drag a home-made drag made of heavy angle iron and chain. This levels out the high and low spots and gets things flat. At this time you could cultipack, to break up clods if they are bad, but isn't required. Then after broadcasting seed, we either use our same drag going fast or cultipack again. I will try to post a pic of our drag, but it is three 6' parallel lengths of 4x6" heavy angle spaced about 4' apart connected with a web of chains, with a chain tow harness on the front. Probably weighs 200 lbs and is indestructable. I have drug this thing 100 miles around our property. It also has the added benefit of dressing up the roads between each food plot. I made it out of scrap angle and about 60' of chain and eye bolts drilled thru the angle. Was easy and cheap to make. Another advantage is that someone can drag this with a truck and not tie up the tractor, and pulling it with an air conditioned truck is way more comfortable, and someone less skilled (like a teenager) can do this.

 

[HCJtractor]

Here are some pix. This drag really levels things out nicely, and is bombproof and cheap.

 

[Danner]

I don't know if the tooth harrow is adjustable but the chain harrow gives you 3 options: 1) very agressive with the tines nearly vertical, 2) turn it around for less agressive with the tines at about 45 degrees and 3) flip it over for a smooth drag (like to cover seed).

Also, the chain harrow does a great job to level/smooth a caliche driveway.

This is my experience too. This type of chain harrow is very versatile.

 

[eastexan]

Here are some pix. This drag really levels things out nicely, and is bombproof and cheap.

Thanks for the pic's.
Gave me some ideas for my needs. :thumbsup:

 

[James Loehr]

This is mine. I've used it for some leveling and in my pasture to smooth it out. Went around my property edge where the farmers digger left some big chunks and it did a great job breaking those down.

 

[DeeDubya]

This is mine. I've used it for some leveling and in my pasture to smooth it out. Went around my property edge where the farmers digger left some big chunks and it did a great job breaking those down.

That's one of the better designs I've seen. You have to have some kind of lift unless you have unlimited turning space. I went the cheap route and bought a boom at TSC for $99 and some chain. Works great though.

These aren't very good pics since it's hanging halfway off the trailer.

 

[trook]

This is mine. I've used it for some leveling and in my pasture to smooth it out. Went around my property edge where the farmers digger left some big chunks and it did a great job breaking those down.

James, I have been thinking about one like you have. If you had to do it again, would you do anything different or get a different size?

 

[James Loehr]

James, I have been thinking about one like you have. If you had to do it again, would you do anything different or get a different size?

Of those that I've seen this was the nicest looking one I found. None of the others had a pull bar on both front and back. I have added spring hooks on the four corners that make it much easier to change the drag. I just unhook the chain from the hooks and drive around it and snap them back together or unhook the front and lift it up,drive ahead to flip it over. I would not like doing this by hand. The thing is heavy. It works with both my tractors(BX2360 L3130) but the BX get's a bit light in front without the loader on. It was a lot of money for a drag but now that I have it I'm glad I got it.

 

[Rford]

Here are some pix. This drag really levels things out nicely, and is bombproof and cheap.

The original post is #7 with photos. I'm resurrecting this older thread as I'm looking at this design (Post #7) for a drag for myself...and it looks good. Any one built one like it or have any suggestions. I sent the maker a personal email so hopefully I'll hear back.

 

[jeff9366]

Here is the combination I use: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...c-countyline-tarter-boom-pole.html?highlight=

 

[jenkinsph]

This is a 3 pt spike tooth harrow that I made years ago to put in my lawn. Used it to smooth and cover the seed and followed up with a small roller. In the pictures you can see the seed coming up thick in the path of the spikes. Lots of ways to do this but packing or rolling it is important for good seed contact with the soil. The spike tooth harrow works well in the larger open areas.

Another tool I use is the pine straw rake which is also good for smoothing and seed covering again follow up with a roller. This is better choice for congested areas turning around trees and easy to back up to a tree and pull away,