Egon
Epic Contributor
An interesting site showing some tillage equipment.
ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/IA/intranet/Tillage.pdf
ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/IA/intranet/Tillage.pdf
Tillers vs. Plows
- Thread starter Birdbrain
- Start date
- Views: 15667
N80
Super Member
In my limited experience I would say that compaction is not a big deal in small food plots and gardens and you still see tons of people around here using moldboard plows and disks for this purpose. But they are not 'farming', they are gardening.
I have plowed and disked my food plots now that I've aquired the equipment to do so. And with the nature of the soil I have, there aren't many other options. A cultivator will barely scratch the surface. A neighbor tried a chisel plow with 65hp tractor and got similar results on hard packed pasture land. A true ripper/subsoiler unit would probably be good but most folks like me don't have the HP to pull one. A tiller would beat itself to death in the rocks and clay. However, after a good plowing and disking, culitivators and tillers would probably be good options.
With a two bottom plow and a disk I've achieved better results than I'd have imagined and without too much secondary compaction. But the reason for that is that 1) the hard pan is already there anyway (naturally) and 2) I haven't done this a lot yet.
However, FWJ is so right about a disk compacting things. When I plowed my little corn plot there was a lot of clay and clumps. So I went over and over it with the disk. This noticeably compacted even the soil that had been turned by the plow. So the number of passes with the disk seems critical. The natural hard pan is about 8" down and thats probably fine for my food plots and maybe even the corn. But going over it too many times with the disk makes the ground hard 3-4" down. So it seems like there is a fine line between too much and not enough disking.
So I'm still experimenting. Live and learn.
I have plowed and disked my food plots now that I've aquired the equipment to do so. And with the nature of the soil I have, there aren't many other options. A cultivator will barely scratch the surface. A neighbor tried a chisel plow with 65hp tractor and got similar results on hard packed pasture land. A true ripper/subsoiler unit would probably be good but most folks like me don't have the HP to pull one. A tiller would beat itself to death in the rocks and clay. However, after a good plowing and disking, culitivators and tillers would probably be good options.
With a two bottom plow and a disk I've achieved better results than I'd have imagined and without too much secondary compaction. But the reason for that is that 1) the hard pan is already there anyway (naturally) and 2) I haven't done this a lot yet.
However, FWJ is so right about a disk compacting things. When I plowed my little corn plot there was a lot of clay and clumps. So I went over and over it with the disk. This noticeably compacted even the soil that had been turned by the plow. So the number of passes with the disk seems critical. The natural hard pan is about 8" down and thats probably fine for my food plots and maybe even the corn. But going over it too many times with the disk makes the ground hard 3-4" down. So it seems like there is a fine line between too much and not enough disking.
So I'm still experimenting. Live and learn.
Egon
Epic Contributor
There is a difference between farming and food plots. On the plots one does what one can with the equipment on hand which is usually small. The main object is to grow something for the wildlife.
That's basically what I do on our play farm. I've got 16 HP., a rototiller and a home made set of harrow thingys to work with on the 10 or so acres I try and cultivate.
One of my better crops is the rocks I pick while rotatilling!
That's basically what I do on our play farm. I've got 16 HP., a rototiller and a home made set of harrow thingys to work with on the 10 or so acres I try and cultivate.
One of my better crops is the rocks I pick while rotatilling!
DLMaine01
Silver Member
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2005
- Messages
- 152
- Location
- Maine
- Tractor
- Sold theKubota L2250DT and now have a Kubota M4900DT
Yes frost is a wonderful thing for loosing up soil, too bad we put up with 6 months of winter to get it!!
I looked into no till and was astonished at the amount of chemicals required- No Thanks.
I would rather burn diesel than plants.
Till then subsoil every other year or so. Rotate crops. Cover crop. Till.
Yes my acres are small(7 or so not in pasture) so this may not apply to large acs. But the amount of chemicals involved, YIKES.
Dave
I looked into no till and was astonished at the amount of chemicals required- No Thanks.
I would rather burn diesel than plants.
Till then subsoil every other year or so. Rotate crops. Cover crop. Till.
Yes my acres are small(7 or so not in pasture) so this may not apply to large acs. But the amount of chemicals involved, YIKES.
Dave
Very well said, for me, the best way I've found to prepare the ground is to use all purpose plows and then use either the tiller or disc's, depending on the plot and even the type soil in the different plots. the soil texture can vary that much here in less than a 100 yardswolc123 said:
MH49
Member
- Joined
- May 21, 2008
- Messages
- 37
- Location
- Ohio
- Tractor
- CASE IH 5220; Cockshutt 570 (2x); Massey Harris 44; Ford NAA; 1872 Super Cub; MF 14, 12 and 10 Garden Tractors
For new plots into sod, I would plow. Once you get it established, tillers will work good. For bigger stuff, I would think the tiller would take longer but may be able to do it only one pass. The thing for me is I got my plow and disk really cheap so that was the determining factor.
schmism
Super Member
My 2x14 will flip 7" of ground if set up correctly.
my tiller will only go about 4-5" deep.
a few areas i tilled only, but then this year went back and plowed and could still feel the diffrence as i was cutting 3-4" of virgin ground under the tilled area.
I turned my sod areas with a plow let it sit for about 2 weeks then strapped on the 5' tiller and made perfect seed bed in 2 passes.
my tiller will only go about 4-5" deep.
a few areas i tilled only, but then this year went back and plowed and could still feel the diffrence as i was cutting 3-4" of virgin ground under the tilled area.
I turned my sod areas with a plow let it sit for about 2 weeks then strapped on the 5' tiller and made perfect seed bed in 2 passes.
California
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2004
- Messages
- 14,978
- Location
- An hour north of San Francisco
- Tractor
- Yanmar YM240 Yanmar YM186D
Thinking about some of the earlier posts I wonder how many worms survive tilling. It looks to me that my tiller (Yanmar, intended for rice paddies) turns the soil into 4" of flour. Are there enough worms below that level to re-propagate? What else lives in the top 4"?
