Using a disc harrow

[GlennT]

I just finished disking part of my pasture. This is the first time I've used a disk harrow that attached to a 3 pt. hitch and I was surprised at the learning curve! First I attached the top of the hitch to the fixed upper hook of my quick hitch and found out that you don't do that. Going into a dip the harrow lifts off the ground; going back up it buries itself. So I used my flexible attachment (and a little common sense) on top and that worked better. However, the vertical position of the lower attachments is touchy. Too high and the disc rides on the back discs with the front ones off the ground or barely touching the ground; too low and the front discs dig in and the back ones ride up in the air. Am I missing something? I tried putting cement blocks on the rear and it didn't seem to make any difference. Fifty years ago when I disked with my dad's JD Model B and an old disk designed to be pulled by horses, you simply hooked on, disked up the driveway until you got to the field, and away you went. Is the problem caused by the fact that my disk is very small (4 foot)?

 

[cowboydoc]

Glenn,

Alot of the problem is the 4' disc. What you are going to have to do is manually control you 3 pt. lift. You'll have to look back when you are going over unlevel ground and raise and lower it to keep it in the ground.

 

[MiniOaksMocha]

I have a 5 1/2' Disc Harrow on a TC29D that does the same thing. I also have pulled a drag type disc harrow for years with much greater ease of use, except you can't lift it. I have modified my lift type Disc Harrow's top link connection point by installing a floating link, got the idea from my Bushhog 6' Rear Finishing mower. It has helped, but did not totally eliminate the problem you discussed. If it every quits raining and drys up around here, I will work with it some more to try and fix this problem.

 

[GlennT]

Thanks for the responses. I guess it's comforting to know that I wasn't doing something too stupid. It is tedious to have to constantly adjust the hydraulic lift, but it's really no big deal. Just another thing to get used to. Another problem with such a small disk is that it doesn't dig in very deep. To get decent coverage you have to disk and then crossdisk.

 

[Cacinok]

Would the draft control help in this situation? I have little experience with a disc and even less with the draft control, but from my understanding of the draft purpose it seems like it would work.

I'm interested to hear from the more learned as I too need to disc some areas of our property.

Clint

 

[cowboydoc]

Not going to help much Clint. The draft control helps where you get into situation where you are going to get the implement going into the ground too much. You will rarely, if ever, get a disc of this size to do that.

 

[Alan L.]

I have a 6.5 foot disk for my B2710. I find that I have to adjust the top link - too short and only the front disks cut, too long and it won't plow as deep. Never had any problem with the disk coming off the ground. Maybe you could fool with the lower links (use the alternate holes) to get them down lower. The disk won't cut more than the weight of it will allow, so you want it absolutely on the ground - you don't want the tractor lifting it up at all. Mine seems to be about right - it plows OK but I can still lift up high enough for transport and turning.

Because of the number of passes required, I find disking fairly hard work on the several acres I do. It is so much slower than mowing and I get a little impatient because I want to get the plowing done and the seed in, all in one day or at least weekend. Maybe I am just getting in too big a hurry, but disking is the least favorite thing I do with my tractor. I am threatening paying someone with a bigger tractor to do it this year, but there are some trees in the way.

I am trying to establish decent soil from some unfertile yellow clay that came out of the bottom of the pond that was dug 2.5 years ago. There is about another 4 acres I need to plow to put in a real hay crop (trying to keep my ag exemption), and disking is really slow (only because of the number of passes required).