What Tillage Equipment

[SwampCat]

The strip directly behind the tractor has been disked 6 times. Disk, with weight added, is 8 ft and weighs nearly 2000 lbs. if you had your choice, what piece of tillage equipment would you use on this type ground.

 

[farmhunter]

I'd spray Glyphosate 1st - 4 weeks ahead of using that disk (i'd love one of those actually)

if not - I'd use my 2 bottom plow -

 

[SwampCat]

I did spray 3 qts glyphosate per acre three weeks prior to disking. Not sure what kind of grass this is - rancher calls it water grass - but glyphosate is not very effective.

 

[ncnat]

Not sure why that disc is not cutting but I'd run a chisel plow through it in one direction then disc in the opposite direction.

 

[Jerry D]

A spading machine by gramenga! But not practical probably

If glyfos kills it I would just disc the top but with the clumps of active growth it will be hard to disk through so plow first to turn it upside down...

 

[Jason Broom]

Throw and mow - FTW!

I'm not sure if those plants are really that tough, or if you failed to mix AMS with the gly, but you didn't get a good burn down...there's still a lot of green in that field. Also, it looks like you didn't mow and then wait for tender new growth before you sprayed. Done correctly, the method you used should have worked well enough to allow effective discing. As it is, you're getting close to seeing "thirt", which is ideal for food plots. You don't want to work dirt the way people have done it, traditionally...that's more than you need.

Broadcast a grain/legume mix, with maybe some radish and chicory, mow it tight, cultipack, and then pray for rain.

 

[Mahindra3016]

Nothing wrong with using a bottom plow to start new plots, I started all of mine with a single bottom, now i throw and mow or rototill.

 

[Brian]

Man, that is some tough grass!

Like someone said, a chisel plow would be perfect. If you're short on equipment I actually saw a guy use a box blade for tha same purpose - he lowered the ripper shanks as far as they would go and shortened the top link as much as he could to raise the back and then dropped it to where just the rippers were engaging.

 

[Elkaddict]

A proper kill and a heavy disc would suffice. As noted, a chisel plow would also work well in these circumstances. Newly broken ground or ground that's been in pasture for decades takes a lot of effort. It gets much easier every year there after.

 

[SwampCat]

This ground has been in pasture for years. I bush hogged as low as I could two weeks prior to gly. Ground is like concrete - even with that heavy disk. A lot of that grass has been pulled up but ground is so hard, disk wont turn it in. My plan is wheat this fall and then eagle seed beans next spring. I know it is going to be a job to turn it for awhile since it has probably never seen tillage equipment. I might would consider a throw and mow cereal grain planting in the fall but not going to risk that on $100 per acre eagle seed beans in the spring. I dont know if I could cut that grass low enough for throw and mow without using a lawn mower. It is so tough, the cows dont eat it except in the spring

 

[cutman]

Is your disk angle as aggressive as you can make it?

 

[SwampCat]

Is your disk angle as aggressive as you can make it?

Yes - actually thought about cutting back some to allow blades to maybe cut a little deeper. Hate to do it, but might disk it about four times and then hit it with a landscape rake to remove what grass had been uprooted. Then I could probably make a dent with a disk after that. Havent had rain in a month - so that is not helping.

 

[Brokenbear]

1. Back the rear gangs of your disc up on sharp rise or like a railroad tie ...drop your lift arms ...shorten your top link ...then drop lift arms
more and shorten the top link until all the disc weight is on the front gangs of your disc ....
2. then disc your field like these two patterns or as close as you can .... #1=+ ....#2= X ...any angle that keeps you from simply following prior
passes you have made ....you are then cutting the sod into "squares" or at least "diamond" shape pieces which cuts the root system
taking away support from the adjoining root system
3. then drop you disc back to a normal top link length and disc in a normal pattern with as much speed you can muster and you should see
squares and diamonds showing dirt
Unless you have big equipment that can really put the green sod/roots way deep I would highly recommend that you kill the root system/grass before chiseling,ripping or plowing with small equipment ot you possibly be chasing bowing ball sized clods for a long time

Good luck and a safe year to all

Bear

 

[j-bird]

I would kill the vegetation first and then turn it over with an actual plow. The root mass can be difficult for the disc to penetrate - the plow will slice thru it and roll it over and THEN use your disc to break it down further. A tiller would work as well depending on roots and rocks and the like you may find. I prefer NOT to use a tiller unless I have worked the area before and know what I'm dealing with.

 

[bigbluetruck]

I would try to straighten your gangs out, that will help it penetrate better and do as someone suggested and keep going at different angles. Also if you can kill it, then leave it over winter and then try again in the spring should help.
If you absolutely feel the need to do it this winter, you cant beat a plow.
Not sure what "water grass" is called there, but I wonder if its not Reeds canary? That stuff makes a ton of biomass

 

[CTM1]

Went through the same thing last year. The heavy rye and grass was to much for the disc to cut through even after I added weight and I had the gangs.turned to their most aggressive. Even after I hogged it lower it was still to much for my 6 foot 3pt tubular disc. Wound up going to the tiller to get it done, but I broke the axle on the tiller on the third field.

OkieKubota suggest a Spring Tooth Chisel Plow. I finally picked one up and while it rips the grass up it does leave huge piles. Never used a single bottom plow, but if I run into this situation again I will be keeping an eye out for one.

 

[cutman]

If possible, sometimes the best thing to do is burn all that residue off. Spray it, burn it, disk it.

 

[SwampCat]

Watergrass is a true grass -- low growing - not over a foot tall. Grows equally well in sun or shade. Tough as a boot. Takes flooding and drought. Deer dont touch it. 3 qts per acre glyphosate barely discolor it. My intentions are to plant wheat this fall and if not too wet, will plant eagle seed beans next spring with a couple of rounds of glyphosate on them hopefully controlling the weeds even more.

 

[bigbluetruck]

I think I would try plowing, I cant imagine 3qts of roundup not killing something!

 

[SwampCat]

I think I would try plowing, I cant imagine 3qts of roundup not killing something!

I would imagine the roundup will do better in e spring when it is actively growing - at least I hope so.