Plowing done - first time ever!

10kpharo

Member
This is part of the field behind my house. Never plowed before, lovely Timothy hay, but there's a spring running underneath. The farmer who owns the field doesn't hay it anymore, so he's letting me use it. I made one test pass with the plow - had to adjust the depth of cut. Cut the first furrow, came back, leveled the plow with the right wheels in the first furrow. Worked like a charm (I think). Very enjoyable to watch the plow turn over the ground. 69 y/o Ford 8N, 64 y/o Dearborn 16" Economy plow, 55 y/o Crazy Dreamer behind the wheel.
a158985.jpg

a158986.jpg

a158987.jpg
 

Something is set wrong, I do not believe you should have the gaps between the turned over sections. Maybe others will have something to say one way or the other.
It has been years since I have done any plowing but like you say it was always lots of fun. well sometimes.lol
 
(quoted from post at 07:21:13 05/03/17)
Something is set wrong, I do not believe you should have the gaps between the turned over sections. Maybe others will have something to say one way or the other.
It has been years since I have done any plowing but like you say it was always lots of fun. well sometimes.lol

Its been awhile since I turned new ground with a grass root system like that. Its tight and hard to cut/flip Its never perfect the first go round. That's my take don't give up it will plow better the next go round...
 
(quoted from post at 19:34:59 05/02/17)
(quoted from post at 07:21:13 05/03/17)
Something is set wrong, I do not believe you should have the gaps between the turned over sections. Maybe others will have something to say one way or the other.
It has been years since I have done any plowing but like you say it was always lots of fun. well sometimes.lol

Its been awhile since I turned new ground with a grass root system like that. Its tight and hard to cut/flip Its never perfect the first go round. That's my take don't give up it will plow better the next go round...

Agree with that.
 
You got the job done. When it is dryer, you can disc it and work it to your liking.
The picture may be deceiving or my eyes are failing: I cannot see the rear tire spacing. I could tell that it was a single bottom plow. It does appear to not be pulling straight and may need to be shifted to the right (toward the previous furrow). A picture of the tractor sitting on level ground and the plow on the ground would be helpful.
 

Sure its not the grass mat is giving up a good fight... Maybe that's what culters were for to slice the root mat once folks go the land were they could work it they were no longer needed...

Its not gonna be any fun to disc either :cry:
 

I would bet that if you took a shovel to it you would find unturned sod under each pile of dirt. Good way to break a wrist trying to disc that. Learning how to plow is an art form and some farmers never really learned how to properly tune a plow to get it right.
It does not look like he has a coulter on it and in sod they really do help a lot. They make plowing a lot easier and makes aa cleaner cut, especially in sod.
 
Plowing sod is never easy. Especially without a colter or a rolling
landside. It also doesn't help that your soil is so wet. I would be
tempted to turn around and plow it again in the other direction
before disking it.

Here's some goofing around I was doing with an 8N and a 640.

48487.jpg


48488.jpg
 
I think you did pretty darned good.
I would set your coulter deeper so it cuts the roots and does a cleaner job.
Disc With the rows first then disc at a slight angle. Easier on your arms and steering.
When discing, you can shorten up your top link all the way so only the front gangs are cutting and the rears are off the ground. It will cut much better/deeper. Then lengthen the top link back out so all 4 gangs are level to finish.
 

Congratulations on getting out there and getting it done. It looks good. However, as others are saying you have a strip of un-turned sod that appears to be 4-5 inches wide between strips that are turned. You can disc it so that it is smooth on top, but after a few weeks the dirt over the turned part will settle a lot more than the the dirt over the un-turned strips. As you drive over it going from side to side you will get a pronounced wash board effect. and as a few years go by it will get worse and worse. To cure this you could move your plow 4-5 inches to the right, but then it will not be following straight. A better fix would be to adjust the tracking of your right wheel inward by approximately the same amount as the width of the un-turned grass strip. The wheel track adjustment is in your owners manual. When you go over it again and the upside down sod is not being held up by the un-turned sod, it will appear that you have not gone very deep. It looks like you may want to set it to go a little deeper. Don't hesitate to post back if you need help to get this set.
 

Congratulations on getting out there and getting it done. It looks good. However, as others are saying you have a strip of un-turned sod that appears to be 4-5 inches wide between strips that are turned. You can disc it so that it is smooth on top, but after a few weeks the dirt over the turned part will settle a lot more than the the dirt over the un-turned strips. As you drive over it going from side to side you will get a pronounced wash board effect. and as a few years go by it will get worse and worse. To cure this you could move your plow 4-5 inches to the right, and go over it again, but then it will not be following straight. A better fix would be to adjust the tracking of your right wheel inward by approximately the same amount as the width of the un-turned grass strip. The wheel track adjustment is in your owners manual.



When you go over it again and the upside down sod is not being held up by the un-turned sod, it may appear that you have not gone very deep. It looks like you may want to set it to go a little deeper. Don't hesitate to post back if you need help to get this set.
 
Thank you all for the feedback. I appreciate the technical advice. My plow is a 16" Dearborn Economy moldboard plow, with both a colter and a rolling landside. It sat for a long, long time before I bought it, so I haven't been able to free up all the adjustments yet. We've had a lot of rain this Spring, which keeps my underground spring flowing freely into this field. I began to despair of ever getting the field plowed, so this past Monday night when the rain stopped, I went out and took my best shot at it. It's very heavy clay. In fact, my farmer/neighbor bet me I would not turn over this land with an 8N. He tried to talk me into buying an Oliver 550 or Super 55, or a Farmall M. Our local tractor repair guru said to me (actual quote): "Oh, Hell...buy an 8N and a one-bottom plow, and go slow". I set the plow as low as I could to pull it through the soil. When I tried to set it deeper, that's when it bogged down and stopped the tractor. I'll disc the heck out of it and see what happens. I have no plans for this patch this year except to add some nutrients, and plant some pumpkins, squash, lettuce and maybe broccoli (I hate broccoli). One of our local churches does a free food giveaway once a week, and I'd like to contribute some fresh veggies for them to distribute.
 
You're not the only one who doesn't like broccoli.
One of my favorite presidential quotes came George Bush Senior:
"When I was little I hated broccoli but my mother always made me eat it. I still hate broccoli but now I'm the President of the United States and NO ONE can make me eat it any more."
 
Broccoli is on my 'reverse bucket list' of things I'm never doing again before I die..

Never eating broccoli again
Never listening to a James Taylor song again
etc.
 
10K,

When I first saw your plowed field, I immediately thought you [i:6ecb3b878c]might ha[/i:6ecb3b878c]ve made the same mistake I made first time out.
Incorrect plowing direction procedure!

R. Geiger wrote:
[color=darkblue:6ecb3b878c]"I would bet that if you took a shovel to it you would find unturned sod under each pile of dirt."[/color:6ecb3b878c]

That also describes what happened as I started plowing.
I was plowing through earth that I had already turned and burying unturned sod under it.

The plot has to be plowed from the right side of the plot to the left side or in expanding rectangular fashion -- starting in the center and expanding outward.

Terry
 
(quoted from post at 12:42:42 05/03/17) 10K,

When I first saw your plowed field, I immediately thought you [i:f7dd7faa05]might ha[/i:f7dd7faa05]ve made the same mistake I made first time out.
Incorrect plowing direction procedure!

R. Geiger wrote:
[color=darkblue:f7dd7faa05]"I would bet that if you took a shovel to it you would find unturned sod under each pile of dirt."[/color:f7dd7faa05]

That also describes what happened as I started plowing.
I was plowing through earth that I had already turned and burying unturned sod under it.

The plot has to be plowed from the right side of the plot to the left side or in expanding rectangular fashion -- starting in the center and expanding outward.

Terry

What I was saying that it looked like he was trying to take too wide of cut. There are different ways to lay a field for plowing. in the 8n operators manual it shows how to lay out a field for plowing. His problem may have been wheel spacing for a single share plow.
 

R,

I hear ya! Just thought I'd throw that in as grist for the mill.
No doubt you are right.

T
 
(quoted from post at 12:20:44 05/03/17)
(quoted from post at 12:42:42 05/03/17) 10K,

When I first saw your plowed field, I immediately thought you [i:58639d2be3]might ha[/i:58639d2be3]ve made the same mistake I made first time out.
Incorrect plowing direction procedure!

R. Geiger wrote:
[color=darkblue:58639d2be3]"I would bet that if you took a shovel to it you would find unturned sod under each pile of dirt."[/color:58639d2be3]

That also describes what happened as I started plowing.
I was plowing through earth that I had already turned and burying unturned sod under it.

The plot has to be plowed from the right side of the plot to the left side or in expanding rectangular fashion -- starting in the center and expanding outward.

Terry

What I was saying that it looked like he was trying to take too wide of cut. There are different ways to lay a field for plowing. in the 8n operators manual it shows how to lay out a field for plowing. His problem may have been wheel spacing for a single share plow.

That's what it is. For what 10Kpharo is doing it will probably be OK. If he were going to be haying it or doing anything requiring driving cross ways on it it would be tough going, but the vegetables won't mind much.
 
We plowed every year in the fifties and early sixties. Each year we reversed the direction that we turned the soil. Dead furrows
became back furrows and back furrows became dead furrows. Too often, on rented fields, we found previous persons always plowed
the same way each year.
Another thing that we encountered were fence rows were vegetation was allowed to expand into the field. Invariably, we spent a
lot of time cutting brush and low branches back.
Lastly, many areas were wet. We often spent time trying to drain fields using existing ditches and/or plow a shallow furrow from
low spots to ditches and then work the ground when it dried out. One year a late storm dumped a lot of rain. The 8N with the
Economy 2x14 was working through standing water as much as 4 and 5 inches deep. The ground underneath was firm.
I spent many hours on either our '51 8N, "Nellybelle" (still in my barn) or the Farmall H with a 2x14 trailer plow.
Interestingly, the Ford pulled in 2nd gear and the H in 3rd gear. Neither could pass the other unless taking a break or a plow
was plugged up with debris.
 
(quoted from post at 03:22:54 05/04/17)
(quoted from post at 12:20:44 05/03/17)
(quoted from post at 12:42:42 05/03/17) 10K,

When I first saw your plowed field, I immediately thought you [i:cb03658102]might ha[/i:cb03658102]ve made the same mistake I made first time out.
Incorrect plowing direction procedure!

R. Geiger wrote:
[color=darkblue:cb03658102]"I would bet that if you took a shovel to it you would find unturned sod under each pile of dirt."[/color:cb03658102]

That also describes what happened as I started plowing.
I was plowing through earth that I had already turned and burying unturned sod under it.

The plot has to be plowed from the right side of the plot to the left side or in expanding rectangular fashion -- starting in the center and expanding outward.

Terry

What I was saying that it looked like he was trying to take too wide of cut. There are different ways to lay a field for plowing. in the 8n operators manual it shows how to lay out a field for plowing. His problem may have been wheel spacing for a single share plow.

That's what it is. For what 10Kpharo is doing it will probably be OK. If he were going to be haying it or doing anything requiring driving cross ways on it it would be tough going, but the vegetables won't mind much.

I spec few got it right the first time I hope he is taking notes given time he will perfect it. I would have ripped it up first with one of these..



http://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/viewtopic.php?t=1312371

No way would I post my first plowing job with a N :shock:
 
10K,
not bad at all for the first time, new gouund that has not been plowed in years, new to you tractor and plow.

many would not have done near as well as you, you should see some of my plowing after years of practice, does not look as good as yours trying to plow under corn stalks. etc.

picture of my old disc plow breaking up a garden spot that has been plowed up for years.
I just like using an old disc plow because most people do not have one

I say you did pretty good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
a159086.jpg
 
TenK,
My plow is a single as well but I think I lucked out with the plow position relative to my tractor's wheels. Not sure because I have 13.6" rears.

Ain't it comforting to know
that we'll never be stuck
for the Guru's answer
right here on Radio N 8)

Terry
 
Wellmax,

Something I wrote in my last post disappeared on me.

. . . about how that incredible plow of yours blows me away
every time I see it.

[b:385e731e9b]It's a showpiece indeed![/b:385e731e9b]
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top