Plowing a field that has not been done in over 20 years

rbhuntn · Oct 27, 2016

All I am not sure if this is the correct place to ask, but here goes.

On our hunting property we are looking to plow part of a 5 acre open field that has not been used in over 20 years. It has been let go and all that is growing now is native grasses and weeds.

We are looking to turn part of this field under this fall to let the current vegetation rot out hopefully. We keep this field cut down about three times a year. The grass is currently about 18 to 24 inches tall.

Should we cut it down prior to turning it under?

In the Spring what type and how much fert should be put on? (plan on plowing up about 100 yards by 50 yard section for food plot)

Would disking or rotor tilling be best in the spring?

Crop type will be a mix of clover, peas, wheat, oats and soy beans with turnips going in later in the summer.

Also should we use something like Round Up in the spring prior to planting?

Grew up in cow/logging country and only crop type stuff I have been around was the family garden. So while not a young'n just never done this type of stuff before and would like to get all of your expert opinions on how to handle this one to get the stuff to grow for the deer and turkey.

Thanks

BJ

rbhuntn · Oct 27, 2016

Will be using the Mahindra 4550 and an Oliver plow like the pic here.

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jsfarmall · Oct 27, 2016

Is sure someone with more experience than
me will chime in but I would cut down a bit
before plowing. If you have access to a
tiller it will level things back up better
than a disc. Sure wouldn't hurt to spray in
the spring but just a good working with
tiller, disc, breaking plow, etc or what
ever combination will work fine too. That's
what I would do so it won't kill out food
plot vegetation and just get thicker every
year

Bruce from Can. · Oct 27, 2016

Don't think I would be cutting it , unless you plan on removing what you cut before
you try to plough. Your plough will just plug. You could burn off the trash , or run
that disc you mentioned back and forth over the field for a week or so , on and off.
It will cut it up some as well as just pack it all down. Think I would take a pass on
the round up , as this isn't a crop you are going to harvest, only feed for deer.

JMS/.MN · Oct 27, 2016

Plow down the standing grass. Cutting it and trying to plow, it will just plug the plow. I"m not a fan of disking, but since you"re plowing sod, it is an excellent machine to break up the clumps and cut up some grass. No one here can tell what your fertility level is, or what is lacking. Do a soil test, and consult with an agronomist to determine what is needed according to your crop mix. Roundup is a contact herbicide that works only on active growth. There is no residual effect.

hd6gtom · Oct 27, 2016

Do Not cut it, unless you plan on raking and baling it. I just did this, grass was as high as the rear axle on tractor with 18.4X38 tires on it. Will disk it in the spring, then hit it a couples of times with the field cultivator, then seed alalfa and oats with end gate seeder. I might use roundup ready alalfa, gotta look into that this winter.

Donald Lehman · Oct 27, 2016

That plow will handle trash and old sod as well as anything. However I plowed up some 70 year old sod and I plowed 10 inches deep and only had a couple of inches of soil to work with because the old sod was so thick. I'd disk the daylights out of it, plow it down, spray with roundup in the spring, then plow it under and plow it around 10 inches deep. Whatever you work it with in the spring, just work the top couple of inches or you will bring up old sod all over the place. You might consider working that ground after it is plowed with a tractor mounted heavy duty rototiller.

rbhuntn · Oct 27, 2016

Have a 5 foot light weight disk and a 54 inch 3 point tiller available. Really been thinking that the tiller would be best.

JD Seller · Oct 27, 2016

Since your turning it under in the fall I would not cut the grass in anyway. The cut grass/weeds will plug the plow. IF you get your plow running correctly then it should turn the grass/weed under well enough to rot by spring. About any fall plowed ground will be better than the best spring plowed ground. The freezing and thawing will mellow the soil well.

Since your going to be planting mostly shallow rooted things next spring I would just lightly disk the ground and drag it down with a harrow. You can then sow your seed and lightly harrow it in. A few good rains and your crop will start well.

As for fertility. Get a soil test done to see what you need. IF you need lime to balance the Ph I would suggest applying it this fall before you plow. The plowing will mix it better plus lime takes time to activate.

In the ground your talking about will your Mahindra 4550 handle a three bottom plow???? If you have traction problems you can scoop some dirt/gravel in the bucket and help out.

rbhuntn · Oct 27, 2016

(quoted from post at 10:56:23 10/27/16) Since your turning it under in the fall I would not cut the grass in anyway. The cut grass/weeds will plug the plow. IF you get your plow running correctly then it should turn the grass/weed under well enough to rot by spring. About any fall plowed ground will be better than the best spring plowed ground. The freezing and thawing will mellow the soil well.

Since your going to be planting mostly shallow rooted things next spring I would just lightly disk the ground and drag it down with a harrow. You can then sow your seed and lightly harrow it in. A few good rains and your crop will start well.

As for fertility. Get a soil test done to see what you need. IF you need lime to balance the Ph I would suggest applying it this fall before you plow. The plowing will mix it better plus lime takes time to activate.

In the ground your talking about will your Mahindra 4550 handle a three bottom plow???? If you have traction problems you can scoop some dirt/gravel in the bucket and help out.

We did some test strips withe tiller and I think the Mahindra will be ok pulling the plow.

We will be doing some type of soil test right after plowing since many here have suggested that.

Thanks to all of you for your help and replies. Keep'm coming I am trying to learn here.

BobReeves · Oct 27, 2016

I am planning on putting in an acre of sunflowers next spring in an area just as you describe. I won't be able to do anything till spring as my tractor (71 Ford 3000) will be in my shop getting some much needed TLC for the next couple months.

I have a 3 bottom plow and a 6 foot tiller, the plan is to plow it under then go over it with the tiller set to 3 or 4 inches to break up the clods and level it out. At that point it should be ready to plant. I may get a soil test but thinking I might just plant and see how it goes. If the sunflowers do not do well then see what it needs in the way of fertilizer for the next year. This is just for fun so no big deal if they don't do well the first year.

I can tell you if you try to till it without plowing it under you will have a mess with grass clumps that will refuse to break up and level out.

Al Baker(pumpman) · Oct 27, 2016

I will throw a curve into this discussion. I agree to roll it under with a plow, but if only on a small field I would hand crank on some rye after plowing. Just right on top of the furrows. Hitting it with a cultipacker would be nice, but not a game stopper. The old crop grass should be rotted down by spring, but the rye will give a little soil retention to help with winter erosion. In the spring the dead grass that you plowed under will be carbon and the fresh rye will be green manure. This is a perfect marriage for soil building. Only catch is you have to disc it early in the spring before the rye gets much height. Also don't seed it super thick. Just my 2 cents,,, Al

HenryO · Oct 27, 2016

WE just finished 40 acres of ground that had not been plowed in at least 20 years. It was weed infested with a new weed called Mary weed I think and it was seven to eight feet tall. We cut the weeds ad waited several weeks to plow and it was a bear. Clogged plows ev ery pass. Finally disced it three times over to cut up the weeds and then even had problems .Finally got it done. If it was grass or regular weeds it wold have plowed up OK but the ground was hard and tough to keep the plows down. When you plow, go as deep as you can, thinking of looser soil next year.

chuck machinist · Oct 27, 2016

Clay,sand or loam?

coonie minnie · Oct 27, 2016

I'm a no till guy, so I'm going to tell you that you are wasting your time plowing it. You may find it a rock infested mess when you are done.

We've put CRP and other abandoned land (20 acres of DNR "prairie" for 35 years) back in cultivation by just spraying and planting. It works out just as well or better than trying to plow, and then work down
all the lumps.

And that prairie... We ground out over 200 stumps and planted over them. Soil health out there is awesome. With moderate fertility, it made nearly 80 bu per acre of soybeans per acre this fall.

ed will · Oct 27, 2016

Hi, when I was young and we had to plow some
ground with tall growth on it my dad fastened a
chain to the plow beam in such a way that it would
drag under the overturned furrow where by pulling
the long grass under the furrow. I guess it would
work with 3 furrow plow. Ed Will Oliver BC

BarnyardEngineering · Oct 28, 2016

At this point in the year the grasses should start going dormant and the weeds will be dying off. As that happens the amount of organic material available to plug up your plow and make your plowing job look like a complete mess will diminish.

It might pay to wait, unless the ground freezes.

You have to have things exactly right to turn the sod completely over, or it will just lay on its side and half the weeds will still be exposed, or worse, it will just flop back upright in the furrow.

rbhuntn · Oct 28, 2016

(quoted from post at 16:16:46 10/27/16) Clay,sand or loam?

There is some clay in that area but it seems more like plain old dirt when we used the 3 point tiller on some test strips

jim buford · Oct 28, 2016

After all the advice I bet you decide to do it pretty much like you originally intended. Some good advice here but several different
routes will probably work equally well. Good luck.

rbhuntn · Oct 28, 2016

(quoted from post at 09:17:09 10/28/16) After all the advice I bet you decide to do it pretty much like you originally intended. Some good advice here but several different
routes will probably work equally well. Good luck.

Actually after reading all of this I will be taking several pieces of the advice.

Examples are doing a soil test, letting the grass do dormant and not mowing first are just a few.

Like I stated I am trying to learn here. I know that experience is the best teacher and that will come when doing all of this but having the benefit of others knowledge/experience can only help.

BJ

C. Amick · Oct 28, 2016

Ground going to be hard, so don't try it when it is really dry.

Destroked 450 · Oct 28, 2016

A little hilly around here, we never plowed in the fall, snow melt and spring rains caused to much erosion.
Haven't plowed a field in over thirty years, when hay ground needs reseeded we spray Roundup, after a week we'll give it a light disking, broadcast the seed and run a chain harrow over it.
For crops we use Roundup and then no-till planter.
We do soil samples regularly, proper lime and fertilizer is a must for good crop or grass production. The poorer the ground is the faster weeds will return.

BushogPapa · Oct 31, 2016

We had a field in that same time-frame of growth and when we plowed it we found VINES had grown under the surface that would PLUG that 4x16" plow over and over..

Main complaint about that is that most of those Vines were Poison Ivy Vines...

Just something to be aware of...

Plowing a field that has not been done in over 20 years

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