Posted by 2510Paul on October 17, 2016 at 16:13:31 from (207.118.233.112):
In Reply to: Re: Plowing posted by Navajo350 on October 17, 2016 at 14:35:15:
You did not say if this land was sloped or level. Soil type, more or less erodible, is also important. I live in Western Wisconsin so these would be important.
If it on a slope that can erode you should plow it uphill (that is throwing the dirt up hill, the tractor and plow travel perpendicular or across the slope.). That may mean plowing it one way if it is all sloped in the same direction.
Then there is fall vs spring plowing. Fall plowing makes for a better seed bed and less compaction in the spring. The big downside of fall plowing is the potential for water and wind erosion. I read once how much soil wind erosion can remove, it was a lot. So you will have to decide which is more important to you. Being sensitive to soil loss I would opt for spring plowing, plow it as dry as possible to prevent chunks and compaction.
I plow for a guy who does organic. Alfalfa is a great fertilizer plowed down I am told, so in the spring we plow as late as possible just before he plants. I often plow down Alfalfa up to my knees in the spring, pure fertilizer for the organic guy. I have cover boards and moldboard extensions so I have very very little green showing on top.
If it is sweeping "L" I would try and make one long curving/sweeping furrow. If it is a sharp "L" you may want to treat it as two fields. Plow one leg of the "L" and then plow the other leaving a headland as you plow up to the first leg you plowed. Don't drive on what you just plowed as you will compact it a lot.
Then there is dead furrows, what I will call single and double. I went to a rollover plow so I have NO double dead furrows. I will have a single dead furrow on one side of the field. I lift my plow every so many feet when plowing that last furrow so as to not create a ditch for water to deepen and widen. Your field is small enough you may want to just plow it one way, throwing the dirt up the slope. If you insist plowing in both directions plow it in to the center one year and out to the edges the next. Make sure when you plow in towards the center you start at the double dead furrow you left from the previous year. I once worked some land the prior owner did not pay attention to always plowing in the old double dead furrows. Wow, was that a messed up field. Over the years he created old double dead furrows everywhere.
If your field has a drainage path that crosses the field, I suggest you lift the plow at that drainage path so as to not crate a drainage ditch. You want the drainage water moving through the grass/alfalfa so as to not erode soil and dig a ditch. (As a side note, the neighbor just destroyed a combine, the front wheels dropped into an erosion ditch, I assume hidden by weeds, and bent the front axle back.)
Your field is small enough strip cropping is likely not needed and obviously not needed if it is level.
These are my thoughts for now, I suspect others will have additions or may not even agree will everything I said. That's OK, at least this will get the discussion started.
If you have County Ag resources available, you might want to consult them, especially regarding soil types and any County restrictions/guidelines regarding erosion.
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