Re: Finishing some plowed ground

Posted by farmersamm on November 19, 2018 at 03:25:15 from (206.246.18.143):

In Reply to: Finishing some plowed ground posted by SVcummins on November 17, 2018 at 13:33:40:

Maybe I work ground different, dunno.

Back when I used to plow

1 .Plow it down in the Fall

2. Let it mellow over the Winter

3. Run a harrow disc over it in direction of furrows in Spring to work it down.

4. Spread fertilizer in direction of furrows

5. Incorporate fertilizer with harrow disc at a 45* angle to furrows.

6. Springtooth it in opposite 45* angle to level the bed, and pack the bed.

7. Drill it.

A disc does absolutely nothing for leveling. It merely breaks stuff up, and will incorporate your fertilizer. Only reason for crosshatching is to spread your wheel compaction. Don't want to keep running over the same track.

All leveling is done with the springtooth. Because you're running at an angle to your plow furrows, it acts as a series of shovels, dragging soil into the low spots, and depositing it. This is your final seedbed, and suitable for most field crops.

On the subject of compaction, and firming:

Any cultivating tool will compact at its maximum SET depth. You plow down 8", and the soil will be compacted at 8", and below.

If you disc down full depth on your work down pass, the soil will be loose to the depth of the original plow profile. 8".

If you work you fertilizer in at around 6", the compaction depth will be 6", just below the disc blades as set.

Spring tooth will compact the ground almost immediately below the top of the ground. This gives you about a 2" working depth for your seed drill. Anything below that 2" will be compacted ground. This is a desirable seedbed for most drilled crops. How deep you drill your seed in, is up to you. I use a hoe drill, and run it down to moisture at a full 2" or better, if conditions warrant.

It looks to me like you got a mess there. You'll have loose soil directly below the pass you made with the rotary tool. You do not want loose soil in the root zone. Can't have oxygen touching roots.

Conventional, old school, clean till is a series of loosen/pack cycles. You can't do it all at once with older type tillage tools.

Weather plays a part in the last tillage operation. Once you've springtoothed, you're committed. If it rains hard, you gotta disc it all up again, and re springtooth it. Same can go for the last pass with the disc. If the ground forms a crust, the springtooth might not be able to break the crust, and you gotta disc it again.

Once you're planted, then ya can take the dog, go up and sit on the tailgate, pop a beer, and wait for the seed to pop. AND HOPE YOU DON'T GET HEAVY RAIN BEFORE YOU GOT A FEW INCHES ABOVE GROUND, AND SOME ROOTS TO HOLD IT FROM WASHING OUT.

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