Quick question for food plot experts

[MITCHMO]

We had some warm weather a little while back and I got excited for next year so I decided to clear a couple good plots. My little Kubota and I got a bunch of stumps out and brush cleared. I couldn’t be more excited. I already hung my stand and cleared some lanes.



I can’t seem to get my disc to bite in though. The thin sod is very tough. It’s sandy soil but the top layer is packed tight with grass and small roots. Especially blue berry bushes. I don’t have a tiller so I improvised. I made and installed 6 of these on my disc that can drop below my disc and raise above when needed. Think it will work? I only plan on going 3-4 inches down.

I tried it in my yard and it seemed to work. Hard to tell because there’s a fair amount of snow covering everything. I won’t be able to try it in the food plot until spring unless we get a big thaw.

 

[Western Traveler1]

Maybe weight it down with a couple 100#. I’ve used soaked and hardened cement bags. It works with my disc when trying to get a bigger bite.

 

[Addicting]

I would be really concerned of bending up your disk. That main tube stock may work for a ripper. It will likely bend with the stress of a ripper and a gang of cutter disks.

My best recommendation is to shorten your drag link as short as it goes. That will put all of the weight on that front gang. Add some cement bags and increase the speed your pulling it. After it’s initially cut it up levelout the disk and keep making passes.

 

[VAspeedgoat]

Are the disc gangs angled as sharply as possible? That will help them draw in. Also, killing the sod and waiting a couple weeks will help.

 

[npaden]

Discs really need some weight to get them to dig in. Also on those tandem discs I have found that it helps to get the angle on them so the weight is more on the front gang and that really helps it dig in more. I have switched to a offset disc to help get it to dig in a little better but I have several hundred pounds of weight on it too.

 

[get-n-birdy]

Would be awfully cautious with that setup. Would start off slow and if stuff starts to bend and twist I'd take them off for fear of wrecking the disc's, the shafts or mounts. It looks good and is good in theory. Will be interested to see how it works.

A good spray of gly (roundup or a cheaper alternative) when vegatation is sprouting up in the spring helps. Wait a week or 2 and hit it again with gly. Then when the vegatation and roots systems are good and dead disc it. You can disc and work it without using gly, but typically it takes more time to disc and cut the sod, plus weeds sprout up fairly quickly competing with your seed. Once the vegatation has been killed discing gets easier. Lots of different options and opinions on discing and you got to find out what works for your area and soil. Some areas are hard, dry and compacted. Others are wet, muddy and swampy. Both have challenges as far as when to disc and what works best. Discing is not tilling or plowing, it takes some time to cut through root systems and sod, unless you have a big, heavy disc and lots of hp to pull it. Smaller 3 pt discs just don't have the weight or size for deep cutting right away and require multiple pass, and usually lots of laps. Weight and/or speed can help in cutting, but both are a balancing act. If things are wet, weight can sink a tractor trying to pull. And if it's dry, speed can brake ch!t in a hurry.

Good luck with it and hope it goes well.

 

[MITCHMO]

Would be awfully cautious with that setup. Would start off slow and if stuff starts to bend and twist I'd take them off for fear of wrecking the disc's, the shafts or mounts. It looks good and is good in theory. Will be interested to see how it works.

A good spray of gly (roundup or a cheaper alternative) when vegatation is sprouting up in the spring helps. Wait a week or 2 and hit it again with gly. Then when the vegatation and roots systems are good and dead disc it. You can disc and work it without using gly, but typically it takes more time to disc and cut the sod, plus weeds sprout up fairly quickly competing with your seed. Once the vegatation has been killed discing gets easier. Lots of different options and opinions on discing and you got to find out what works for your area and soil. Some areas are hard, dry and compacted. Others are wet, muddy and swampy. Both have challenges as far as when to disc and what works best. Discing is not tilling or plowing, it takes some time to cut through root systems and sod, unless you have a big, heavy disc and lots of hp to pull it. Smaller 3 pt discs just don't have the weight or size for deep cutting right away and require multiple pass, and usually lots of laps. Weight and/or speed can help in cutting, but both are a balancing act. If things are wet, weight can sink a tractor trying to pull. And if it's dry, speed can brake ch!t in a hurry.

Good luck with it and hope it goes well.

Thanks for all the great info! It looks like the overall thought is that weed killing will help as well as weight to the disc. I do typically run the disc at almost the steepest angle but I have only added weight to it once and it had to be on the back to get it to fit.

As luck would have it, it rained a lot last night so I may be able to try it this weekend at least in my yard to see what happens. I’ll report back and see if it bends up like a pretzel. Fortunately my 26hp tractor is easy on equipment.

 

[stevejfarms]

It looks like the tubing of your disc frame is heavy enough to handle the ripper shanks, you may have to move them back between the front and rear gangs because the grass might drag up on the shank. Preferably directly behind the track of the front blade. It will still require multiple passes.

 

[MITCHMO]

It looks like the tubing of your disc frame is heavy enough to handle the ripper shanks, you may have to move them back between the front and rear gangs because the grass might drag up on the shank. Preferably directly behind the track of the front blade. It will still require multiple passes.

Well you were 100% right on the grass clogging up. I think I have some ideas about breaking the heavy sod but it’s not too bad. Falls off as soon as I raise it up. Below is buried in the ground. I raised it closer to the bottom of the disc and it seemed to help keep it from clogging.


Next I ran I through some hard packed grass where I always drive my truck and it has never been worked up. Seemed to do great. The thin lines circled in red are the disc teeth. This was full weight on the disc and teeth. You can see how the disc does nothing on it’s own.

Overall I’m pretty pleased. Soon I’ll be able to try it in heavy sod and small bushes.

 

[huntinsonovagun]

Research the “Buffalo Food Plot” method and don’t turn anything. I have a small 1/2 acre plot in my backyard that worked well!

 

[Muskeez]

Lots of great advise above!! like mentioned above, Slow trial and error and plenty of roundup will be your friends. If you can spray anything that is green in the spring and keep it all dead that will help a LOT. I have found that turnip/brassica blends work the best on first year plots. These get planted around Aug. 1-15 in our zone, so you have all spring and summer to keep the area dead and play with your tillage equipment. The next thing that has helped me is to cultipack the soil BEFORE broadcast seeding, then just cultipack it again after seeding. Do not drag it after seeding. Pack only. I go in opposite directions so I can see coverage. Having bulbs the first year really helps loosen the soil for anything you may want to plant in the future. Just a few lessons I've learned as a city slicker playing in 2-3 acres of dirt.
PS. Blending some/lots of oil dry or kitty litter in with your tiny seeds in the broadcast spreader will help them go farther, spread more evenly and will help you be able to see where you have seeded and where you haven't as the seeds are so tiny and dark colored. Also, don't use more per acre than the bag tells you to or you will get lots of green tops and little bulbs. Kinda like planting too many carrot seeds next to each other in your garden. Thin is better.

 

[VAspeedgoat]

When spraying a kill down make sure you use something like 2,4-D in with it. Roundup is great but not on broadleafs, especially one with a taproot like dandelion. Also use a good sticker to help make sure the plant absorbs the chemicals. For most applications a qt of brand name Roundup with a pint of 2,4-D should do well. If using generic Roundup use 1.5 qts.

 

[kenton]

I wouldn't disc anything. I stopped 3 years ago and my plots get better instead of worse every year.

 

[N2TRKYS]

Straight gly and burn it off after it dies. I haven't found anything that that doesn't work on for me.

 

[Addicting]

I wouldn't disc anything. I stopped 3 years ago and my plots get better instead of worse every year.

Depends on the area. I had a area that was so full of weed seed that I had to spend a spring and summer just spraying then disking and repeat. After five rounds of burning it off and regrowth I finally had most of the ground ready to plant. 2 years passed and Autumn Olive shoots were popping back up all over. I ended up spraying it and plowing it all under to sit this winter. I am hopeful that it will kill the rest of it.

 

[88man]

Dont disc the ground or tear it up now
1. what is the plots size?
2. You will need to take sun angle into consideration from above 70 degrees to 250 degrees minimally. Plot will need to get morning and past noon sun during growing season.
3. take soil samples now and apply the recommended amounts and types of limestone hi cal or dolomitic, If you have sandy soil i will guess you need more Magnesium so plan on dolomitic
4. Kill all vegetation "spray" with round up may 1st
5. Plant Buck Wheat 50lbs/acre around memorial day and apply required NPK from soil test recommendations
6. Mow kill it as it goes to seed about 9-11 weeks after planting
7. Disc it under and apply NPK as recommended
8. First year plant Rye Grain 100 lbs & crimson Clover 15lbs & medium red 5lbs all to the ACRE
First year to help break down organic matter min 60lbs acre/ nitrogen urea is fine as N source so like 150lbs to acre
deep tillage is not needed and you most likely have low organic matter to begin with don't reduce what you have and don't remove all the duff during clearing
you need time to build your soil up and get the proper biology in the soil
year two
mow rye/crimson/red clover under in earlyJune/ disc under
Plant buckwheat
repeat above from first year
By year three you can play around with brassica planting etc. Im guessing with out fencing the deer will wipe you out so I recomend a isolation cage be placed in the center of the plot so you can see what it looks like where the deer can't eat.
Pm me if you have questions I have established many plots from woodland and manage 30 acres of plots a year

 

[88man]

When spraying a kill down make sure you use something like 2,4-D in with it. Roundup is great but not on broadleafs, especially one with a taproot like dandelion. Also use a good sticker to help make sure the plant absorbs the chemicals. For most applications a qt of brand name Roundup with a pint of 2,4-D should do well. If using generic Roundup use 1.5 qts.

I would not add 24d to a plot like pictured being established from woodland. No need.

 

[88man]

yeah to get penetration to cover past crop debri disc needs forward attitude and set them hard angled. If you are light discing or doing a leveling set disc to have rear attitude and oh and don't have rear discs set with hard angle anytime

 

[get-n-birdy]

Good deal, glad it worked! It looks like it was done well and well thought out.

Lots of good info.

Have had good luck with oats, winter wheat and rye with no gly spraying, but still tilling and planting right away. With any clover or brassicas spraying is pretty vital imo, especially if going no tilling.

Burning and a chainsaw, two of the greatest things for habitat improvements across the board.

Have had good luck with no till with gly under conditions when the soil is moderately moist, to even saturated when any kind of tilling is just not possible. About the only time it doesn't seem to work well is when the soil is drought dry and hard as cement. But then if things are that dry tilling doesn't help all that much either unless planting is done right before rain is coming.

 

[kenton]

Depends on the area. I had a area that was so full of weed seed that I had to spend a spring and summer just spraying then disking and repeat. After five rounds of burning it off and regrowth I finally had most of the ground ready to plant. 2 years passed and Autumn Olive shoots were popping back up all over. I ended up spraying it and plowing it all under to sit this winter. I am hopeful that it will kill the rest of it.

Discing allows the seed bank to germinate. Weed seed can be viable for years just waiting for a disc to come along. I'd rather spray it twice, plant just cereal rye year one and use that as mulch the next year and never turn the soil. Minimal weed production.