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CrestonM 
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Joined: 08 Sep 2014
Location: Oklahoma
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 Topic: Breaking Sod
Posted: 06 Nov 2016 at 1:27pm |
Ok expert farmers...I'm going to be plowing up some wildlife feed plots that are currently in grass. What would be the best thing to do, as far as helping eliminate weeds in the spring? I'd like to plant milo in the spring. Should I plow it now in the fall, or do it in the spring? Is there a particular advantage, one over the other? I'm open to all advice, as I've only plowed ground that has been in cultivation for 50+ years, never any virgin ground.
Thanks!
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Dmpaul89
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Joined: 06 Mar 2013
Location: Edwardsville,IL
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Posted: 06 Nov 2016 at 1:49pm |
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mow it down if you can. Do it now not in spring. Spring plowing makes concrete.
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Dipstick In
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Joined: 11 Sep 2009
Location: Remington, In.
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Posted: 06 Nov 2016 at 2:13pm |
I'm assuming the grass and weeds are at least knee high. You can either mow it, but sometimes if there's wads of cut stuff it can "bunch" and plug your plow. An alternative that we used in plowing chest high rye for green manure (a common practice in the thirties to fifties) was to tie Number 9 wire on the plow beams, and let 8-10 feet drag on the ground, which will pull the grass down, and hold it down until the furrow slice covers it. Actually, I said plow beams, but after thinking, it was to the coulter shank, and you want it to drag on the furrow side of the moldboard!
Works great! And like DmPaul sez, do it in the fall! That will help kill the weed seed, and if you have clay ground you would be making bricks in the spring!
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You don't really have to be smart if you know who is!
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CrestonM
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Location: Oklahoma
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Posted: 06 Nov 2016 at 3:56pm |
 Dipstick In wrote:
I'm assuming the grass and weeds are at least knee high. You can either mow it, but sometimes if there's wads of cut stuff it can "bunch" and plug your plow. An alternative that we used in plowing chest high rye for green manure (a common practice in the thirties to fifties) was to tie Number 9 wire on the plow beams, and let 8-10 feet drag on the ground, which will pull the grass down, and hold it down until the furrow slice covers it. Actually, I said plow beams, but after thinking, it was to the coulter shank, and you want it to drag on the furrow side of the moldboard!
Works great! And like DmPaul sez, do it in the fall! That will help kill the weed seed, and if you have clay ground you would be making bricks in the spring!
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Thanks! That actually sounds like a great idea! Yes, the native grass is about knee high, but I plowed some with the 8N a few years ago (was going to make a feed plot then, but things didn't work out) and didn't have much issue.
I'll plow it this fall then. It's sandy soil. I'm just curious...how does spring plowing make the soil so hard?
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PaulB
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Joined: 12 Sep 2009
Location: Rocky Ridge Md
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Posted: 06 Nov 2016 at 4:37pm |
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Most often Spring plowing results in hard ground because the conditions were not what they should have been for plowing. Many try to plow when it's tooooo wet. That just makes clods that will not break up and other problems. Fall plowing allows some time for freezing and thawing which helps to overcome problems created when this are not done at the proper time.
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If it was fun to pull in LOW gear, I could have a John Deere.
Real pullers don't have speed limits.
If you can't make it GO... make it SHINY
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CrestonM
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Posted: 06 Nov 2016 at 5:57pm |
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Ok! That makes sense. Thanks!
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DiyDave
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Posted: 06 Nov 2016 at 5:59pm |
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Spray it down with roundup, like in august, then fall plow it. Best of both worlds...
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victoryallis
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Location: Ludington mi
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Posted: 06 Nov 2016 at 7:53pm |
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Three step process
1) Spray with Roundup
2) Haul the plow to the scrap yard
3) Disc the heck out if it in the spring
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8030 and 8050MFWD, 7580, 3 6080's, 160, 7060, 175, heirloom D17, Deere 8760
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SteveM C/IL
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Location: Shelbyville IL
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Posted: 06 Nov 2016 at 10:36pm |
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Around here if you killed it in the fall it would be a soggy wet mat of crap you couldn't do nothing with till about June.Spring plowing here makes soft mellow ground when plowed dry enough.That's all we ever did til life got busier and I got a chisel plow and larger tractor.All fall chiseled now and the few acres of BLACK dirt work nice in the spring...if you don't get on it wet.
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CrestonM
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Posted: 06 Nov 2016 at 10:44pm |
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This ground is very sandy, so I'm not sure what it would do. Granddad says you have to be careful whatever you do, because if you till it too well, the sand will all blow away!
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CrestonM
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Posted: 06 Nov 2016 at 10:45pm |
victoryallis wrote:
Three step process
1) Spray with Roundup
2) Haul the plow to the scrap yard
3) Disc the heck out if it in the spring |
But it's an Allis plow! Lol And a 2 bottom trip plow at that!
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Tbone95
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Location: Michigan
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Posted: 07 Nov 2016 at 6:40am |
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Well drained? I don't think plowing "sandy" soil in the spring will make it hard....In your neck of the woods, windy I assume in the winter, you may want to wait until spring. There you go, lot's of options! hahaha
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Tbone95
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Posted: 07 Nov 2016 at 6:40am |
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In other words, listen to granddad....ever hear of the dustbowl?
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CrestonM
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Posted: 07 Nov 2016 at 7:20am |
Tbone95 wrote:
In other words, listen to granddad....ever hear of the dustbowl? |
Yep! That's where all the sand came from. He said before the dust bowl there was some of the most fertile ground you saw. Now it's sand.
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Allis dave
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Posted: 07 Nov 2016 at 7:33am |
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Being that It's Sandy I would listen to granddad too. Wait until spring to plow. Don't mow it first next spring or it will bunch up and drag (That's what my granddad told me.)
Depending on how sandy it is, you're going to end up with a beach after your done. You'll probably end up cultipacking to firm it back up.
Have fun plowing. Unless you've got big heavy disking equipment, you'll never get it disked up without plowing.
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Tbone95
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Posted: 07 Nov 2016 at 7:39am |
CrestonM wrote:
Tbone95 wrote:
In other words, listen to granddad....ever hear of the dustbowl? |
Yep! That's where all the sand came from. He said before the dust bowl there was some of the most fertile ground you saw. Now it's sand. |
Well, yeah....that's kind of what I meant. But really, you'll have loose dirt and wind, like granddad said. Around here, we get away with fall plowing, because 1, the ground tends to freeze completely and stay that way, 2, lots of natural windbreaks, and 3, not really all that much wind, in comparison.
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