What is the right way to plow a new field?

Some of the old instruction books for plows have great diagrams on opening a field, and finishing. Deere manuals have a good diagram as well as a Case manual I found over the weekend. Send your email address and I'll try to scan that page and send it too you.

Criss-crossing a plowed field wouldn't work well, especially if it's soddy, as you'd just roll the sod back over... After you plow it let it dry a few days and then disc it again.

Good moldboard plowing used to be kind of an art form, you could always tell the good farmers by the size of the headland (just short enough to turn the rig on) and the straightness of the furrow...

Thanks,

Doc

Does your plow have a sod cutter (coulter wheel)
on your plow. If your not familiar with what they
are look at the photo in the link. They are the
black metal wheel and they cut the sod so it will
turn over.

• Plow

Now, what strips are being left? Is it leaving a strip of grass between the 2 bottoms on the plow? Then something is not set right. Either your plow shares are wore too short, or the landsides are wore off & your plow is twisting to the left, or some such setting is way off.

If the plow is leaving a grass strip between each pass with the tractor, then you need to adjust the hitch or tractor wheel so it plows properly, so when your tractor wheel is in the furrow, the plow front bottom will turn all ground into the old furrow.

If you mean it is just leaving the ground lumpy & some of the loose chunks of sod are not turning under properly, this can be an assortment of adjustment problems. It can also be helped by putting wires on each coulter & letting them trail back into the furrows, helping to 'tuck' the sod under.

Or, is the plow skipping in & out of the ground, not penetrating well, leaving streaks that way? This happens with worn out plow shares and is much worse in very dry hard soil.

Let us know where the problem lies for better help. With proper adjustment & good iron on the bottoms, your plow should leave a level, almost totally black field under normal soil conditions. Lumpy & rough of course, but good.

--->Paul

I personally wouldn't mind a trailer (pull-type) plow, I don't like the ridgidness of a 3-point (and actually use a 2-point with movable rear wheel on the bigger tractors now...). Just personal preference I guess. I also prefer older good equipment, I think the new stuff you buy at the local Fleet & Farm is too light to hold up/ work well.

I would suspect the plw could use longer plow shares. They go about $10 a pop at the local Fleet & Farm. If you wish to replace, take an old one off, take it along, & match up the holes. Many times 14, 16, & even 18" shares will match up. You want longer, especially for plowing up sod. Dad went as far as welding on 2-3" of an old share to make them longer for plowing alfalfa fields, as those roots don't like to cut off....

Does the plow pull straight behind, or is it sliding out to the un-plowed side? As stated, some have an adjustment for this, the trailing wheel has some control. Another big cause of this is worn out landsides, the long vertical part that slides along the furrows. Sometimes they get so worn out you don't realize how big & long they should be! On some plows the back one is (or used to be! :) extra long to help hold the plow in line.

In addition, it sounds like you are plowing the most difficult conditions - old sod when it is very dry. This is just plain hard. As others said, if this is a one-time deal, do the best you can, disk an extra time or two, and it will work out ok. It will also plow easier next year if that is what you wish to do. Plowing doesn't need to be perfect if you don't want it to be. :)

I am very, very surprised you can get a 50 hp tractor to plow through with a 3-16 plow. That is a difficult task in the soil & conditions you describe. To plow alfalfa with a 3-16, dad used to have to tie an Oliver 88 & at least the IHC 'H' together to get enough traction & power.

--->Paul