Sorry took so long to get back with ya but work has been crazy lately. What follows below is for new ground. For ground that I have been working I just plow into furrows, disc and cross disc and replow furrows, plant, fertilize and then pray.New Ground Prep FWIW
Here is what I do for my soil that is sand and heavy clay in some areas. First and foremost IMHO is make sure all the ground is DRY. See link below for today's fun by getting to eager with my garden spot!!! I found one of those infamous sink holes I think. She just dropped. She is still sitting out there until morning, pics are after 3 hrs. of digging. First I apply GARZON or REMEDY to kill of unwanted underbrush. Then I bushhog. Following that I rake up all the big stuff and burn it. I am now ready to plow. For me I had to use a disk plow aka pan plow aka new ground plow etc. (see Dearborn 10-80) given my place was planted pines. Moldboard plow is good but I got the points stuck far to many times for me. Buried them good in fatlighter stumps below the surface. I turn the ground so the rootbed is turned underneath the slice. If you don't have a plow maybe a neighbor can do it for you while you watch and LEARN. Plowing is an art in and of itself. I want as much of the rootbed buried as possible given the poor soil. I then begin discing with my harrow. I had a small one and BELIEVE you me, it takes a while with the small ones. I run parallel to furrows cut by the plow, then perpendicular to the furrows. I do this until it finely pulverized. (HINT - add as much wieght as possible to your disk harrow, I used a 55 gal drum chained down, then filled with H2O. ~440 lbs. I also tapped in a spigot on the bottom so I could drain or water areas that needed it). I would run in 2nd gear sometimes 3rd. Moderately fast is ok provided you know the field otherwise SLOW. Fast cuts better in my experience. I now have an IH37 pull type disc harrow that is SWEET to work with! After all this I let it set for about a month if spring, if fall or early winter I let it set all winter with a cover planting of rye. I then start the process all over again with my plow to cut new furrows. I then disk and to get the rye further into the ground. I then just plow it up, plant my crops, grass, what have you and pray to the Weather gods. To make fields level right now I am dragging a 6' section of railroad track behind harrow. Works ok but it is narrower then harrow and leaves ridges - still working on this one. I hope this information helps, I just did alot of reading, pestering the older fellas and practicing. First few times I plow I really GOOFED up my place. Oh well, gave my neighbors a chuckle and me more reason to keep on chuggin!
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