So we recently purchased 49 acres here in PA and are starting a management plan on it. We have had the luxury of hunting it for a few years before we purchased so we already have some things like bedding, travel corridors, etc. figured out. there is a 2.25 acre field in the 49 acres that we are going to plant corn/beans in each year. Currently it is just golden rod. My question is who has used c-tine cultivators on unbroken ground and how did they perform? We have a 30HP Kubota with a tiller but the soil in the area seems to have too many rocks in it for a tiller.
It's gonna be tough! Burn it if possible. Than wait a few weeks and nuke it with glysophate. Better yet, it would be best to let it sit a year after a few spraying sessions through the summer to let the sod packed soil loosen up. I think you will be limited on cultivatating that soil with a 30hp tractor. It can be done but take baby steps.
The corn planter we have is supposedly a no till from what I've read. Our other option would be to mow it down really close to the soil and no till.
I can't help with the corn/ no plow thing as I've never done it. Mowing and then planting into sod bound ground has never worked for me and I've tried it quite a few times ( budget). Lol. I've made EVERY mistake in the book " thinking" ( it) should work. All it's done is disappointed, I've used a tractor mounted tiller on soil with small rocks with no problem. There are plenty on here to give advice. I hope some chime in.
I have a C-tine cultivator and a small JD 1010, 35-40hp. I've used it to break new ground but bucknbears is right, it really comes down to getting all the dry matter out after brush hogging. I use 8' 3-point hook up landscape rake, burning would be nice. Anyway, I ran the cultivator over it and let it sit for a month while I spread horse manure on top before finishing with an offset disc.
How deep did you get Bob? That looks quite nice. Even scratching 2 inches is better than nothing. At least gives the seeds some decent soil contact. I like how you kept that little island of bush.
One thing that is working for us right now is the golden rod was cut last year so it's already short and there shouldn't be much chaff from cutting. The only reason we didn't want to do the tiller route, besides the rocks, was we kept clogging up the seal on the shaft from chaff last year. We never cleared the plots after mowing. Once we get it tilled up the 2nd year is always easier.
Between 3-4". That was a little bluestem pasture with buffalo grass, if I had a sod cutter I could have built a sod house ground blind..
Root Mass, even when dead can make or break a good food plot. It's needs to be killed, not just mowed!
