Disc vs. tiller

[jsasker007]

We paid $2,500 for a heavy 3pt 6' disc delivered from Everything Attachments (ETA-XD-BFDH-20-20-N). It is a bit too heavy for min-till food plots even when adjusted to the least aggressive position. It works well for our purposes, disking firebreaks before controlled burns. It is sized for my 45 hp 4x4 tractor. We have a smaller JD 790 that can't lift it. I'd go with something much lighter for min-till.

That's the nice thing with the 3 pt--- you lift it up enough to barely touch the ground. I have an 8' 3pt disc and just "tickle" the ground to get the clover going again and it cuts in just enough to help the broadcast seeding.

 

[yoderjac]

That's the nice thing with the 3 pt--- you lift it up enough to barely touch the ground. I have an 8' 3pt disc and just "tickle" the ground to get the clover going again and it cuts in just enough to help the broadcast seeding.

That is how I do it with a tiller, but I haven't been able to get the heavy fire disc to do that well. I may try practicing with it. I think it is the length of the X-style design that makes it tough. We borrowed a smaller light disc and used the 790 one year. It was light enough that it worked well for min-till.

Keep in mind how to use a disc for min-till may be different for different soil types and conditions.

 

[jsasker007]

I have a lot of clay but the difference maybe in the style of disc. Mine has two gangs and is not an "x" style. I could see where yours would probably be harder to get enough of the disc to do what i'm doing. If you tried my method with your disc you would probably just have 2 lines in the dirt behind you. 2 different animals there. I'm running with the back gang touching with the front gang off the ground.

 

[yoderjac]

I have a lot of clay but the difference maybe in the style of disc. Mine has two gangs and is not an "x" style. I could see where yours would probably be harder to get enough of the disc to do what i'm doing. If you tried my method with your disc you would probably just have 2 lines in the dirt behind you. 2 different animals there. I'm running with the back gang touching with the front gang off the ground.

Hadn't thought of just letting one gang hit.

 

[Nightvision]

Hadn't thought of just letting one gang hit.

And that’s the great thing about this forum. Even if we have years of experience, there is always something to be taught and something to be learned.

We may all have different thoughts and ideas about what is best but I bet if we compared pictures of our plots there would not be any winners. Just the deer and turkeys that get to eat out of them.

 

[jsasker007]

This forum has saved me decades of trial and error on my own. PRICELESS!

 

[yoderjac]

And that’s the great thing about this forum. Even if we have years of experience, there is always something to be taught and something to be learned.

We may all have different thoughts and ideas about what is best but I bet if we compared pictures of our plots they’re would not be any winners. Just the deer and turkeys that get to eat out of them.

Absolutely. I've learned much more from the experiences of others over the years than I've ever taught anyone and I continue to learn as I go. Beyond learning new techniques, science continues to progress and over time, while most are cast by the wayside, a few of yesterdays heresies become todays convention and some of yesterday's conventional assumptions are debunked. If I stop learning, it's cause I'm dead.