To plow or not to plow

I have 21 acres of bean stubble. Normally in the fall I just disk bean stubble ground down. This year the ground seems extra hard. I know a disk can cause compaction. I also had an issue with cocklebur this year in this field (they were BAD!). What is everyone's opinion on moldboard plowing a field like this? My thought was hopefully break up a little bit of the hard soil and also bury the weed seed.
Thanks
Adam

I'd rip it, (chisel plow)  Beans aren't real trashy, so the chisel won't clog up, like in corn, sometimes...

Don't have a chisel plow. At least one that will actually do anything. May just have to see if I can hire someone to chisel it.

Plow it. It will be fine.

OK, I don't farm for a living, though 'she' makes $2000+ off the veggie patch that I plow 3x in the fall. Once to bust up the current crop, again once the compost is added , then again before I hand sow the rye.In Spring , plow to turn over the rye,then a week later plow again, after that 2 passes with the rototiller.
Now I figure I'm doing something right as I also get 1,000+ pound pumpkins out of that garden.

Jay



Edited by jaybmiller - 18 Oct 2016 at 8:22pm

Rip it. I like the convenience of no till as well, but notilling robs nutrients to convert the stubble.

We like cereal rye cover crop. Slows erosion, green and pretty all winter and spring, not real expensive to sow, can help slow down some of the spring weeds, helps with organic matter if used consistently for several years. Either moldboard plow it in the spring or kill it early with herbicide and disk it in or no till. Roots are natures vertical tool. Nitrogen application needs to be tailored to the use of the cover crop.
Ripping seems noticeably effective immediately on the crops grown for at least a couple years. I think it lets the roots get to nutrients (including water) that may be have drifted deeper into the soil over time and that makes it a worthy choice too.
Cocklebur is its own problem. I read on a university webpage that each pod has two seeds - one will germinate right away like in the fall early spring or summer and the other seed is "hard" and can germinate anytime after a year and can lie dormant and viable for many years. Not sure if the mold board plow solves that problem or not. Plowing is great seat time for sure. Good Luck! rw

Edited by rw - 18 Oct 2016 at 10:10pm

One plowing can't do much harm.Probly have little effect on the burrs but you'll have fun...for a little while,then you'll wonder how it takes so long to plow!....Then there's the headlands and dead furrows...chisel plow kicks butt!

if the burrs have been there awhile, you'll have burrs germinate each year, and they'll only get worse! you can spray them or cut them. but if  there is even the slightest little burr on the plant, there will be a seed there that will grow. spray them early in about the 2-3 inch stage.

When you have rain are you getting water standing for long periods of time? If so I would say rip it.

We dig a trench down about 20 inches so that we can actually see how our tillage practices are actually working and identify if a hard pan is present and at what depth so that we can determine what practice and tools will be needed to correct.

Vertical Tillage Principles

bigredisb wrote: When you have rain are you getting water standing for long periods of time? If so I would say rip it.

CrestonM wrote: bigredisb wrote: When you have rain are you getting water standing for long periods of time? If so I would say rip it.   The fields at Hutch need ripped, in that case...

Good one, Creston. Maybe ripping will be part of the Hutch show next year. Hate to see non-suspecting combine operators getting stuck! Lol Darrel

darrel in ND wrote: CrestonM wrote: bigredisb wrote: When you have rain are you getting water standing for long periods of time? If so I would say rip it.   The fields at Hutch need ripped, in that case... Good one, Creston. Maybe ripping will be part of the Hutch show next year. Hate to see non-suspecting combine operators getting stuck! Lol Darrel

jaybmiller wrote: OK, I don't farm for a living, though 'she' makes $2000+ off the veggie patch that I plow 3x in the fall. Once to bust up the current crop, again once the compost is added , then again before I hand sow the rye.In Spring , plow to turn over the rye,then a week later plow again, after that 2 passes with the rototiller. Now I figure I'm doing something right as I also get 1,000+ pound pumpkins out of that garden. Jay

Plowing the same ground 5 times a year has got to be one of the more unique things I've heard.