This autumn we decided to recondition the fields on my farm. As far as I know they have only been mowed, raked and baled for decades. Mostly red fescue is growing here, so we have decided to add more diversity to the meadows. Adding clover, oats, rye and orchard grass we hope to make better bales when it comes to harvest for windrow production. And sustainability wise to attract more wild life with more beneficial crops than just red fescue that currently grows here.
Before we can plant these seeds, we must till the fields. This means upturning what is currently out there, then we can follow up with a machine called a seed drill and press the new seeds into the ground.
Its pretty overwhelming at first, seems it will take forever to till it all up. Its a very slow process, only going around 2 MPH.
I keep the tractor in third gear and the RPMs for the engine around 1900 RPM and the PTO for the tiller around 540 RPM. If I till too fast it causes the ground not to be torn up enough. So finding the right speed depending on your ground is key. We have hard clay here so I go extra slow.
Looking back as I till we can see how it turns up the ground.
We can see the line where the tilling has happened and where we have not gotten to yet.
Driving the tractor is quite the comfortable experience. Compared to the cramped and more noisy space of the skid steer they feel like completely different machines.
It can be quite dusty in some areas, as it was very dry as I tilled. We only had a few days before a tropical storm hit so we were putting in full days to get it done. As you cannot till in wet ground.
Passing by all the tall grasses I hope tilling it up gives the seeds a chance to compete. I was told if I just mowed it they surely would be smothered out. So by tilling it gives everything a more fresh start.
I am careful of the survey markers as I drive, so I do not start tilling on property that is not mine.
After a few hours behind the wheel of the tractor I start seeing a difference. We have 2 days at this point to get it all done.
Though as I turn my head in the other direction I can see there is much to be done. So I go inside for a quick lunch and then come back out and get back to work.
The tractor I am using is a Kubota M7060 with a Frontier tiller. The tractor can provide 65HP to the attachments, which is more than enough to power this tiller.
It has nine knives of it to turn up dirt, quite the cool piece of machinery.
As I was tilling I would notice wild muscadines growing in the fields. Usually they are found growing up trees so it was strange seeing them out in the fields.
Another day and I have nearly completed tilling a whole other section. Knocking out a few acres a day we are getting it done.
Its funny seeing such a difference between where I tilled and where I have not gotten to yet.
I stop once in awhile to make sure nothing is tied up in the tiller knives, or to see if I need to clear the compacted grasses that get stuck in the corners of the tiller.
Oh boy, looks like my tiller found some junk. A brake line that was buried in the field by the previous owners.. thanks a lot.
I drive the tiller back to the shop and spend about an hour unwrapping that steel line. At the same time I clear out any grasses stuck in the knives. It is important to keep the machine clean of grasses otherwise friction could cause a fire if left too long while running. It will dry out the grasses wrapped around and they will ignite if they get hot enough. So proper care of the tiller is needed every few hours to make sure compacted grasses do not build up.
Heading back out I work until the sun goes down. And we wrap up on the fields just a day before the rains arrive. Next is to get the seed drill and put new seeds in the ground. And then protect them from the birds, hopefully I will get to bag a few doves. As they are going to show up and try to get at those seeds. So they are fair game to hunt, looking forward to the challenge.