Farm planning

[Does’ Leap]

Regarding fertility, you should get a significant nitrogen contribution from that plowed down alfalfa – on the order of 150#/acre depending on how thick the stand is. Alfalfa monocultures get up to 450 # N/acre!

George

[Andy Carson]

I think I have the plans worked out so that I won’t have to do a lot of plowing (what I was worried about with a single horse) and can use the springtooth in areas that have been worked last year and were planted with crops that don’t create sod. According to my plans, I expect to have about 3/4 of a an acre that would need plowed under year (as it would be planted with rye as a cover crop). I think it’s not crazy to expect a single horse could do that. Do any of you all have experience with a single horse plowing? Is a 10 inch plow the right size for a single hard working draft? I saw I&J makes one, but would prefer to get one a used one cheap if possible. I haven’t seen any at auction, though, are they pretty rare? I have seen alot of 12 inch plow, but I think this is too big.

[dominiquer60]

Single horse plows are not easy to come by. I have a 1899 Syracuse Chilled Plow Co. catalog and they made 8″, 9″, 10″ and 12″ single horse plows. They were rated for very light, light, medium and large horses. The thing to keep in mind is how do 1899 horse sizes compare to today’s work horse sizes? I have an 8″ Syracuse, there is a picture on another post, http://www.draftanimalpower.com/showthread.php?t=2444&page=2. If you look at the picture of us using it you will notice that we had to extend the line of draft with a chain (we would have used a longer one if we had it) because Sam’s 2000lb Percheron was way too big for this plow, he walked off like it wasn’t there. My plow was made for a very light horse in 1899 terms and could certainly be pulled by a well conditioned 1000 lb animal today.

Your nice looking horse when conditioned for it should be able to handle some plowing. I am not experience enough to say whether it could handle a 12″ plow for any long amount of time. I suppose with the right conditioning, lots of breaks and a little at a time (1/4 acre a day give or take), it is not impossible. A good plow is adjustable, in theory you should be able to adjust a 12″ to take as little as 10″. I am looking forward to what others have to say, because I will be in the same boat soon.

Erika

[Tim Harrigan]

Moldboard plow draft is not particularly predictable because it depends on the soil, soil moisture, sod or tilled ground, etc. Width of cut is important but so is depth. The key is how much soil you are inverting. So if you go with a 10 inch and keep the depth to 4-5 inches you should be OK. I suggest conditioning your horse by gradually loading up a sled or stoneboat to about 1000 lbs, that should create an equivalent pulling force. This will tell you a lot about how he will react to the resistance. And, run your furrows across the short width of the field. If you prepare him ahead of time and use some sense you will be OK. Logging horses pull loads greater than that on a regular basis.

[Andy Carson]

Thanks for the thoughts, I have done alot of work with the stoneboat in preparation for farm work. I’m glad it wasn’t wasted. She will pull 1800 pounds for about a half hour over rough terrain with mild hills, and 1320 for about 2-3 hours over the same terrain. It took about a year to get her in this good of shape and 1000 pounds is not hard for her at all right now. I’m glad to hear that this is a good way to know and that I haven’t been wasting my time on the sled.

[Tim Harrigan]

Good enough. You will find out soon enough about the correct depth of tillage, sounds like it will be fine.

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