multi power
Member
- Location
- pembrokeshire
Every pass with whatever cultivation machine you are using go at a bit of an angle to the previous pass
Levelling a seedbed
- Thread starter Boohoo
- Start date
- Location
- North West Wales
Anything except a power harrow!! Field will always settle after a PH, as good as they are they’re not a weapon of choice for grassland reseeds!!
I think the first passes over the ploughing cause the harm. Ideally work with duals or terras, roll or furrow press until it's firm then cultivate shallow. Then keep rolling/ furrow pressing land levelling and cultivating shallow until ur happy with job. As has already been mentioned keep working at angles similar to normal direction of travel and never across. Never rush to sow it the day before the rains coming , only sow it when you have got it firm and level
quavers
Member
- Location
- aberdeenshire
having watched a couple of old guys doing there reseeds , they Cambridge rolled soon after ploughing and then worked the land with there leveller , always seemed to have a good seed bed with out using dual wheels or any fancy kit , so tried it last week on some turnip ground , ploughed rolled then spad rolled , the first pass of the rolls firmed up the ploughing so the tractor did not dig in the same when levelling the next pass , that or don't plough and get it worked over with a set of short-disc
Uncle Peter
Member
For grass we used to cultivate same as for barley. But if time and weather allowed cultivate each way with final pass being the way it will be cut or driven the most.
Many moons ago dad built a levelling Harrow it’s 6 or 7 rows of levelling bars, made from heavy angle irons. Followed by a concrete roller. On our land it worked perfectly.
Many moons ago dad built a levelling Harrow it’s 6 or 7 rows of levelling bars, made from heavy angle irons. Followed by a concrete roller. On our land it worked perfectly.
James
Member
- Location
- Comber, Down
This year I ploughed then heavy flat rolled power harrowed with ploughing then a bit of an angle flat rolled again. Sowed grass with a einbok harrow thing then rolled again. Haven’t driven on it yet though
If it's grass land your ploughing , when the sod rots it sinks , if you heavy roll it after ploughing it helps a lot. I reseed by discing and landlever and then it doesn't sink after. Why do you plough.
Lincs Lass
Member
- Location
- north lincs
We used to put grass seed straight onto barley stubbles and fly over it with a rotospike an inch deep ,it was in for 3 years the ploughed up for spuds
- Location
- Galway Ireland
Ploughing nearly out of fashion for reseeding around here. To many stones for picking. We generally disc both ways as many times as needed (2-4 runs depending on the ground) to make good seed bed but lately I’ve started rolling straight after each run of the disc makes way better job of seedbed then just one pass with power harrow and seeder
My biggest problem is it's old grass he's taking out putting it in kale for a year then back to grass so the old turf hasn't rotted away but ploughing early would definitely help
Mouser
Member
- Location
- near Belfast
I landlevel straight on to ploughing with a wee light tractor (mf 362) firms the furrow and fills hollows then disc and land leveller as needed at slightly increasing angles but still biased to main work direction. Hate power Harrow, its only for bluffing and ruining soil structure
- Location
- Black Isle
When I think about it I don’t think we have gotten as good as back in the 90s. We had a 3m grays disc multiharrow on a 3350, duals and a front press. Used to work it once then work it a second time on the same line but staggered half a width so the wheels ran on the un run on land from the first pass. Then rolled, sow then roll again. Perfect job.
Since then we moved onto bigger tractors with floatation tyres, power Harrow and an Alex hay with tines and I don’t think we are making as good a job.
Since then we moved onto bigger tractors with floatation tyres, power Harrow and an Alex hay with tines and I don’t think we are making as good a job.
- Location
- North West Wales
Same around here, way to many stones. Direct drilling forage crops straight after second cut is a good method aswell, graze in winter, stale seedbed, glyphosate then heavy dose of muck in spring and disc it twice.
- Location
- Scottish Highlands
I seem to remember someone saying the best tool for levelling a seed bed for grass is a length of H section towed behind the tractor.
Dave6170
Member
- Location
- Watten, caithness
I think dual wheels or big floatations are the answer. I cant get fields as level as i like either. Usually because we are trying to beat the rain tho
- Location
- East Yorkshire
Another vote for the Dutch Harrow.
Boohoo
Member
- Location
- Newtownabbey
It was heavy flat rolled after ploughing to put the furrows down flat.
We plough because some of our land hasn't been reseeded in living memory so we need to bury the old grass and make clean soil available to level the fields. If we just used a disc we would have to spray off and disc in the autumn and then leave it until the spring so that all the old grass rotted away
- Location
- East Sussex
Yes and no, ploughing might give you a nice clean finish but we disc, dung, disc, lime and scratch level and seed with a ph drill, loads of rolling in between. You get some tufts of old grass but it’s no hindrance to the new seeds because of the lime countering the acidity from breakdown. The rougher deep soil is never brought to the top and the dung is never too deep for the young grass to reach early on. The disadvantage is that the old grass can wick moisture from the seed bed much the same as a glypho spray and leaving for a few weeks.
It’s level the next year still too as there is no slump.
ollie989898
Member
Simba toptilth... if you have a tractor big enough to pull it.
ollie989898
Member
If you don't plough the existing sward down you will get weed grasses establishing in the new ley very rapidly.