Getting pikes right
- Thread starter Luke1
- Start date
Is this match ploughing or commercial work ?
Depends on size of your plough, 4 or 5 furrow drop in whem rear tractor wheels are on headland mark , and lift out when plough wheel hits headland mark, find this is as good as it gets with large ploughs.
- Location
- Cirencester
I call them fishtails and they actually look like them if done correctly, obviously difficult to do on the pickets but I find a combination of forward speed, speed of drop of link arms and do as said above and you should be fine.
Chae1
Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
I always put a mark up with plough to drop it in and lift at. I ve a hydraulic top link so lengthen it and just put in a scratch with back plough.
Do you have gps autosteer? I use it to put in mark so that when ploughing in to the fence it works out a exact number of runs when you get to edge of field.
I lift out when back plough hits mark. Drop front furr on mark. As said above, try and lift and drop when your moving. Leaves less of a hole.
A hydraulic toplink is a good call.
When ploughing the headlands with the hy top link in the slotted hole on the headstock as well as with the hy toplink in float .
It will help the plough to respond quicker in the different varying hardnesses of soil conditions it comes across in the process.
When ploughing the headlands with the hy top link in the slotted hole on the headstock as well as with the hy toplink in float .
It will help the plough to respond quicker in the different varying hardnesses of soil conditions it comes across in the process.
Might be more rewarding for you to look on one or two facebook pages such as return of the ploughman. Not wishing to take anything away from all the good folk on here but you will see some good work and good comment.
Whatever you do in gairings will never be perfect but what some advocate is a shallow pass in the opposite direction when starting to plough the headland. ie if ploughing the headland in, then do a pass in the opposite direction first, shallow with the front and deep enough with the back to create a furr hole, then plough the headland as normal. Used to do that 50 years ago with conventional ploughs.
hope this helps
Whatever you do in gairings will never be perfect but what some advocate is a shallow pass in the opposite direction when starting to plough the headland. ie if ploughing the headland in, then do a pass in the opposite direction first, shallow with the front and deep enough with the back to create a furr hole, then plough the headland as normal. Used to do that 50 years ago with conventional ploughs.
hope this helps
- Location
- Moreton-in-Marsh, Glos
On pike/fishtail headlands, pulling out at the end, the angle of the plough beam acts in your favour.
It's pulling back into work, once you have turned around that causes the problem causing a lot of double ploughing (hogs troughs) from the 2nd to the 6th furrow (in your case) when you come to plough the headlands.
This could causes a lot of problems for me especially, because I rely heavily on the fact that I want it only ploughed once for better Blackgrass control. Ploughing it twice is always where I get Blackgrass problems in the following crops, because it pulls the buried seed back up again.
Actually, it tends to make rather a mess here, because the now loosened land from its 1st ploughing, doesn't invert well the 2nd time. So you end up with a messy mix!
There are a couple of solution that help. Either are good, but if you can use them both, even better:
1. As you pull back into work, drive beyond the drop point, then back up at an angle to where you pulled out. Having then dropped the plough in, with all furrows in the trough left by the 6th furrow of the last run, immediately steer back into the furrow as you pull forward (You need loose check-chains/flexible stabilisers to be able to do this). This will prevent "hogs troughs" and leave a far more even in/out ends, preventing a very undulating first or inner run when ploughing the headlands.
2. If you have a hydraulic Vari-width plough, fold it to its narrowest width as you start the run, then open it up as you drop the plough and start moving forward.
A couple of other hints:
It often helps to scratch a shallow furrow line to use as a headland guide to know either to lift out and drop in.
You can use previous Headland tramlines instead. But I'd strongly advise making your lift out/drop in point either before or beyond the tramlines (preferably inside it) to prevent a very bumpy headland (and a grumpy sprayer operator) exactly where the new headland tramline will be.
Edit:
Don't be afraid to experiment. If it looks a smart finish, you got it right.
Ploughing is an art that is learned by lots of experience. You need to be thinking ahead all the time, to work out which way headlands need ploughing. I always want to start right against the hedge one side and leave a furrow against the hedge the other side of it.
I cannot stand headlands being ploughed in the opposite direction to which the whole of the rest of the field was ploughed, leaving a double-width trench.
It's pulling back into work, once you have turned around that causes the problem causing a lot of double ploughing (hogs troughs) from the 2nd to the 6th furrow (in your case) when you come to plough the headlands.
This could causes a lot of problems for me especially, because I rely heavily on the fact that I want it only ploughed once for better Blackgrass control. Ploughing it twice is always where I get Blackgrass problems in the following crops, because it pulls the buried seed back up again.
Actually, it tends to make rather a mess here, because the now loosened land from its 1st ploughing, doesn't invert well the 2nd time. So you end up with a messy mix!
There are a couple of solution that help. Either are good, but if you can use them both, even better:
1. As you pull back into work, drive beyond the drop point, then back up at an angle to where you pulled out. Having then dropped the plough in, with all furrows in the trough left by the 6th furrow of the last run, immediately steer back into the furrow as you pull forward (You need loose check-chains/flexible stabilisers to be able to do this). This will prevent "hogs troughs" and leave a far more even in/out ends, preventing a very undulating first or inner run when ploughing the headlands.
2. If you have a hydraulic Vari-width plough, fold it to its narrowest width as you start the run, then open it up as you drop the plough and start moving forward.
A couple of other hints:
It often helps to scratch a shallow furrow line to use as a headland guide to know either to lift out and drop in.
You can use previous Headland tramlines instead. But I'd strongly advise making your lift out/drop in point either before or beyond the tramlines (preferably inside it) to prevent a very bumpy headland (and a grumpy sprayer operator) exactly where the new headland tramline will be.
Edit:
Don't be afraid to experiment. If it looks a smart finish, you got it right.
Ploughing is an art that is learned by lots of experience. You need to be thinking ahead all the time, to work out which way headlands need ploughing. I always want to start right against the hedge one side and leave a furrow against the hedge the other side of it.
I cannot stand headlands being ploughed in the opposite direction to which the whole of the rest of the field was ploughed, leaving a double-width trench.
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Chae1
Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Took a picture of mine for you today. 5f
Another tip. Your tractor will have a button to put plough in quickly. On new Holland you just hold down button. Do this on way in and out. Will keep plough in ground on way out. Get it in quicker on way in.
Another tip. Your tractor will have a button to put plough in quickly. On new Holland you just hold down button. Do this on way in and out. Will keep plough in ground on way out. Get it in quicker on way in.
Last edited:
looks relatively dry, is that a river on the left?Took a picture of mine for you today. 5f
Another tip. Your tractor will have a button to put plough in quickly. On new Holland you just hold down button. Do this on way in and out. Will keep plough in ground on way out. Get it in quicker on way in.
Chae1
Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Yes. Should probably be sowing something in it. But its so light it won't grow wheat.
I always double plough every butted end to level up always pull the soil back into the holes so start at the longest butts and pull it back to the shortest run .
It levels up very nice but depending on the angle you usually need 2 widths pulled the same way to catch everything
There's no other way to do it with a long plough without leaving big holes everywhere
And never throw it away from butts or there's a proper mess to sort
It levels up very nice but depending on the angle you usually need 2 widths pulled the same way to catch everything
There's no other way to do it with a long plough without leaving big holes everywhere
And never throw it away from butts or there's a proper mess to sort
Chae1
Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
I hate ploughing ends. Was doing them in my sleep the other night. Spent most of a day just ploughing ends.
I appreciate the above method is correct and what i do also. But it feels like a right waste of time double ploughing those bits, out then in.
I appreciate the above method is correct and what i do also. But it feels like a right waste of time double ploughing those bits, out then in.
I used to have to plough a lot of ends after doing the middles earlier but I soon knocked that on the head .
Yes it's a faff but I prefer a level field and it takes a lot if power harrowing to get it anywhere near level and we've a lot of ground that anything worked more than once is bad for slumping and capping in certain conditions so needs must
I do fancy a semi mounted but it'll gave it's downsides as well
Chae1
Member
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Ive just someone goes in front of me!
He levels ends/wet rough bits. Takes off stones. Keeps seed/fert in field and cambridge rolls.
Probably a unnecessary expense but keeps drill going and allows it to get over more acres per day.
He levels ends/wet rough bits. Takes off stones. Keeps seed/fert in field and cambridge rolls.
Probably a unnecessary expense but keeps drill going and allows it to get over more acres per day.
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