Hay King brand Sub Soiler

[Texasmark1]

Anybody use one of these?

I bought one a couple of years ago from my JD dealer....didn't know mother deere had started selling non JD implements, but they do....Pioneer implements here also.

Anyhoooo, I got my calving done and moved the critters out of the "pen" to another pasture; course the pen is a couple of acres or so.

The grass was beat down, poop everywhere, hard as a brick black clay and all, and have about a 4:1 slope.

I have a little 57 PTO 4wd tractor and can only run a 4 shank which is about a 5' cutting width whereas my tires are at 6' outside to outside making for a little overlapping.

The implement has coulter wheels preceding the ripper shanks which have a high strength cutting blade welded on the shank. Cutting depth is about 10" max.

When comparing to a moldboard, it doesn't roll the topsoil and expose the roots. The coulter cuts the bermuda runs which makes the grass multiply as each new shoot develops it's own root system and becomes a self supporting plant. The top soil remains on top and finally, the surface of the ground isn't all that torn up....just little slits in it. Course when you are plowing rock hard clay, sometimes a sizeable clod will surface but I would just make a loop and slice it up.

Anyway, first run was contoured across the hill and I could only get it to penetrate about 6". I came back at an angle that generated a diamond shape of cut material and she went all the way down to 10".

Came back with one of the newly designed spike harrows and had a really nice field.

In the past, I could do nothing with ground this time of year. Don't have a moldboard and the turning disc devices, ala disc harrow we use for plows around here just bounced off it.

Now the good part. I immediately came back with broadcast fertilizer and seed with one more pass with the spikes.

The next 3 days I got moderate rain and drizzle amounting to a total of around 1".....how bout that for luck.

I am a happy camper and LOVEEEEE that subsoiler.

Mark
 

[paul]

Did you go to a casino that nite too, sounds like everything else fell into place for you!

Good job.

--->Paul
 

[Texasmark1]

Sometimes things go the way you would like. I know it's seldom.

I omitted the best part. I had a couple of heifers in that field and they calved on their own, no problems, short labor and got everything cleaned up. They are the best mothers and have the biggest bags I have ever had in 30 years of raising cattle.

One is a bull and the other heifer. The bull either likes the heifer's mother's milk better than his, or he's just greedy. The surrogate mother lets him nurse her while she is having her breakfast. Couple of days ago the heifer was nursing and he came up and knocked her out of the way and had his fill.....mother just kept eating. Ha! Heifer is growing off as good as he is so I guess there are enough groceries to go around.

I used to have one of those lift top metal feeders where half a dozen calves could enter each side. Soon realized that the cows would line up at the entrances and not let the babies in to eat. Guess they were mad cause they couldn't get to the feed. Ha!

So now I put a shallow feeder and water trough along the fence and make a suitable pen using one strand of hot wire to keep the larger animals out. That gives the babies access from 3 directions and works great.

Mark