Plowing in dry ground

[Big Boar]

The ground is very dry here in NE Missouri. Plows are having trouble staying in the ground. Can weight be add to a 2-14 #8 Little Genius trip plow and if so, how much?

 

[Fritz Maurer]

If it won't stay in the ground , the points need to be drawn or replaced....or,

If the hitch is too low , it will aggravate the situation if the plow points are otherwise useable.

Hard ground plowing really tests your skill regarding plow setup.

 

[Janicholson]

Welcome to YT forums and ASAP parts. If you get it in the ground, you will likely be making brick like clods, that is if you can pull it. Sometimes it takes ripping the soil to allow moisture to get into it. Oh, it does require moisture. Jim

 

[gmccool]

The ground is very dry here in NE Missouri. Plows are having trouble staying in the ground. Can weight be add to a 2-14 #8 Little Genius trip plow and if so, how much?

Just a thought here and I'm not answering your question but if it is that dry there that the plow won't stay in the ground WHY are you plowing. You will only make huge clods and make it drier.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

No. In addition to what others have said, you run the real risk of breaking the plow. It's old and no doubt stressed from years of hard use, and was never designed to have weight put on it to begin with...

Part of your problem is most likely the points/shares are completely worn out. The plow is designed to pull itself into the ground, and it can't do that in hard ground with worn shares. Unfortunately new shares are hard to come by, and VERY expensive.

 

[Big Boar]

Just a thought here and I'm not answering your question but if it is that dry there that the plow won't stay in the ground WHY are you plowing. You will only make huge clods and make it drier.

Plow days

 

[McCormick 40]

On my 4-14 plow for a few years, I hung 2 100lb. suitcase weights on the frame, between the 3rd and 4th bottom to get it to go in better, but like others have said, I then changed the shares out for better ones and the need for the weights went away.

 

[Red Dave]

The ground is very dry here in NE Missouri. Plows are having trouble staying in the ground. Can weight be add to a 2-14 #8 Little Genius trip plow and if so, how much?

We put weights on a #8 Little Genius 2 Bottom to keep it in the ground for plowing contests, but it is a hydraulic lift plow. I think we have maybe 100 lbs total on it. I think it would be OK on a clutch lift, but don't get crazy with it. Like others said, make sure the points are sharp too.

A good, properly adjusted coulter would help a lot also. We have Super Chief Bottoms on it, which also go in the ground easier than some of the older Bottoms.

Make sure it is adjusted to pull Straight. I've seen a lot of mis-adjusted plows at plow days that are being pulled at an angle. Makes it much harder to pull and does a poor plowing job. Would be much worse in hard, dry ground.

Make sure the hitch release is working properly so you don't damage the plow beams if it pulls too hard or hits a rock.

 

[caterpillar guy]

Well If it is so hard a plow will not stay in the ground Barnyard is right on those old plows they were not designed to be loaded down with a lot of weight to work. I've seen it so hard in August or July a chisel plow would not go in with new shovels. If you did get it in you could not pull it. I would just post pone the event till it rains. As for the ones complaining about just drying the ground out more. Since it is October and we are going in to later fall with winter snows behind that it will all be fine since the snow rain and frost will break the clods up and mellow out the surface and let water in better than hard ground will. IF wanting to plant wheat that dry it might be better done by notill since it would just lay there till a shower came anyway. I would not worry about the drying the ground out more at this time with the season it is.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Plow days

Man that's a bummer. You usually can't just postpone those and this time of year finding a nice day can be difficult.

 

[teddy52food]

If you have coulters on, take them off as they will lift the plow out of hard ground.

 

[old]

The ground is very dry here in NE Missouri. Plows are having trouble staying in the ground. Can weight be add to a 2-14 #8 Little Genius trip plow and if so, how much?

Most all of Missouri is under drought condition of very close. I want to put in a couple food plots but it is so dry I figure the bird would take the seeds before they had a chance to germinate so not sure what I'll do yet. I have a 3 point disk instead of a plow but depending on what you plant yes you may need to plow the ground