# Anybody tried sub soiling?



## rongarrett

Presently sub soiling on 2 ft centers. Slow go for 20 acres. Our front pasture is sloped to provide runoff to a pond. The estimated 10 ft drop to the pond on the front pasture resulted in runoff that was not good for growing grass for grazing. Hopefully when we do get rain more will penetrate down into the ground, Anybody got thoughts on this?


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## Tim/South

When I sub soiled with a single shank I would run the tire over the last furrow to break up the clods and level some.
Now I use a three shank and can not do that.
I try to use a renovator every other year.
I try to sub soil every four years.
It takes a while for the ground to settle after sub soiling. We rotate our pastures and hay fields go give them rest.
I do not like to mow hay on a field that has been sub soiled the previous Fall. I do, but I take my time.


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## rjmoses

I'm a regular fan of sub-soiling. I have a 7 shank on 24" centers and a 6 shank Hay King Pasture renovator.

Ralph


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## Texasmark

rjmoses said:


> I'm a regular fan of sub-soiling. I have a 7 shank on 24" centers and a 6 shank Hay King Pasture renovator.
> 
> Ralph


I bought the 4 shank version of that soil conditioner last winter......in heavy clay, excellent reproductive device. During the summer's drought, the soil split open where the contitioner rollers cut and when the rains came back, the water went into the ground, not off the hill.....love it.

Mark


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## rongarrett

Texasmark said:


> I bought the 4 shank version of that soil conditioner last winter......in heavy clay, excellent reproductive device. During the summer's drought, the soil split open where the contitioner rollers cut and when the rains came back, the water went into the ground, not off the hill.....love it.
> 
> Mark


Not familar with a "renovator". Anyione got a pic? Explain the use of it? Our pasture according to the county extension office has an almost perfect fertilizer score. Lack of mositure is impeding a fast growing grass crop. I am going to do everything possible to remedy that situation.


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## Mike120

This is the model that Ralph and I have:
View attachment 1760


I used to drag a subsoiler across my horse paddocks, but the Hayking does a better job, is a lot less effort, and makes less of a mess.. I just got mine a couple of months ago. I'll use it on the hayfields next month.


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## Texasmark

rongarrett said:


> Not familar with a "renovator". Anyione got a pic? Explain the use of it? Our pasture according to the county extension office has an almost perfect fertilizer score. Lack of mositure is impeding a fast growing grass crop. I am going to do everything possible to remedy that situation.


It's a combination sub-soil ripper shank preceded by a coulter to slice the ground preceding the ripper. Keeps surface soil disturbance (dug up clods) to a minimum by having the coulter preceding the ripper. I am running 4 shanks around 6-8" deep in heavy clay with 65 engine/57 drawbar hp 4wd which does make a difference. Could support another shank. My tractor width is right at 6' and a 4 shank fits nicely behind it.

The Hay King was stocked by my local JD dealer and was reasonably priced. It is extremely well made, extremely. You would have a hard time tearing it up or wearing it out.

After our drought we had cracks up to probably 6" in our clay and every one of the rip lines broke open. When the rains finally came, the water went into the cracks and caused the clay to swell, locking in the water. On plowable land, running a disc harrow over it would seal in the moisture once you captured it.

Obviously you "renovate" crosswise to the slope.

HTH.
Mark


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## rongarrett

Texasmark said:


> It's a combination sub-soil ripper shank preceded by a coulter to slice the ground preceding the ripper. Keeps surface soil disturbance (dug up clods) to a minimum by having the coulter preceding the ripper. I am running 4 shanks around 6-8" deep in heavy clay with 65 engine/57 drawbar hp 4wd which does make a difference. Could support another shank. My tractor width is right at 6' and a 4 shank fits nicely behind it.
> 
> The Hay King was stocked by my local JD dealer and was reasonably priced. It is extremely well made, extremely. You would have a hard time tearing it up or wearing it out.
> 
> After our drought we had cracks up to probably 6" in our clay and every one of the rip lines broke open. When the rains finally came, the water went into the cracks and caused the clay to swell, locking in the water. On plowable land, running a disc harrow over it would seal in the moisture once you captured it.
> 
> Obviously you "renovate" crosswise to the slope.
> 
> HTH.
> Mark


I am pleased to say that the subsoiling did help. The plentiful rain must be keeping the channels full of water. Red clay is not very permable. I have found no standing water in the pasture even after a hard rain. Only downside I see is all the rocks that subsoiler finds that you didn't know were there. Unpeasant couple of days getting the rocks out of pasture.


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## slowzuki

Here we would call that a disc chisel, something like a Glencoe soil saver. Usually a subsoiler or ripper is about 18 to 24" long, takes about 100 hp to pull 2 or 3 shanks.



Texasmark said:


> I am running 4 shanks around 6-8" deep in heavy clay with 65 engine/57 drawbar hp 4wd which does make a difference. Could support another shank. My tractor width is right at 6' and a 4 shank fits nicely behind it.


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## hay wilson in TX

Near San Angelo is/was a ranch with hard packed soil that eventualy became over grazed.

NRCS ran level lines and a bull dozer with a real big chisel shank ran the grades.

They plowed every 30 feet on the steeper grades, All the rain water stayed on that ranch after that and they had grazing again.

Subsoiling on a grade you do not Need a lot of shanks as we used to use in cutivated ground.

They left the slot open and that appeared to be a good idea.


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## charlesmontgomery

rongarrett said:


> Presently sub soiling on 2 ft centers. Slow go for 20 acres. Our front pasture is sloped to provide runoff to a pond. The estimated 10 ft drop to the pond on the front pasture resulted in runoff that was not good for growing grass for grazing. Hopefully when we do get rain more will penetrate down into the ground, Anybody got thoughts on this?


No subsoiling is needed here. We have black gumbo. Every summer it cracks open and the cracks are deep


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## somedevildawg

I use a Hayking 10' pasture renovator every year after green up, most of my fields are flat, flat, and flatter. One year we rip in one direction, the next we rip 180* from the last one.....


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## mlappin

Sub soirees were all the rage here, now rarely see em. Tillage radish has taken their place, plant right after you take the wheat off, lot less fuel used and no turning up rocks or skimming shallow tiles.

I've thought about trying some on the pastures, pick two paddocks, let the cow graze em good and low then plant the radish and wait. After it frosts off let the cows back in to clean the tops of the radishes up.


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## IHCman

Haven't seen much deep tillage like that here. Sandy ground here. Plus I think the deep freeze of winter breaks up a lot of compaction here. If the frost heaves bust up the pavement on the highways its gotta be breaking up any compaction in the fields.

Seeing more tillage radishs seeded in cover crops in the area for the tillage effect and the grazing.

Do see the deep tillage in the eastern part of the state, out in the Red River Valley.


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