First, you need to figure out how many times a year it is necessary to plow the land and what benefits does each plowing provide? The main plowing of the land should be carried out in the fall.
This procedure is called autumn plowing - it should begin during the first frosts, i.e. when the ground begins to chill. The main advantage of this treatment is the death of the larvae of various pests that have entered the soil for the winter. Also, during autumn, the soil intensively absorbs moisture, which has a very good effect on its fertility in the next season.
If the main plowing of the land is carried out in the spring, this can lead to the appearance of harmful organisms and fungi on the surface of the earth, which threatens to infect the cultivated crops with all kinds of diseases. Beneficial bacteria, which are rich in the top layer of the earth, on the contrary, can end up in the depths and die. Autumn plowing preserves beneficial bacteria in such a way that with the arrival of spring they are completely restored, which is so necessary for the crops grown.
In spring it is better to harrow the soil. This should be done as soon as the topmost layer of soil dries out a little. In this way, you can retain all the necessary moisture that has accumulated in the soil over the winter.
You should also remember that it is necessary to plow the land in the fall using organic fertilizers. Burnt straw or manure can be used as organic matter. A necessary condition for using such fertilizer is that straw or manure must “burn out” for at least a year. Fresh manure can, when added to the soil, can significantly damage and destroy all the beneficial substances and organisms that are necessary for the proper and good growth of crops.
It is best to turn to professionals for plowing the land, who will do all the necessary work very efficiently and exactly at the time when it is necessary. Possessing all the necessary equipment and knowledge, they will carry out plowing according to all the rules, without spoiling the top fertile layer of soil. This will also be economically beneficial, since you can always find the best option for cultivating the land at minimal cost.
The most important problem with soil, especially in humid climates, is salinity. Salt accumulates in the soil due to excessive moisture - when the top layer has time to dry out, but the lower layer of soil constantly remains wet. Since water contains a certain amount of salt, it accumulates in the soil if the soil is not plowed in time and the soil is not allowed to receive a sufficient amount of oxygen, which is also necessary for the normal development of beneficial bacteria.
It is also very important to plow the soil correctly - this will help avoid the appearance and development of soil erosion. Soil erosion can occur due to excessive moisture, which can lead to the leaching of all necessary minerals and microorganisms from the soil. Frequent use of heavy farm equipment can also negatively impact soil health. Heavy machinery contributes to excessive soil compaction, which in most cases leads to the death of beneficial microorganisms and a subsequent decrease in yield.
If the cultivated soil is too clayey, then peat can be added to it during plowing. Peat loosens the soil well, making it darker, which will allow the soil to warm up better in the spring.
It should be remembered that autumn plowing of the land must be carried out to a greater depth than in spring. If you plan to grow root crops in your field, this will be a necessary condition for their good development. To grow cereal plants, deep plowing may either not be necessary at all, or it can be done once every few years to renew the surface of the fertile soil layer.
For proper and high-quality plowing of the land, you need to have the necessary knowledge so as not to harm the land instead of benefiting it. The use of specialized equipment is also necessary. Farm equipment that is too heavy can damage the soil, while equipment that is too light will most likely not cope with the task.
By contacting our company, you will no longer have to worry about carrying out high-quality and correct work. We will do all the necessary work that will allow you to effectively grow certain agricultural crops on your land. Also, our specialists will do all the work exactly at the time when it is really necessary and beneficial for the earth.
Plowing the land is not such a simple matter. Entrust the work to people who know and can do a lot in this area.
Preface
Today, there are many ways to plow a large field or small area, for which different types of plows are used, and it is useful to know the features of each method.
To sow a field with grains or seeds of various vegetable crops, or to plant potatoes, it is necessary to prepare the so-called “seed bed,” that is, a layer of well-loosened soil. But, according to the requirements of modern agronomy, it is not enough to simply crush the fertile soil; it is necessary to mix several layers of it to a depth sufficient for sowing. Moreover, in such a way that a hard plow sole does not form below the loose subsoil horizon, which will interfere with the absorption of rainwater.
It is for moving and turning over various layers of soil, as well as breaking up large clods, that various types of plows are used, providing a variety of plowing methods. The choice of one or another method of tillage depends on what weeds, diseases or pests can overcome the arable land (the option of layer rotation is selected depending on the situation), what depth of loosening is required. In particular, some methods serve to protect the soil from wind erosion, snow retention, and accumulation of melt water.
Large farms, as well as enterprises engaged in agricultural activities, have many different attachments, and among other things, as a rule, several types of plows. They differ primarily in design: ploughshares, rotary, disk, as well as combined and chisel (which do not have moldboards and are designed for plowing without turning over layers of soil).
As for the rest, plowshare plows are the most widely used since ancient times, and are based on a ploughshare; in rotary plows, the working body is a rotating drum with blades or paddles. The name of the disc plow speaks for itself, as does the combined rotary-share plow. Each of the above agricultural implements for reverse plowing of land comes in different models, which are divided into semi-mounted, mounted and trailed according to the type of connection.
According to their purpose, plows are divided into a larger number of types: cultivated ploughshare, semi-screw and screw (simple and with angle), cutout, plows with subsoiler and for rhombic plowing. All of the above equipment is based on a ploughshare, the shape of which depends on the required method of wrapping the topsoil, as well as often additional devices for various types of plowing.
So, for example, the usual cultivated plowshare body is a classic type, the design of which is only a stand, a moldboard and a lower share. The half-screw is complemented by a field board located behind the working surface of the ploughshare, as well as an extension feather at the rear of the blade. The screw plow is equipped with a disc blade; this tool is located in front of the plowshare body and is intended for preliminary cutting of the soil.
The screw with an angle is supplemented by the device indicated in the name of the plow, located in the upper part of the blade, a chisel on the front edge of the ploughshare, and a vertical knife of the “shark fin” type installed above it. The plow for rhombic plowing of the soil has a vertical share in the front part of the blade. Also, a plowing tool is often supplemented with a subsoiler on a separate stand, in the lower part of which a cone-shaped loosening paw is horizontally attached to a bracket.
The cut-out plow is equipped with two shares, lower and upper, between them there is a shield installed as a continuation of the blade, the front edge of which serves to cut the soil. The ploughshare knives themselves have several forms. The most common is the trapezoidal type; the chisel-shaped type, the toothed type and the ploughshare equipped with a retractable chisel are also widely used.
Perhaps the simplest and most common way of cultivating the soil with a plow is to plow virgin soil with a full rotation of the cut layer of soil, for which a screw plowshare tool is used. This type of field preparation for sowing is used in order to completely eliminate weeds on the site, which, after turning over the layer, end up at the bottom of the furrow under the soil layer.
The roots facing upward can no longer pump moisture out of the soil and provide the stem with the substances necessary for growth, as a result of which the weed dies, eventually turning into humus. This method is only possible if the width of the layer is 2 times the thickness. The technology of plowing with lifting up the seam is very similar in technology; to implement it, you need the same screw implement, but the result will only be if the width of the seam is less than the thickness. This type of soil rotation is performed to obtain the largest area of land open to the sun and wind.
However, with a high level of soil turf, part of the vegetation cover remains almost on the surface, between the ridges formed from inverted layers. And the voids remaining below disrupt the movement of moisture and air in the soil. To avoid the listed disadvantages of the plowing method under consideration, the plowshare tool is equipped with an angle cutter, which cuts off the triangular part of the formation and throws it into the furrow.
Cultural plowing of the land is carried out with a plow with the appropriate name, the surface of which has a pronounced cylindrical bend, and a skimmer is necessarily installed in front. This method of soil treatment is used in old arable fields, where the inverted horizon is not divided into layers, but crumbles into small fractions. The skimmer cuts a small prism in the ground, which, together with the layer, is turned over by the plow blade and falls to the bottom of the furrow, after which the crumbled layer is covered on top. Thus, the turf is completely isolated in the soil and gradually forms a layer of humus.
Double-tier plowing is performed in a similar way, for which it is necessary that the width of the skimmer be equal to the gripping area of the main plow. Then the auxiliary tool will cut off a small layer of soil, and the ploughshare following behind will turn over the lower horizon. As a result, the turf will also end up deep in the soil, increasing the fertile layer, and the layer cut by the plow, crumbling into clods, forms a flat, loose surface on top. This method is very convenient in areas allocated for planting beets or cotton.
Very often, spring plowing of hard soil is carried out in several passes, and in this case the tractor has to be driven along a strip of already loosened soil. To increase the efficiency of furrow formation, special plows with two shares, horizontal and vertical, are used. Such a tool forms layers that, in their cross-section, resemble a diamond shape, and provides a wide furrow sufficient for the passage of the right rear wheel of the tractor. Actually, this is what the soil cultivation method is called – rhombic plowing.
Particular attention should be paid to plants where the fertile horizon is very thin.
The following types of plowing are used to avoid soil depletion and to increase the thickness of the cultivated layer: a plow with a cut-out body, as well as a regular ploughshare, but with a subsoiler. The first method allows you to loosen the podzolic layer without lifting it from the depth of the furrow, but only partially mixing it with the turf, which gradually increases the thickness of the fertile horizon. The use of a subsoiler generally eliminates the mixing of layers and is performed to loosen podzolic soil, in which, after treatment, soil-forming processes begin, leading to its cultivation.
Today, there are more and more opponents of the full turnover of the fertile soil layer, since plowing is always a violation of natural processes in the soil. In particular, microorganisms that contribute to soil formation without human intervention die in large quantities. To avoid the invasion of the biosphere by the cultivated soil horizon, when cultivating agricultural plots, they are increasingly switching to farming without plowing.
This method of cultivating fields only involves loosening to the required depth without forming and wrapping layers of soil. In traditional plowing, they use plowshares with moldboards, which turn out fairly large layers of soil, up to a full or partial rotation, and at the same time seal the turf to the bottom of the furrow. Next, harrowing is necessary to grind the soil, which, due to precipitation, significantly settles and becomes compacted. Tillage performed without plowing, on the contrary, makes the soil looser, which provides better access to moisture without disturbing the soil ecosystem.
A tool that is suitable for such work is a chisel plow with shares without moldboards. After this, a pass with disk hoeing is mandatory. It should be taken into account that moldless plowing is not applicable everywhere; in particular, it is not advisable to use cultivating fields with ploughers on lands subject to wind erosion due to the destruction of stubble.
Another option for cultivating soil without turning over layers is using flat cutters. Such a tool carries out deep loosening, which gives a positive result both on and in steppe regions with high wind erosion of the soil, where it is very important to keep the stubble intact. Flat cutters only slightly touch the top layer of the earth, thus preserving plant residues that protect the soil from weathering and also retain moisture in it. Thanks to this approach, the soil's resistance to erosion increases over time, and the fertile layer becomes thicker.
And finally, it is worth mentioning the zero-till method or, in other words, No-Till, that is, the soil is not only not plowed, but is not loosened at all. More precisely, a one-time pre-treatment with cultivators is carried out to level the surface of the area. Next, the field is covered with mulch, for example, straw chopped to a certain size or chopped corn stalks. A thick layer of such coating prevents the growth of weeds, which do not receive sunlight and die.
Planting crops on such a field is carried out using special seeders that immerse the grains to a certain depth. The disadvantage of this method is the need for a large amount of herbicides.
Why do you need to plow the soil at all? This question is always asked by inexperienced gardeners who simply do not understand that plowing the land is a process that makes the land fertile and suitable for sowing various useful plants. Correctly, the land is plowed once or twice a year. Once if this happens in the fall, twice if in the spring and autumn. Autumn plowing is especially important.
So, how does the process of plowing the ground allow us to practically destroy those plants that, without our knowledge, sprout in the beds every spring? Everything is quite simple and primitive. The main thing is that the plowing of the land takes place at the right time and is carried out by competent specialists who know to what depth the land can and should be plowed in a particular area.
Plowing the land in the fall saves us from weeds because due to frosts, which necessarily occur in late autumn or early winter, the damaged roots of the weeds freeze, which means that those weeds that are frozen will no longer be able to grow again in the spring and annoy you with their presence .
Those who regularly plow the land on their site know that over time this helps to almost completely get rid of harmful plants. If, of course, you plow the land annually. Of course, plowing the soil once or even twice a year is much easier than going out into the garden every day for an unequal battle with weeds, because the latter takes much more time and effort.
When would be the most appropriate time to plow the land in the fall so that it is as effective as possible? It is clear that this depends primarily on the region, because temperature and other weather conditions often depend on it. However, the approximate timing of plowing the land is such that it must be carried out at the very end of autumn, after harvesting; in the southernmost regions, it can, of course, be carried out in December.
Why shouldn’t you rush into pruning and carry it out, for example, in September, even if for some reason you have already managed to harvest your entire harvest? Because, as a rule, weeds can still grow in the few months that remain before frost. This means that all your work on plowing the land will go to waste.
November is the ideal month for organizing land plowing in most regions. It is already cold enough that the weeds do not have time to grow, much less their seeds, but at the same time the earth is still soft enough and it is not difficult to plow it. It is very important to have time to plow the soil before the air temperature at night drops below five degrees.
Many gardeners know that you can plow the ground with a plow, various special tools, or just the old-fashioned way with a shovel. Naturally, each of these methods has a number of advantages and disadvantages. For example, when digging up the soil with a shovel, the fertile layer will definitely not receive any damage, but plowing may be superficial and ineffective, and in addition, take a very long time. This method is well suited for very small areas and is completely unsuitable for large pieces of land.
Plowing the land with walk-behind tractors is very effective if your plot is at least six acres. One of the absolute advantages of this method is digging up the soil to a depth of about twenty-five centimeters, which will allow you to saturate it with oxygen, clear the roots of weeds, and also dig up all the underground passages of rodents so that they cannot harm your plantings in the next season.
Quite often on the Internet there is the opinion of novice gardeners that it is not necessary to plow the soil. She can handle oxygen saturation and other issues herself. This is nothing more than a myth, because even our ancestors, who began to plow the land many thousands of years ago, understood that only this would lead to an increase in the productivity of the land. Leaving the soil alone will probably only lead to an increase in weed production.
A modern gardener or summer resident simply cannot do without plowing the land. The soil needs proper care, and for this it thanks for a generous harvest.
The use of modern mechanized means allows soil cultivation to be carried out much faster and easier. The forks and shovels were replaced by productive modern equipment.
Plowing the land with a tractor is much faster, and in the midst of spring work, as a rule, every day counts, since the soil dries out quickly after the snow melts. During this period, it is very important not to miss the processing time. Early tillage of the soil with a tractor can lead to rather unfavorable consequences - the soil will be hard and rocky after drying. Delaying the processing time will lead to evaporation and blowing out of moisture, which will negatively affect the germination of crops, since there will be a lack of moisture.
Plowing the land with a tractor is loosening it in order to improve its fertility. Autumn plowing before winter is carried out to saturate the soil with oxygen, ensure freezing of weeds, and also destroy the underground passages of rodents. Previously, peasants called it autumn plowing, since the land was cultivated when the first frosts occurred, that is, when it was cold, so to speak. On the surface, along with clods of earth, are the larvae of various pests, which die from the cold, and the underground passages of rodents are destroyed. In addition, loose soil absorbs moisture much better, and this will have a positive effect on fertility next season. And in order for the result to be even better, it is recommended to apply fertilizers during plowing.
In summer or spring, the soil is plowed with a tractor using a milling cutter to loosen the soil before planting. The depth of arable work, as a rule, depends on the crops that will be sown in a given area. Root crops require deeper plowing, but cereal plants do not need it.
Proper plowing of the soil with a tractor will not only help loosen the soil, but will also prevent erosion processes and salting.
The advantages of cultivating soil with a tractor include:
Despite the many obvious advantages of using technology, it is not advisable to use a tractor in all areas, since harrowing is necessary after mechanized plowing. In addition, the use of technology in areas infested with weeds leads to even greater clogging, because plowing is carried out using the moldboard method and weed seeds are spread throughout the area. That is why, before using a tractor on your site, it is necessary to take into account all the above factors.
The cost of plowing the soil depends on the geometry and area of the plot, as well as the type of equipment used, be it a walk-behind tractor or a tractor. By the way, choosing equipment for arable work requires some experience - using agricultural equipment that is too heavy will only, so to speak, clog the soil, while too light one may not cope with the task.
The tractor with plow is endowed with great power, so it can be used on large plots of land. Plowing the land with a tractor is especially profitable (the price per hundred square meters is on average 1,500 rubles) if the plot is virgin soil, that is, soil that has not been dug up for many years.
Basic tillage includes various types of plowing (plough with a moldboard, moldless plow, flat cutters), cultivation, harrowing.
Plowing with a tractor ensures loosening with the simultaneous placement of plant residues, peat, and humus). For this purpose, different plows are used, differing in the shape of the blade. Loosening, wrapping the topsoil, and crumbling largely depends on the shape of the plow.
When using a moldless plow, the soil is plowed to a depth of 30 cm without turning the layer. Experts recommend carrying out such deep plowing every 3 or 4 years, especially in the driest areas. This will help avoid moisture loss.
To enrich the soil with organic fertilizers, in intervals it is treated with the help of which rids the soil of weeds, loosens the top layer of soil, and increases productivity.
There are advantages to cultural plowing performed with a plow with skimmers. It makes it possible to carry out separate processing of the top and bottom layers of soil, as a result of which almost all weeds are destroyed, since all plant remains, seeds and roots are embedded deep in the plowed land.
Owners of country plots of land and summer residents annually cultivate the land, plow it in order to achieve the largest possible harvest.
Plowing is necessary for:
But not everyone knows how to do it correctly: beginners need information on how to plow the land.
Not a single agricultural implement for plowing the land will be able to perform its functions efficiently if there are many hillocks and holes on the site. Therefore, before you start plowing, you should level the ground. They do it as follows.
Very large plots of land are leveled using a tractor. It is advisable to plan slopes of more than 30° in the form of terraces.
In small summer cottages, where plowing the land with a tractor is impossible (heavy equipment will not be able to maneuver), it is rational to use a walk-behind tractor. This unit is equipped with various attachments: plows, dippers, cutters, etc.
The implement for plowing the land should be adjusted before plowing, for which these tips are used.
The work will be easier to do, and labor productivity will be higher, if you follow the following rules.
Important: the engine temperature must not exceed the established limits. During the process of plowing the land, you need to monitor this parameter and, if necessary, take breaks to allow the unit to cool down.
In small areas, a motorized winch is successfully used for plowing the land. The plow is driven deep by the plowman, and the driving force is a gasoline engine with a drive to which a cable is attached. You can make such a unit yourself. Here are instructions for making plowing tools.
The photo shows all the main parts from which the motorized winch is assembled.
Specification
At the end of the story about how plowing is done, there is a video demonstrating the process clearly.
