IRL Farming Questions

[Helazak]

I have been spending years imprvoing my clay soil with wood chip and lime and other ammendments that the local AG office suggested after a soil test. Just rototilled the field which really fluffed up the soil. Just seeded corn and snow peas together.

Question: Do I leave it fluffy, leave it alone and let nature do the work. Or do I water it and try to let the water compact the soil to get good soil seed contact, or do I drive over it since I dont have a roller or cultipacker?

[UncleRico]

What did you seed it with? I would avoid directly driving on the rows it’s some kind of tractor. Ground pressure from even a small tractor will be much greater than a roller. How did you cover it? How dry is the soil? If it sticks to your fingers it’s probably fine. If it’s dry put up a rain gauge and run a sprinkler to put down an inch. That will compact the soil and mellow any hard chunks

[Helazak]

I put down corn and snow peas together using an earthway seeder. The soil is moist not wet. One part is mostly clay so it is more wet.

[UncleRico]

I just googled it, it looks like it has a packer wheel. I wouldn’t do anymore. We don’t pack any of our field corn. We actually only pack soybeans simply because of rocks. If the beans have low pods the combine will need to slide right on the ground. The packer pushes rocks down so we don’t pick them up combining. The way a planter works is similar to yours. Closing wheels followed by packing wheels. I would just put some water to moisten things up and call it good