TILLING VS PLOW AND HARROW

[Coginchaug]

Hello
I have a JD 2320, with a FEL, 54" inch front snow blower and all is good. Trying to decide to by a tiller or try a 2 bottom plow and harrow for 1+/- acre garden. I much appreciate any feedback. The land was wooded until last year when I cleared it. I have to say I would buy a Timber wolf log splitter any day of the week.
Coginchaug (means long swamp)
South Central Ct

 

[mikehaugen]

I don't know your tractor exactly but I believe it is in the lower 20's for horsepower? If so you probably should consider a one bottom. I've heard 20hp per bottom. I have 38hp and a 2-14 will give it a good workout.

 

[mikehaugen]

Also the roots will be giving you issues if they weren't cleared well. This would be with with either the plow or the tiller.

 

[Coginchaug]

Hi,
Thank you, that makes sense, I did a little tilling with a small walk behind Troy Built and didn't find any roots, but then I wasn't very deep

 

[newbury]

If you've got tree roots buy a 1 bottom plow and RENT a tiller.
For example Sunbelt rentals rents a tiller for $55/day. Your probably going to use it twice a year.

I bought a plow and PLANNED on renting a tiller, but a good Craigs list deal turned up so I bought the tiller, for less than a new 5' disc harrow.

 

[Ted Summey]

The only time I use my turning plow is for breaking new ground. After the land is turned I allow it to break up during the winter. I used to use a disc to prepare the land for lists/beds. Now I use the tiller. I have a 72" tiller. It takes no time to get the soil ready for planing using the tiller. My disc waits for larger project than the garden. Here is a food plot I prepared that way.

 

[sixdogs]

Buy the tiller...forget the plow. With the tiller you can bounce over roots and rocks or obstacles and the surface will remain fairly smooth. A plow will leave clumps of dirt or roots and grass and be difficult to smooth. If I was doing hundreds of acres of hayfields in the stony glacial till of New England, I would own a tiller and never touch the ground with a plow and harrow. I have done both and in soil like yours the tiller wins without exception.

 

[the old grind]

:2cents:
Plowing is a directional move, no? Lotta driving around with a 1-bottom that I agree would be the most I'd pull with a tractor in that power range. A bit of an offset may be required to space passes if the tractor's wheels determine your exact path, & they likely might. Disc after all that, ... and it might not look like a garden to me .. unless maybe you plant from the 3-point too. So, final pass, ... tiller anyway? Yes, rent one to use only twice a year and let other needs determine which attachments, and in which order you add more stuff.

Why I commented:
I just ran the sub-soiler across my tiny, 1/4 ac (if that) sand dune of a food plot. It's barren save for the expected smattering of weeds, since I worked but didn't plant it last year. Ruts set my spacing, and toggle stabilizers didn't exactly invite me to fuss with them. Second pass with the disc was cross-wise to the initial 'fluffing' of a sort & backing-over to go both ways with the disc down. Ok, I have a 60" tiller that my tractor (~28hp, PTO) should manage in soft sand and I'm kicking myself for not just hooking it up first. :confused3: (New tractor, <4hrs on it). I'm still 'lumpy', a ways yet from planting :ashamed: & just missed a rain I wish I'd been ahead of.

Anyway, I wouldn't buy plows or discs right away for just the 'garden' if I wouldn't use them elsewhere in the 'near'. It nice to have a tiller, but, say renting one will get the job done for now & could get one a feel for it, say a 48" that'd maneuver to do flower beds by the house without knocking the porch off it. If you want a splitter & a head start on next Winter, it seems you know what you like. Ground-working tools could happen later as good deals come along. JMO

 

[yelbike]

I have the same tractor as you. I have a cultivator, which sees no real use. Honestly, I think the bottom plow, harrow is old school stuff unless your doing 5 plus acres. Over the last two years I've tilled about 3 acres of land that had never been touched. Most of it is for long and wide tree lines and also a large(too large) garden. My suggestion is pick up a 60" King Kutter tiller from TSC for $1500. Best money spent. Do some reading on how to set up the slip clutch(first thing). On unbroken ground it is pretty slow going, don't try and bury the tiller either. Go deeper with subsequent passes. Roots and rocks won't stop it but will slow you down. I'm getting a little over confident with mine now, I knocked down some 3" willow trees and roots yesterday, very slowly though. I would not attempt the 4" ones even after my neighbour dared me. It definitely maximum size for the jd 2320 but it can handle it. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Mark Page]

A tiller is the only way to go. If your using soil ammendments like mushroom soil or manure or compost it will do a great job of mixing it in. They also work great for lawn or pasture renovation. Just set it so that it only goes down a couple of inches and your new seed will get a start on soil rather than old grass.

 

[jenkinsph]

Hello
I have a JD 2320, with a FEL, 54" inch front snow blower and all is good. Trying to decide to by a tiller or try a 2 bottom plow and harrow for 1+/- acre garden. I much appreciate any feedback. The land was wooded until last year when I cleared it. I have to say I would buy a Timber wolf log splitter any day of the week.
Coginchaug (means long swamp)
South Central Ct

A 647 tiller is a good match for the 2320 imo. Good for a garden or putting in small lawns.

 

[super55]

For a 1 AC garden I would agree a tiller would probably best suite your needs.

Personally for putting fallow ground into cultivation I don't thing a plow can be beat but they aren't very forgiving. Getting a field plowed correctly is practically an art and the less bottoms on the plow the more difficult it seems to be. If you don't lay your furrows correctly or run the plow too deep you just buried all your best soil and will spend a ton of time trying to level it back out. I only use my plow about once every 3 years to roll over an area that has heavy sod.

I own all three implements and the one I use most by far is the disc harrow. The tiller gives a finer finished product but is a pain in the butt to till under cover crops with. Everything likes to rap around the tines and you have to go considerably slower with the tiller. Plus it seems to have some magical magnetic force to bring rocks to the surface no matter how many I have previously picked.

For me I like to keep as much my organic matter near the surface as possible to help retain moisture in the soil. I have pretty sandy soil with only about 4 inches of topsoil so I have to really try to preserve what I have. On my final pass I will hook up a log or chain harrow to the back of the disc to level everything off and then run a cultipacker. A tiller ran shallow can do this task also but from my experience a disc will do a better job of putting a light layer of dirt over the dead matter.

 

[randy41]

you will be much happier with the end result of tilling than plowing and disking. i would do all 3.

 

[sixdogs]

This is my earlier post below and I'd like to add to it that while this tiller works in his gravel-loamy-stony soil, it definitely would NOT work for someone in a clay area. It would work for a while but tillers create compaction where the blades scalp the earth and plants would not be readily able to penetrate the pan unless it was chisel plowed to break up that pan. Yes, have the tiller but also a chisel plow. Still forget the regular plow unless it's for the occasional romance of flipping the soil to invert residue.



i

Buy the tiller...forget the plow. With the tiller you can bounce over roots and rocks or obstacles and the surface will remain fairly smooth. A plow will leave clumps of dirt or roots and grass and be difficult to smooth. If I was doing hundreds of acres of hayfields in the stony glacial till of New England, I would own a tiller and never touch the ground with a plow and harrow. I have done both and in soil like yours the tiller wins without exception.

 

[Coginchaug]

Thanks everyone, great input

 

[bigbull338]

with your size tractor id buy the tiller.because itll breakup the ground just as good as a plow an be easier on your tractor.a plow is something that you would use to break the ground up deep.an really only need it once.

 

[bigtiller]

I really like to till gardens but I love to plow gardens. So I did both with my 2305. Moldboard plow in the fall and till in the spring. I traded up to a 2720 so now I am looking for a plow for it.

 

[seecerpent]

What about the worms?

Worms are extremely important to aerate and keep your soil fluffy, which allows plants to grow much better. I know of farmers who covet their worms so much that they won't sell any manure for fear of losing their worm content.

Tilling will chop up these little darlings quickly. Also tilling will pulverize the soil into a state that can make your garden ground as hard as cement if the clay content is high. Therefore I prefer the plough and harrow method, easier on the worms and gives you more seat time which is what it's all about unless you doing 150 acres at a time.

 

[sixdogs]

What about the worms?

Worms are extremely important to aerate and keep your soil fluffy, which allows plants to grow much better. I know of farmers who covet their worms so much that they won't sell any manure for fear of losing their worm content.

Tilling will chop up these little darlings quickly. Also tilling will pulverize the soil into a state that can make your garden ground as hard as cement if the clay content is high. Therefore I prefer the plough and harrow method, easier on the worms and gives you more seat time which is what it's all about unless you doing 150 acres at a time.

Wow...great comment. I forgot all about the worms and yes, if you deep till year after year you will lose worms. That bothers me about my garden so I only skim the surface with the tiller every other year. Because of my heavy clay, I chisel plow and then lightly till.
If I were doing a farm field or a lawn. something that would be a one-time type event I wouldn't have a problem with a tiller.

 

[City Farmer]

I have all three, tiller, plow & disc. Once you start using the tiller you'll probably never use the plow again. I've hit 3.5" roots and some 10" stumps. The tiller just rolls over them and chops them up with every pass. Make sure you adjust the slip clutch properly. I always try to till when its really dry because I try to save the worms too. I put 8.5 yards of horse manure in the garden this year and the tiller is the only way to go for mixing compost.