TILLING VS PLOW AND HARROW

[newbury]

The reason I said plow first

<snip>The land was wooded until last year when I cleared it. <snip>

is roots. My single bottom 16" plow would almost stall my 50HP M4700 with unloaded tires when it was breaking thru dense roots. I couldn't imagine my tiller forcing it's way thru the almost solid mass of roots. Now the roots are broken up, but the tiller still struggles with a lot of crunching.

I might try it on a piece I've cleared but not plowed.

 

[Car Doc]

I use the 2 bottom plow I have for break new ground then disc and then till. I dont have tree roots like you probably do luckily but if I was to pick only one tool to do the job it would be the tiller hands down it gets by far the most use in my arsenal.

And jmho but I would get a forward rotation it will tend to go over instead of pull under a root but that's entirely a personal decision and in no way an attack on reverse tillers there are always better tools for every job. my .002

 

[crazyal]

My plan is when i'm ready for a garden is to buy a plow off of craig's list, break the ground, and then sell it. Single bottom plows sell fast around here so I doubt I would loose any money and it could be as short as a week. Hopefully after that a tiller would be all I need.

 

[Ivan49]

For your use I would go with the tiller hands down. I have a 2 bottom 16 inch plow, a 5 foot disk, and a 62 inch tiller. I use the tiller most of the time. I have food plots with the largest being about 3 acres and it takes forever to till but 1 pass does it all. The last few years I noticed things not doing as well as in past years so on I put the plow on and plowed it. It had never been plowed before and I have used the tiller on it for the last 15 or so years. I think I got deep compaction using the tiller as when I plowed it the ground was hard underneath. I planrted rye in it and last summer the rye was taller than the hood on the tractor. As for real large areas a tiller is not the way to go unless you have a lot of time because it is so slow. Another thing that hasn't been mentioned is a drag or sping tooth harrow as it is called in other areas. I have a 3 point hitch one and a pull behind one. The pull behind one is 12 foot wide and it will level an area faster than anything else I have. As for a tiller in rocks, it depends on how big they are. If your ground has stones 8 to 10 inch dia plan on replacing tines as I usually break one or 2 a year. I pick them up but next year I have a new crop

 

[zonta223]

I've read all the post and found nothing about tillers causing "ground compaction". Its been proven many times in vineyards that the ground gets compacted under tiller depth. The top is nice and fluffy but unless the hard pad which is formed under tiller depth is broken up by a plow or ripper over a number of seasons it can turn into something as hard as concrete.

 

[Ivan49]

I've read all the post and found nothing about tillers causing "ground compaction". Its been proven many times in vineyards that the ground gets compacted under tiller depth. The top is nice and fluffy but unless the hard pad which is formed under tiller depth is broken up by a plow or ripper over a number of seasons it can turn into something as hard as concrete.

That is what I said in my post above. Only thing I ever used on my food plot was a tiller and once in a while a disk. I know for a fact that the tiller caused the compaction. Another thing I found was a plow buries the old plant material and kills any weeds as I did not have to use any weed killer last year on it

 

[zonta223]

That is what I said in my post above. Only thing I ever used on my food plot was a tiller and once in a while a disk. I know for a fact that the tiller caused the compaction. Another thing I found was a plow buries the old plant material and kills any weeds as I did not have to use any weed killer last year on it

Sorry my mistake

 

[sixdogs]

I've read all the post and found nothing about tillers causing "ground compaction". Its been proven many times in vineyards that the ground gets compacted under tiller depth. The top is nice and fluffy but unless the hard pad which is formed under tiller depth is broken up by a plow or ripper over a number of seasons it can turn into something as hard as concrete.

Was noted in an earlier post. See below.
Compaction can be a real problem in clay soil but is a non-event in the gravel-loam of New England.

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.



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[Car Doc]

Just for conversation but talking about the benefit from plowing and compaction isn't it the tractor running all over it rather than the tiller that causes the compaction? Just asking out of common sense thinking.

fwtw I turned my garden this year and was amazed how tight the ground had gotten after a few years of disc and till and it could be all the sand I have heck if I know but it was a workout for my tractor had to do it in 4wd.

 

[sixdogs]

I have heard it said that the disc harrow causes significant compaction on clay soil. Something about the pressure of the curved disc blade against the soil.

 

[the old grind]

IMO it's neither the tiller or the tractor by themselves that compact heavy soils. Clay will compact itself, and 'fluffing' up the coarser elements will allow the fines to work their way below them and settle. We get the same effect with crusher run on our driveways, no?

While I like the tiller for its versatility, an occasional deep plowing will 'turn things over' and is a must have with clay or other heavy bases. What's different with our varying soil types is but a matter of how often it's needed to 'stir' our buckwheat, clover, compost, or other biomass down to, or below, root level.

Perhaps the OP can co-op some sharing of tools for each task. I'd bet if he just buys one of everything someone will come around to borrow them ...

 

[Car Doc]

There is some wisdom in that it makes good sense to me thanks for the thoughts. :thumbsup: