Question for you guy with tillers

[Gem99ultra]

I've tilled our garden with much higher weeds than you're faced with. Go ahead with the tiller, either 5' or 6', doesn't matter all that much.

What I've done is to till it on the first pass very shallow, maybe 2", just enough to cut the top layer. Then on the cross path go down further if you wish. Just remember, the deeper you go the more rocks and other unwanted objects are going to surface.

Much of the grass will get chopped up although you likely will see some green for a day or two. Not much you can do about that short of using round-up or burning. Not a big deal though since you're seeding right away. Soon it'll all look great.

 

[Ivan49]

As others have said, you will need to wait until the soil is dry enough to use a tiller on it. When the top several inches of the the soil are dry enough to crumble into your hand, then you can till it. Otherwise, it will be a very sticky mess and likely clog the tiller tines until the tiller is useless.

Good luck!

That depends on the type of soil he has. But you should not work any soil if it is to wet as it increases compaction

 

[IslandTractor]

I've used a King Kutter 6ft tiller in areas that had foot high grass. The grass was not a problem but the old grape vine roots underneath made a real mess. They were too strong for the tiller to rip so wrapped around it. Had to use a sawzall and crow bar to get them off. Nasty. Grass shouldn't be a problem because the tiller is strong enough to just tear it up.

 

[Ivan49]

I've used a King Kutter 6ft tiller in areas that had foot high grass. The grass was not a problem but the old grape vine roots underneath made a real mess. They were too strong for the tiller to rip so wrapped around it. Had to use a sawzall and crow bar to get them off. Nasty. Grass shouldn't be a problem because the tiller is strong enough to just tear it up.

I found a 10 foot long piece of 1/2 pipe once. It wrapped around the tiller just like a spring. Had to cut it out with my torch between each time

 

[IslandTractor]

I found a 10 foot long piece of 1/2 pipe once. It wrapped around the tiller just like a spring. Had to cut it out with my torch between each time

I've also found a 50ft garden hose with my flail mower. It shot threw the 12" grass from in front of the tractor so I could see something moving very fast towards me. I thought for a second or two, until the tractor stalled, that I was about to be attacked by the biggest meanest snake I'd ever imagined. After surviving that attack, I was happy to spend twenty minutes cutting hose off the rotor!

 

[Tigershark]

I have a 6ft KK tiller and have tilled several acres this spring. I have had to adjust the Slip Clutch a few times depending on the hard clay ground. If you could till after a rain it would probably be easier, our clay turns very hard after it dries out and I usually make two passes once to strip the first 2-3 inches of grass off then another pass to go deeper. I typically spray 7 days before tilling, sometime I have mowed and sometimes I have just tilled 2 ft grass, never had any issues with grass getting caught in the tines

 

[mapper]

If you do use a tiller be sure to run it at full PTO speed, that will insure that the tines will cut rather than wrap the grass and weed stems up. Unwrapping a clogged tiller is not any fun! I've only had to clean up the ends of my 60" tiller, but I can't begin to count the times I've unwrapped, cut and cussed at the troy built I used over the years.

 

[tcreeley]

Skip the roundup - just poison. Tilling should take care of the weeds. If you are worried about them wrapping around the tines, bush hog first. It will chop everything fine.

 

[screamin400]

I've also found a 50ft garden hose with my flail mower. It shot threw the 12" grass from in front of the tractor so I could see something moving very fast towards me. I thought for a second or two, until the tractor stalled, that I was about to be attacked by the biggest meanest snake I'd ever imagined. After surviving that attack, I was happy to spend twenty minutes cutting hose off the rotor!

You have brought back one of the scariest times in my life. I will explain. When was younger (as in much) I was brush hogging a neighbors field that had been idle forever. I was running a 125 hp tractor that day thank goodness. I saw something coming through the grass toward me rapidly. I swear first thing I thought of was I was under attack by a snake. This had to be 100 feet behind the mower. It ended up being an old barb wire fence. It came flying at me and wrapped around the cab completely a few times locking me in the cab. I had to go back to our farm and have my Dad cut me out. Thank goodness I took a tractor with a cab that day.

 

[coralhead]

I found my chain I was looking for with my LandPride tiller. I was wondering where that thing went.

 

[screamin400]

So here is how the day panned out. Went to my Mahindra dealer and purchased a 6' tiller. Took it to the field and tilled and tilled. Called the contractor for the job and told him 1/4 of the field is too wet. He told me to till it anyway. I told him I could stock it with fish. Got told to till it anyway so till away I did. He asked when will it be ready to seed? I told him next weekend if he did it right. He told me it has to be ready for Monday. I told him it will not be dry enough. He told me keep tilling. I sent him a video of me with all 4 wheels spinning until I had to back up. He told me to keep tilling. Know what I did? I kept tilling. He can deal with the mess. He can pay me to come back in two weeks and retill when no grass comes up and the owner complains it is rough. I know you guys are cringing reading this but you are preaching to the choir. Tomorrow I will be back out tilling. The new tiller worked great until the back deflector lost a cotter pin and fell off. Not the way I wanted to start with a new tiller. I am pretty sure you could not beat a tiller any more than I did today. Top 1/2 of this field I am pretty sure has no dirt. I think I was trying to pulverize the stone. Got me some dents and dings but it took it great.

 

[mapper]

Congratulations on your new implement, I'm sure you will find it very useful.
Having tilled my garden plot once when it was too wet, I'm sure that the contractor is going to really regret that decision - hardened mud is pretty hard to get stuff to grow well in. Glad to hear that you did not get stuck in the mud as well.

On the subject of wrapping stuff up in equipment, I've guess I been really lucky (so far!) and have not sucked any wire or hoses into either implement. My neighbor, not so much, a few years ago they worked out an agreement with another neighbor to rent his pasture which had not been used for a number of years.
I had a ringside seat for the festivities as I was re-screwing the roof of my 35+ year old steel shop building. My neighbor was brush hogging the overgrown pastures which had been fenced about thirty years ago with high tensile New Zealand fence (also not maintained for a number of years). Over the course of the the afternoon he found every piece of high tensile strength wire hidden in the overgrown pasture - the hard way . It made me cringe every time I heard his mower come to a screaming, crashing halt as another length of wire wound up around the blades and stump jumper.
I was really glad it wasn't me dealing with it. I also resolved that if I ever found myself in a similar situation I would be doing a bit of walking along the fence lines prior to spinning up the brush hog!

 

[jenkinsph]

Be careful, you may find if the customer is out of this loop (your conversation with the contractor she hired) that you will be the one who is blamed for the mess. In a small business working as a sub you need to know when to say no to a job. Sure you may get paid all the same but to the passer by and the property owner it will appear that you did a lousy job. That can spread quickly in a community and you will be the one who comes up short, everything you say will sound like excuses.

When the conditions are too wet my equipment is parked and the first thought is that hurts financially. But making a mess and rutting up driveways and fields just makes it worse. So sometimes it is cheaper to stay home and paint the bathroom.

 

[DieselBound]

^^^ Excellent point! I know that I try to refrain from operating any equipment on my property when it's wet. (not always successful, but it's become patently clear to me that I do NOT like doing it- if I have an option it would be to opt out)

 

[screamin400]

I got to be there today when he told her we were not seeding the wet area. I told him I was not working it up as I believe it is a large spring and nothing I am going to do will dry it up. He told her this and she was fine with it. Better to tell her up front. The spot was actually wetter today than yesterday with no rain. Rest of the field is looking pretty good. I think I can finish it tomorrow pending all my late afternoon issues that came up. Anyone ever back into a magnetic tree with a new trailer? Yes, Yes I did. I can back a trailer up as well as anyone you have ever seen. I actually owned a trailer dealership and yes I hit a tree today. Do not back down a farm path that is dark with dark sunglasses on. I had to get out to see what I hit. So I took the gate off. Spun it around and backed into another tree to straighten it. Got it straight. While doing that I blew a brake line on my truck. Who blows a brake line not moving? Me thats who. I just came down a very steep hill with stop sign at the bottom and I get home and then blow a hose? May have actually been my lucky day.

 

[Bronco82]

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but don't want to start another thread about tillers and grass and rocks. I bush hogged my field for the first time ever and the six feet tall grass came down no problem. I was thoroughly impressed. Now I want to remove all the bumps and ruts in the field and plan on using a tiller or set of discs, probably a tiller as a coworker has one I can borrow.

From my understanding, as basic as it may be, run the tiller at full PTO speed, and is it possible to go only a few inches deep to chew up the top layer and hopefully not dig into the rocks deeper down? The tiller at full PTO speed to help chew and throw grass so it doesn't wrap up in the tiller? Is it ok to find a couple rocks in the three acres I plan on tilling or am I looking at breaking something if that is the case? I apologize for my ignorance in the matter.

 

[Tigershark]

If I am on unknown ground I always make a couple of passes with my heavy duty disc, it lets me see what I am going to be up against with the tiller. if you have a slip clutch then hopefully the tiller would slip before breaking, mine has but I also try and avoid large rocks, small ones don't seem to be a big deal it climbs over them but wouldn't want to hit something big

 

[bigtiller]

If you think you have rocks, I wouldn't run a tiller at full PTO speed. Especially a borrowed tiller. I'm thinking northern ontario has rocks. A disc would be a much better method.

 

[Bronco82]

I have made about ten passes with the box blade with the scarifiers at max depth and at minimum depth and located various sizes of rocks. From softball sized, to a little over basketball sized. This was where I THINK is the worst place, as it was an old farm field that hasn't been maintained in years and this was the beginning of the field nearest the house.

 

[IslandTractor]

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but don't want to start another thread about tillers and grass and rocks. I bush hogged my field for the first time ever and the six feet tall grass came down no problem. I was thoroughly impressed. Now I want to remove all the bumps and ruts in the field and plan on using a tiller or set of discs, probably a tiller as a coworker has one I can borrow.

From my understanding, as basic as it may be, run the tiller at full PTO speed, and is it possible to go only a few inches deep to chew up the top layer and hopefully not dig into the rocks deeper down? The tiller at full PTO speed to help chew and throw grass so it doesn't wrap up in the tiller? Is it ok to find a couple rocks in the three acres I plan on tilling or am I looking at breaking something if that is the case? I apologize for my ignorance in the matter.

I'm not sure a tiller is the right tool for you. A tiller disturbs and mixes turf and soil. What you really want is a grader and the closest tractor implements are box blade or landplane or land rake or back blade. A tiller will help a bit but only if you follow up with a rake or back blade IMO. A FEL/bucket mounted "Ratchet Rake" would be excellent for smaller areas. Anything more than an acre and I'd go to a box blade first with scarifiers set for a few inches deep. Multiple passes at 90 degree angles should smooth things out nicely. Tilling is slower and IMO stresses both tractor and tiller way more than a simple heavy boxblade.