Vines/briars getting caught in tiller

[thunder86]

So I’ve got an overgrown field I used my cutter on and tried to till it only getting a couple passes and now having to stop and spend hours digging out vines/briars/grasses.
So I can cut it lower, in future I can try and cut it at 3 hights to break things down better. But most the stuff just pushes over and lays flat especially the vines.
I do have a box blade with rip teeth that may grab this junk and get it outa the way before I till.
My main questions are what is the best way to get this junk off my tiller and secondly does this same issue happen with a disc? Seems like a disc would just cut a vine before it wrapped up on it. Thanks.

 

[sea2summit]

It can happen with a disk, when material is like that I just straighten my disks, weight it down and cross hatch it a few time to chop as much as I can. Nice part about disks is when it does wrap it's really easy to get off with a saw and a careful hand, brush hogs and tillers when they get wrapped seem to love to cram stuff right up against bushings and make themselves a pain in general to get cleaned/freed up.

 

[bmaverick]

After mowing, best to come back with a notched disc harrow. a dual gang would do awesome in your application. Even if you can rent or barrow one for the job the tiller would be better off in the finish passes.

The down side is, vines are very troublesome. Even after discing them, you go from a hand full to hundreds of little ones that then regrow. Constant mowing tends to rid them over a few years.

 

[thunder86]

After mowing, best to come back with a notched disc harrow. a dual gang would do awesome in your application. Even if you can rent or barrow one for the job the tiller would be better off in the finish passes.

The down side is, vines are very troublesome. Even after discing them, you go from a hand full to hundreds of little ones that then regrow. Constant mowing tends to rid them over a few years.

What do you mean dual gang? I may I have to cut what I want in food plots in the winter months and till early spring while everything is dead still.

 

[bmaverick]

What do you mean dual gang? I may I have to cut what I want in food plots in the winter months and till early spring while everything is dead still.

dual gang - - -

single gang
(not a big fan of this setup)

Mine is notched dual gang double row (see below). Thus, it's ideal for areas with plenty of woods nearby or areas that were recently logged.

It's been a great working piece of equipment for root busting and pulling the rocks out from under the soil to the top. The gangs are also adjustable to the right attack angle too. Over 3,000 trees logged at my place. This tool has been the best thing ever to get the soil back to full pasture.

 

[bigtiller]

When the tiller gets plugged, a tile knife speeds the cleaning process along.

 

[California]

When the tiller gets plugged, a tile knife speeds the cleaning process along.
View attachment 714358

Beat me to it! I bought a couple of cheap linoleum knives at HF and jammed one into a piece of conduit so I can reach the center from either side. It stays on the tiller held by a bungie cord. Essential!

But mowing first is sufficient for grass alone. Blackberry vines? Good luck.

 

[bigtiller]

Beat me to it! I bought a couple of cheap linoleum knives at HF and jammed one into a piece of conduit so I can reach the center from either side. It stays on the tiller held by a bungie cord. Essential!

But mowing first is sufficient for grass alone. Blackberry vines? Good luck.

if i remember correctly, i got the idea from you. THANKS!

 

[Gee Ray]

Can you run the disk or tiller around the outside edge to create a fire stop and then burn the field? I am not sure if this would work for your application.

 

[Smokeydog]

I’ve got a Baltic and Howard tillers that have curved self cleaning tines. Can till 6’ Johnson grass, blackberries or deep in the woods. Have even tilled kudzu. Rarely wrap. See straight tine garden tillers at the farm supply stores wandered how they performed.
Not new. Howard rotovator is probably 60 years old.

 

[Diggin It]

So I’ve got an overgrown field I used my cutter

What kind of cutter? The field and brush mower in my sig is essentially a 36" self propelled rotary cutter. When I got done clearing a field of blackberries and other stuff, there was virtually nothing left. It had all been mulched down to chaff that blended into the ground. The stuff was over six feet tall in places and bound together like junk barbed wire.

 

[Captain Dirty]

In addition to the parrot's beak (linoleum or pruning knives) I use longshoreman's hooks (bale, large or bag, small)

 

[Torvy]

Depending on your land layout... Vines, it turns out, don't do well in fires. Cut it down, do a controlled burn, then disk and/or till. The ash can be good for the soil, too. The heat often kills the root ball, so you get less regrowth.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

I have never used a tiller on non disced ground. I would cut with a Bush Hog, then skin it with a lawn mower, disc, then tiller. Thats just on new ground. I have cleared land with a lawn mower. Poor little lawn mower.

 

[thunder86]

What kind of cutter? The field and brush mower in my sig is essentially a 36" self propelled rotary cutter. When I got done clearing a field of blackberries and other stuff, there was virtually nothing left. It had all been mulched down to chaff that blended into the ground. The stuff was over six feet tall in places and bound together like junk barbed wire.

Bobcat rotary cutter.

 

[brooksalee]

Depending on your land layout... Vines, it turns out, don't do well in fires. Cut it down, do a controlled burn, then disk and/or till. The ash can be good for the soil, too. The heat often kills the root ball, so you get less regrowth.

Agree about controlled burn. I had to do that the first year I owned my 90 acres (burned about 15 acres of overgrown pasture) and paid to have professionals with the state assist for $350. They did the perimeter prep and started the fire, loaded up and left. Ten years later, we do the annual maintenance work and have great food plots.

 

[sixdogs]

I built a tool like this with a long handle and it works perfectly for easily getting "twiny" things out of my tiller. Here's a pic with info on it. It's post 102.


It's got a little hook on the tip of the blade so you can insert into the mass of vines and just pull backwards. Stuff comes out very easy.

Show What Tool You Made*

I had recycled some parts off of my auto bullet sizer (goes with the auto caster in post #95) but put it back together today and shot a short video of how it works. Click photo to play video.

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[mo1]

So I’ve got an overgrown field I used my cutter on and tried to till it only getting a couple passes and now having to stop and spend hours digging out vines/briars/grasses.
So I can cut it lower, in future I can try and cut it at 3 hights to break things down better. But most the stuff just pushes over and lays flat especially the vines.
I do have a box blade with rip teeth that may grab this junk and get it outa the way before I till.
My main questions are what is the best way to get this junk off my tiller and secondly does this same issue happen with a disc? Seems like a disc would just cut a vine before it wrapped up on it. Thanks.

Cut it fairly low with a rotary mower first. If you have blackberries, roses, or other brambles, slow down to a crawl when mowing to give the mower enough time to shred all of the brambles. You will still have a few that get knocked down and mowed over rather than shredded, so go back in the opposite direction to get those. Then, plow it under and let it sit for a month or so. That will bury the surface residue and give it time to decompose. Then go and till it with the tiller and you will have little to no issues with plugging.

A disc will help to slice up surface trash. They can get plugged somewhat but much, much less than a tiller or a field cultivator.