Fix'n to get a Tiller

[fishdrivel]

I used a tiller as a Landscape Contractor every day.
I had a 5, "First Choice" tiller behind my 29hp tractor.
I used it daily until I sold my tractor.
First Choice makes an excellent tiller, considering the price. I worked it very hard!
There are other good brands out there - and there is also a lot of junk.
I would buy a good used tiller before I would buy a junk new one.

 

[jyoutz]

Could have fooled me. Useful for what? Sucking down expensive diesel fuel and agitating the ground as in deep tilling? Why do you think smart farmers went from moldboard (deep tillage) to no till crops? Simple answer. Deep tillage (and that is exactly what a rototiller is), is wastefull both in fuel and nutrient retention.

backhoes (tractor mounted) and number one, rotary tillers are number 2. Most useless (and expensive) to buy and maintain implements.

Vegetable farmers don’t do no till. That’s only grain farmers. You obviously are clueless about vegetable growing.

 

[5030]

Vegetable farmers don’t do no till. That’s only grain farmers. You obviously are clueless about vegetable growing.

I'm not and the truck farmers here practice planting under plastic sheets on chiseled ground.

 

[PCABE5]

Why do you think smart farmers went from moldboard (deep tillage) to no till crops? Simple answer. Deep tillage (and that is exactly what a rototiller is), is wastefull both in fuel and nutrient retention.

Sounds like you've done some research on no-till. However, there's pros and cons to that process. Some of the advantages of no-till are soil erosion and moisture retention. Some of the cons of no-till are nutrient stratification, poor emergence, soil temperatures, bug problems, and disease issues.

So the bottom line is no till is not a one shoe fits all scenario. It depends on soil type, flatland versus hills, and whether you're in a northern climate or southern?

You will find a lot of Northern farmers. Don't do no-till but they will strip till. Some of those will do a light tillage, a disc, in the spring to break up the crop residue and then plant.

 

[coobie]

Could have fooled me. Useful for what? Sucking down expensive diesel fuel and agitating the ground as in deep tilling? Why do you think smart farmers went from moldboard (deep tillage) to no till crops? Simple answer. Deep tillage (and that is exactly what a rototiller is), is wastefull both in fuel and nutrient retention.

backhoes (tractor mounted) and number one, rotary tillers are number 2. Most useless (and expensive) to buy and maintain implements.

Hey big shot how about the local Joe farmer putting in food plots or a decent garden should they not use a 3 pt tiller? On a side note I love my 3pt tiller.

 

[coobie]

I rate 3 point tillers right up there with tractor backhoes., or should I say down there. Tractor backhoes are tops for uselessness on my list however.

And who cares what you think everyone has different needs for their property.

 

[coobie]

For those who have a tiller, how do they handle roots and buried objects ?


That's not helpful, Why do not like King Kutter?

Pay no attention tp 5030 he is a big blow hard who thinks he has 10 million $$ in the bank

 

[BoylermanCT]

I've used my tiller for gardening, planting new lawn, site prep for an above ground pool, clearing brush and bushes in wooded areas and around my pond and the tiller makes good ballast for loader work.

No till farming scares me because of the Roundup (glyphosate) and other chemicals they pour on the ground and then plant crops a few weeks later. I've driven by green fields that were sprayed and within a few days everything died and a few weeks later they were growing corn. And we wonder why we have health issues that our forefathers never had.

To the OP, I highly recommend the KKII tiller. It tills down to 8" and is easy to control if you want shallower tilling. Its built like a tank and just gets the job done.

 

[jyoutz]

I'm not and the truck farmers here practice planting under plastic sheets on chiseled ground.

Maybe where you live. The big veggie growers in the SW, CA, and TX definitely till the fields.

 

[spruce Deere]

Looking at adding a tiller to the yard.
Currently i'm running a 3 turning plow and disking. I'm thinking a Tiller will speed up the process and get me the results I'm looking for.
I've searched the threads and found too many to read through. I'm thinking a 72" or 84" . King Kutter II is local and rated pretty good. Whats Y'all got?

I have a 60" KK tiller. Run the hell out of it every year preparing fields for tree seedlings, minimum of two acres per field. Makes real nice smooth, even tilth of soil for planting seedlings.

Sometimes I will break ground with a heavy off set disc before tilling, sometimes I just hit the field with the KK tiller.... Depends on moisture of the soil, timing or just available time.

I run 00 grease in my side gear box and I think 85-140 gear oil in the top box. The reason for the 00 grease in the side box is after about two years oil started to weep from the box around the torque tube. KK recommended that, so I did it. No oil weeps and still works fine years later. I also added 'trash guards' to the torque tube to help keep woody stems and other tangling stuffs from wrapping around the tube and into the seal A guy should dig that crud out when it accumulates....

I did have to replace a U-joint a little later that same season. Its a common u-joint and Napa has them on hand, Precision 334 u-joint.

I use too till gardens on top of tree farm usage, but not so many now. Like I said, I run the H-E double hockey sticks out of my kk tiller.

 

[jstrick]

I have a 72" Long brand tiller - very well made and it does amazing job for loosening and aerating the soil. It was a strain on the old Farmall (27 HP) but my new Kubota MX6000 (53 PTO HP) doesn't even notice it. I've never had a problem with Ozark mountain rocks (a few dings in the cover is all) or roots, but all of what I till is already cleared.

 

[tjandrews]

I'm not and the truck farmers here practice planting under plastic sheets on chiseled ground.

Plastic sheets that are only used one season, then taken up and sent to a landfill, to be replaced with more plastic next year. And yet they call themselves "sustainable."

We're too small to be a "truck farm," yet I've been growing vegetables for sale locally for 60 years. We bought a barely-used Tractor Supply "Countyline" tiller 6 years ago, and use it every spring. The Tractor Supply tiller is rebranded, made by another company, but I don't know which. I've heard King Kutter, but I've heard others, too.

The first year we just tilled up the vegetable ground, but decided that was too hard on the tiller and too slow. Now we plow first, and use the tiller to break up the ground after. Especially helpful for planting pumpkins on a plowed alfalfa/grass sod. It would have been nice if the tiller had been wider, but the price was excellent for no more than it had been used, so we get along with it.

 

[STAYSAFE]

What is your PTO power. You need at least 5 horses per foot of width. I don't have one, don't need one but if I was to get one, King Kutter would be my last choice.

I had to replace the seals on my Countyline’s gearbox within the first hour of using it.

 

[mahovy]

Looking at adding a tiller to the yard.
Currently i'm running a 3 turning plow and disking. I'm thinking a Tiller will speed up the process and get me the results I'm looking for.
I've searched the threads and found too many to read through. I'm thinking a 72" or 84" . King Kutter II is local and rated pretty good. Whats Y'all got?

My experience with tillers and plows is that the tiller doesn’t go as deep as a plow/turner. Also roots and rocks will bounce the tiller as most plows will flip them with the dirt.

 

[3gunr]

Could have fooled me. Useful for what? Sucking down expensive diesel fuel and agitating the ground as in deep tilling? Why do you think smart farmers went from moldboard (deep tillage) to no till crops? Simple answer. Deep tillage (and that is exactly what a rototiller is), is wastefull both in fuel and nutrient retention.

backhoes (tractor mounted) and number one, rotary tillers are number 2. Most useless (and expensive) to buy and maintain implements.

As usual no actual usable information , Just your useless opinion.

 

[tjandrews]

I had to replace the seals on my Countyline’s gearbox within the first hour of using it.

That has not been our experience at all. Must be either we are incredibly lucky, or you are incredibly unlucky.

 

[Mart5130]

I have a Titan UM-56 tiller. It's heavy duty and built in USA. It says 56" but its the same width as my tractor including the rear tires. Its got a clutch instead of shear pins.

I'm glad about the clutch. It's worked when I needed it to.

With your plow - cut your fresh patch with the plow then hit it again with the tiller you will have a beautiful garden patch ready to plant.

I think our big veggie garden (we have several) is about 150' x 40'

After my neighbor hit it with his JD 4030 and a 6 disc Moldboard Plow I tilled it all up 2x took me about a 1/2 hour going easy. That was compacted clay. With the Moldboard Plow it turned the grass upside down and I planted a cover crop on most of it and taters and beats first season. We still have a good supply in hand.

I have a 52hp tractor and when tilling I barley know its there. I gotta keep an eye on it in case a rock jams it up and locks up the drive shaft. I've smoked the clutch not watching but no problems. If it was a sheer pin I'd have broke it. I gotta big root stuck init.

I have the same tiller- Titan Implement- Very well built and have it on my 35 hp Kioti. Mine does have a sticker on it that says “made in India” FYI but no problems at all with it. It’s a beast!

 

[Massey convert]

I also have a King Kutter, it seems to be well built, and works well. I was surprised by the depth it tilled, about 6 inches. I would like it to be deeper, but the garden grows just fine being tilled at that depth. It does a nice job of grinding the dirt up, I usually overlap, so in effect I'm tilling it twice. I have no doubt when it hits a rock, and it will find them all. As for choosing a brand, I didn't have much choice, shopping locally. When I was looking, I did not see any used ones for sale, I suspect that once most people own/use one, they don't want to give it up.

 

[jyoutz]

I've got a Woods tiller. It seems to do a good job. I've had it for over 20 years with no problems. They used to be pretty common and I would think you would have some Woods dealers in your area.

I’ve had my Woods tiller over 20 years and bought it used from an equipment rental company. That thing is durable.

 

[Bobrown14]

Could have fooled me. Useful for what? Sucking down expensive diesel fuel and agitating the ground as in deep tilling? Why do you think smart farmers went from moldboard (deep tillage) to no till crops? Simple answer. Deep tillage (and that is exactly what a rototiller is), is wastefull both in fuel and nutrient retention.

backhoes (tractor mounted) and number one, rotary tillers are number 2. Most useless (and expensive) to buy and maintain implements.

True on the nutrient retention. We have to break up the hard pan somehow. The moldboard turns the soil and cover crop over 180 degrees - that in turn breaks down to help grow micro-organisms that in turn make better tilth and help restore the humus which is totally gone with hard pan.

We have to start somewhere. How do you go from hard pan clay to humus without turning the soil??

What we did was moldboard 18" turn over the grass that was barely alive in the clay and then tilled that down with a tiller as deep as I could go, then top dress with compost (not manure) and plant a cover crop of oats. Planted several rows of garlic too.

Next spring we will plant veggies without tilling.

Ideally Id have loved to add a shaper to the back of the tiller and make raised beds but we did that the old fashioned way - my wife did it with a shovel and a rake while I kabitzed around with the tractor . Someone has to clean it.