Tilling frozen ground?

[bigtiller]

I did it once and I advise to not waist your time doing it. The tiller will just bounce up/down.

We had an early Easter one year and a customer just had to get his potatoes planted on Good Friday. So he removed eight, 5x5 round bails of hay from his garden the morning before I came to do the tilling.

It was a sunny 50 degree day and the garden tilled up great, except for where the hay was stored. That ground was still frozen.

I ran 3 passes over that spot, getting less than an inch deep, and all I worked up was thin slivers of soil that the sun quickly turned into a greasy mess.

 

[jk96]

I did it once and I advise to not waist your time doing it. The tiller will just bounce up/down.

We had an early Easter one year and a customer just had to get his potatoes planted on Good Friday. So he removed eight, 5x5 round bails of hay from his garden the morning before I came to do the tilling.

It was a sunny 50 degree day and the garden tilled up great, except for where the hay was stored. That ground was still frozen.

I ran 3 passes over that spot, getting less than an inch deep, and all I worked up was thin slivers of soil that the sun quickly turned into a greasy mess.

Until you've tried it a lot of people dont realize how hard even an inch or two of frozen soil is to breakup. Similar to concrete in my experience.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

An excavator is the only successful tool I have used for moving frozen ground.

 

[garry1p]

You might try it with box blade shanks. However; it will probably take many passes at shallow dept.

I had the great idea of digging up fire ant mounds in the winter and freeze the little critters to death.
As others said it was like trying to break up concrete.

 

[oldnslo]

If your tiller is one that counter rotates or lifts the soil you might have a chance if thin layer of frost and dig a trench to start tiller in so lifting frost as you drive forward.

When farming we use the practice of if you can shove a screw driver or similar object in the ground by hand you can usually do tillage that is lifting and breaking the frost crust.

 

[RayIN]

Your idea won't work, and you might wind up buying a new tiller if you proceed now. Frozen ground expands, as it thaws it begins to settle back to normalcy.
I recommend you wait until about the last of April after the ground has settled.

I love to watch those Amish plowing frozen ground with a team of horses, since they don't use tractors for power.

 

[wolc123]

If you decide to try it, please make a video. It would probably get tons of hits on YouTube.

 

[Lucky_Ducky]

If you decide to try it, please make a video. It would probably get tons of hits on YouTube.

This is the most subtle, yet best response to internet dumbassery

Spring thaw it is!