3 point cultivators are not equal???

[gotrocks]

Back for some more thoughts from this knowledge base.
I still have my Kub B-2910 and am very satisfied with performance.

I would like to have thoughts on a 3 point cultivator. At present I have a small corn patch 60x60 feet. The grass/weeds are almost as high as the corn.

Please suggest some cultivators that will help me next year.
Also are there any attachments I should consider for the cultivator?
This year the rows are not evenly spaced.

I could also benefit for a "spacing" diagram for next years planting.
It seems to me the rows would be at least a couple of feet apart based on the tread width of my Kub.

Any experienced farmers can tell I don't know much about this subject, so all help will be appreciated. Pictures are a plus.
Thank you, ALL who reply.

 

[bp fick]

OK, when planting, use a stake at both ends. Evenly spaced according to your row spacing. 32", 34" 36" are all common distances, but should be the distance of the your rear wheel spacing on your tractor. We can talk more about that later. If you are going to walk the rows with a front tine or rear tine walk behind roto tiller, you can put that required spacing into the equation. If you use your tractor, with 3 pt cultivator, as I do as well, then this is factored.

Use mason or bricklayer string, which is top notch, thick and heavy string.

Use a hoe, (I like the pointed hoes for planting) to make your seed trench along the string. Your rows will be arrow straight and even.

It's getting too dark to take photos of my rows. They are 150 feet long and yes, I still use the string at that distance.

 

[milkman]

Here's an old IH cultivator that I use, works well with 32" row spacing. Fun to use and a lot faster than the rototiller.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/customization/86248-cultivator-redo.html

 

[bp fick]

OK, sorry about the low light conditions and apologize for shooting through the deer fencing, but there it is. Those rows are 150' or 2 and half times as long as your rows. This is merely to show that staking and string is still useful at that distance. Construction guys stake and string longer distances on roadwork and block layers string out a course of block very long distances too, especially on commercial buildings.

If you want arrow straight, and I do, not just because of vanity, but because with these rear cultivators, you have to be very accurate or you take out your plants.

I much, much prefer the old days when we used Massey Harris and Farmalls and you were looking down at your feet. But the modern cut just isn't set up that way, unfortunately.

 

[gotrocks]

Thank you bp and milkman, that was quick.

Yep, I'm a string man, (most of the time) I like straight also.

Now, I've found cultivators on web for $129 $229 $329 and up.

Since I have a rototiller and middle buster, I can break up the soil pretty good.

What construction features (weight - size of frame members - ???) should I check?

 

[bp fick]

I bought my simple cultivator from TSC. I had a 10% coupon, I bought it in February and the manager had to pull it out of the snow. He wanted it gone. They don't list for that much anyhow, but I got about 20% off the retail price. $240 I think. For that price, I cannot complain. It's a basic KK, but it's fine.

It has two holes for each tine position and room to drill more for even more adjustment. I did have to take the sawsall and cut off the little inner ears, as they interfered with turnbuckle chains of my 3 pt. On your B, you'd likely not even have to do that.

I made an exception in this purchase and did not buy the XB for my Kubota BX. Two reasons. First, if I upgrade to a B series, this cultivator will work well and second, the XB versions are just too flimsy. Usually the XB tools are just great, but not in this case.

 

[charlz]

You can use 2,4,d on corn to knock the broadleaf weeds down. IIRC the corn has to be at least 8" high and it might make it a little brittle for a while. Since my corn patch is 20x40 or so I hand spray and try to not get much on the corn itself. Cultivating every 7 days or so works until the corn is too tall to drive over. Since we use flood here I just go back over the rows with the same furrowing shovels I originally laid the rows out with. Combination of furrows and a low tractor means I can't cultivate for long.

 

[gotrocks]

Please check me out here. Seems lately I've been "measuring twice" and still get it wrong.
B-2810 is 28 inches between tires 54 inches outside treads. So I'm assuming my row spacing should be 28 inches.
If this is correct, how close should the center tines be to center to clear plants?
Even with string to mark, I'll probably waver a little.
Here's my diagram showing tire tracks and plants.

View attachment 166678

milkman, that is one clean good looking set up. Thanks for the pics.

 

[bp fick]

Please check me out here. Seems lately I've been "measuring twice" and still get it wrong.
B-2810 is 28 inches between tires 54 inches outside treads. So I'm assuming my row spacing should be 28 inches.
If this is correct, how close should the center tines be to center to clear plants?
Even with string to mark, I'll probably waver a little.
Here's my diagram showing tire tracks and plants.

View attachment 166678

milkman, that is one clean good looking set up. Thanks for the pics.

If you go 28" you'll be running over stuff for sure.

Think of it this way, and I hope, hope this helps. If you planted rows 28" the distance between two rows would be 56", in other words, the outside width of your wheels. No way you can make it between.

Go 32", 34" or 36". And this depends on how wide the plant is you are sowing. If the plant gets 12" wide, say a potato or tomato width, then you'll need 36" minimum. If it is an onion field, then 32" might be just wide enough. Hope that helps.

 

[charlz]

I lay out my rows based on the width of my tires/tractor. You drive down, when you drive back one set of tires is in the tire rut/furrow of the first pass. Repeat until all the rows are laid out. This gives you a row width of 'inside spacing' + 'one wheel width' or in your case 41".

Plant two rows into that nice 'raised bed' the tires leave behind and adjust the cultivator to fit the rows. Every time you go to cultivate you just need to keep the tires in the furrows.

BTW I till and then lay out the rows with furrowing shovels since we flood irrigate here.