BH for plow and tiller?

[rooftrussman]

I've got a 1210 Ford w/BH and loader. It gets used for odds and ends of building jobs. I've always used a hand fork for tilling a small garden every year. I have an 8 and 16 inch bucket for the BH. Any thoughts on the best way to tackle this. Even if I had a tiller attachment, the time to switch out wouldn't seem worth it. The two garden areas together are a total of maybe 400 square feet.

 

[ChuckinNH]

I have seen backhoes used to turn small gardens much as you would with a spade, particularly in new soil. A local guy built two flower gardens for his wife that way that are about the size you are talking about.

 

[bkuhn]

I used my BH a few weeks ago for a friend to open up a new garden. I started on one end and made a strip about 8 feet wide and 30 feet long. I just extended the hoe about half way with the teeth straight down. Put it into the soil about 5 inches (just about to where the teeth were burried but the bucket was not sinking in yet) and scratched sideways back and forth. Then pulled the bucket about 6 inches closer and repeated. Had to drive forward several times but in the end the soil was pretty well broken up and she was able to plant.

I'm sure this method didn't do as well as a real tiller would have, however as you said if it's already mounted and ready to go I think it's a decent option and it definitely worked out for us.

Brad

 

[LBrown59]

I've got a 1210 Ford w/BH and loader. It gets used for odds and ends of building jobs. I've always used a hand fork for tilling a small garden every year. I have an 8 and 16 inch bucket for the BH. Any thoughts on the best way to tackle this. Even if I had a tiller attachment, the time to switch out wouldn't seem worth it. The two garden areas together are a total of maybe 400 square feet.

How I do it.
I have a BX23 with a BH And a BX1500 wth a 4' tiller

 

[ScottAR]

I don't see why it wouldn't work. Just don't dig too deep and dump your topsoil
in the bottom of the hole. 8-10inches max.

Heh, brings back memories of my use to be neighbor. He was a contractor and had two full sized TLBs. One year his wife was having a hard time harvesting potatoes from the garden as it was a very dry year and the ground was very hard. Backhoe to rescue. Harvested potatoes in no time flat.

 

[charlz]

I've used mine to break up the hard pack underneath in my garden. As mentioned if you just 'stir' it and not bring up the subsoil it should work 'ok' mine was not very smooth after I was done.

 

[dillo99]

did this with my new garden this spring - worked great. Not as fast as a tiller for sure but if you got the hoe you might as well use it!

 

[Rara Avis]

Well, if you are going for increased seat time...why not...

I've got a hammer...that sure looks like a nail to me...

 

[SFish]

I have made three small garden plots in the last year with the backhoe. All were terraces so I was also moving some dirt, but the ground was broken up well and ready for soil amendments.

Steve