Disc or Tiller

[Dmaderi]

Hi everyone, I'm a new member of the forum but have been reading this one for years. I'm up in the air, me and the wife are starting a rather large garden this year and I can't decide on a disc harrow or a tiller. TSC has a 60" tiller for about 1600 and I can get a frontier dh1066 for about the same price. I already have a vintage jd 412 2 bottom plow.....so i can go either way with this, I could use some input what do you guys think? I'm pulling it with a 790.

Thanks!

 

[Reg]

Hi everyone, I'm a new member of the forum but have been reading this one for years. I'm up in the air, me and the wife are starting a rather large garden this year and I can't decide on a disc harrow or a tiller. TSC has a 60" tiller for about 1600 and I can get a frontier dh1066 for about the same price. I already have a vintage jd 412 2 bottom plow.....so i can go either way with this, I could use some input what do you guys think? I'm pulling it with a 790.

Thanks!

Disks can be faster, in fact they tend to work a bit like plows, e.g. they turn soil better and cut clods better if you go a bit faster (within reason) than you would normally run a tiller at.

I'm not clear what a "790" is, but if you don't feel like hitting a plowed field with it at about, hmmmm,,, lets just say a brisk walk ? Then a tiller may be the way to go.

Rocks and roots can factor into this too, e.g .reverse rotation tillers can hook under roots and STOP Ya.
Disks tend to ride up and over.

I just re-read your post.
NEW garden, eh ? and you will be plowing it 6 or 7 inches deep first.


OK, I vote for a tiller - and since you are considering TSC the one you have been looking at is most likely a "forward" rotation(same direction as tractor's wheels when going forwards).

 

[bp fick]

Man, if you already have a plow to pull behind that Deere 790, the disk would be pretty sweet.

Find yourself a section or two of old spring or spike tooth drag to level it out nice and you're in great shape. Nothing wrong with a tiller, but they are pricey!!

 

[nybirdman]

Tiller for sure,one pass,after plowing........done..disc multiple pass.Disc that a small tractor can pull aren't going to be very heavy.I do 8-10 acres a year of garden and food plots.Tried a three point disc,didn't work very well.

 

[zman007007]

Never have used discs, but how many times do you have too run over with a disk, to turn the ground to a powder consistency? I just did my wife's garden today, yes it was used last year, but ran over it one time at 540 rpm"s turned around and ran over it in the other direction. Then I cranked up the rpm"s to the 1,000 range and it looked like powder. So I would say tiller. zman

 

[zman007007]

Man, if you already have a plow to pull behind that Deere 790, the disk would be pretty sweet.

Find yourself a section or two of old spring or spike tooth drag to level it out nice and you're in great shape. Nothing wrong with a tiller, but they are pricey!!

Hey BP he said both was about the same price. zman

 

[SandburRanch]

Hi everyone, I'm a new member of the forum but have been reading this one for years. I'm up in the air, me and the wife are starting a rather large garden this year and I can't decide on a disc harrow or a tiller. TSC has a 60" tiller for about 1600 and I can get a frontier dh1066 for about the same price. I already have a vintage jd 412 2 bottom plow.....so i can go either way with this, I could use some input what do you guys think? I'm pulling it with a 790.

Thanks!

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I realize this wasn't your question but already having a moldboard plow have you considered a cultivator for a large garden. They are faster than a tiller and shanks could be removed for cultivating row crop style if one desired.
YouTube - How to Use a Ripper / Field Cultivator - Gardening Series

 

[Dmaderi]

Wow thanks for all of the responses, I was talking with my wife after a few of these posts and one of her concerns with a tiller is the amount of rocks and shale we have in our soil. Never have using one how sensitive are tillers to rocks, my luck I would get out there and break it the first pass ;-).

 

[Reg]

Wow thanks for all of the responses, I was talking with my wife after a few of these posts and one of her concerns with a tiller is the amount of rocks and shale we have in our soil. Never have using one how sensitive are tillers to rocks, my luck I would get out there and break it the first pass ;-).

I think you will find most of that with the plow first.
If you want to go DEEP to find the shale seams a sub soiler might be worth running through, just go slow and do give up when you are stopped and your wheels spin.
A sub soiler may be a good idea for new garden plots ANYWAY if the soil has been left undisturbed for decades, just to loosen it up and start with good drainage.

I have found some NASTY rocks with my 6ft King Kutter II, but no "Tiller Killers" (YET !).
Other than chipped paint; no problem, i.e. no bent tines, bent shaft, cracked gear case, etc.

There are several threads here about the relative merits of forward vs reverse rotation tillers, no need to re-hash it all in THIS thread, but I will just say that forward rotation tillers probably suffer less when they find roots and rocks.
There is a tendency for them to climb over "buried treasure", the reverse rotation tillers are more likely to hook under it.

 

[Egon]

The plough/disc combination would work well with few maintenance problems.

The rototiller also works well but is higher maintenance. Rocks can jam things up or break teeth. It would be quicker for cultivated soil. Breaking sod will take a little time and patience.

In your situation with a plough at hand look at the tiller options carefully. Just don't get one that is too large.:thumbsup: