DISC OR TILLER?

[bowhunter3030]

I NEED ADVICE ON WHAT TO BUY. SHOULD I GET A TILLER OR A DISC? I WANT TO PLANT MORE FOOD PLOTS. SOME SPOTS JUST HAVE WEEDS, NOW, OTHERS HAVE GRASS. CAN I GET BY WITHA DISC FOR LESS $$ OR SHOULD I JUST SPEND THE MONEY AND GET THE TILLER? IN ABOUT THREE MORE YEARS, I WILL HAVE TO REPLANT 8 ACRES OF IMPERIAL WHITETAIL CLOVER WITH THE SAME. MY DEALER HAD A DISC FOR $750 OR A TILLER FOR 2K. ANY BRANDS TO LOOK FOR WITH PRICES WOULD BE HELPFUL. I WAS TOLD THE SIZE TO GET WAS 58 INCHES FOR MY B3030.

 

[RonR]

Your question is a lot like "should I buy a .22 or a .357?" It depends.........

A disc in multiple passes will get the ground CLOSE to what a tiller could do in one pass. Never will be as good as a tiller would. Might be good enough for a food plot.

Discing can be done at higher speed than tilling.

Have rocks? A disc will tolerate rocks much better than a tiller.

Have other jobs to do with it? Might influence your decision.

8 acres is a lot to do with a small tiller or disc.

Ron

 

[bowhunter3030]

I UNDERSTAND THE .22 OR .357. I WAS A GUN DEALER FOR 20 YEARS. I USED MY GRIZZLY 660 AND A CULTIVATOR THE FIRST TIME TO DO THE 8 ACRES. TALK ABOUT A .22. THE FIELDS WERE BEAN FIELDS SO IT REALLY WASN'T TOO BAD. I HAVE NO ROCKS, BUT IF I USE A TILLER ON MY PATHS THROUGH MY WOODS, WHAT HAPPENS IF IT HITS SOME TREE STUMPS? IT LOOKS LIKE FOR THE LONG HAUL THE TILLER WOULD MAKE IT EASIER. AM I BETTER OFF BUYING FROM MY DEALER OR ORDERING ONE FROM THE NET? I DON'T KNOW IF THESE THINGS HAVE MANY PROBLEMS OR NOT.

 

[caddison]

If you ever wanted to do a little work on the side the tiller would come much closer to helping in this department. There are alway's folk's looking to have their gardens tilled....would also help to offset the cost. 8 acres would take some time....but then what is more enjoyable than seat time on your tractor.....well maybe nailing the big buck that comes to the feed plot!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif It's all good!!

 

[Darren]

Since you got a bunch of stuff on order, you might get a discount on the tiller if you buy from the same dealer. In this area, folks usually put the food plots up in the woods, in part, to keep deer out of their gardens, or so they hope. They'll often dig out a small water hole in the same area for wildlife. Water holes are especially important in drought years because you don't want deer congregating at a few watering places. That's when a disease like blue tongue can decimate the population. It get's spread when the deer end up at the same place for water.

Deer in this area have been mismanaged to the point they're causing extensive damage because of the overpopulation. Most of the understory has been eaten out in the forests. Which means nothing is surviving for future lumber harvests.

It's an interesting situation. When you see deer browsing beech buds they're down to the least likely choice on their menu. The DNR in this state has started publishing guidelines for deer numbers for various purposes. You're always welcome to come to WV and hunt. It's not unusual to see herds of deer in the fields with the cattle.

 

[gduff]

I’ve done some work like this for people with a tiller. The one’s I have done seem to want it more “roughed up” instead of a thorough tilling job like you might do for a garden with multiple passes etc. I set my tiller on a shallow setting and roughed up the soil. Next we would broadcast the seed and follow by another shallow pass with the tiller. Everything came up fine. If you do it in this fashion 8 acres would not be an overwhelming amount. If you do a thorough tilling job it would take a lot longer, but it would be doable. If you go much larger you might consider a plow and harrows. If this is going to be very much an occasional thing you could also try renting.
I used to have a B7800 and my tiller is a 53” DelMarino. It has a slip clutch so if you did hit something this would protect your equipment. Some have shear pins, which amount to the same thing. I now have a L3830, so the tiller is a little small, but fortunately it is an offset model so I can cover my tracks with the right tilling pattern. Eventually I will probably get a 72”. I have had this a few years and I paid $1650 for it, so $2000 sounds about right. Personally, I would go with the tiller. Good luck with your decision.

 

[DUMBDOG]

If you are in an area where there is a TSC, they have a 60 inch tiller that should sell for under $1200. It is gear driven and holds up real well. Last year I tilled 40 acres with one.

 

[Freds]

I've been in the same shopping mode for a couple weeks now and am leaning heavily towards the tiller.
From everything I've been told talking to different dealers and farmers in the area, if there is any kind of growth on the land then you need to plow the ground (turn it over) and let it sit a while before you disc it. If you really want it smooth then you should run a harrow over it after you disc it. The price of a plow and disc new (and I guess they have "options") is about the price of a tiller, which will do a better job in less passes. I haven't been able to locate any used in my area or tillers for that matter either.
While I enjoy tractoring... I look to get the jobs I'm doing done and don't really care to build up my hours in the seat or on the tractor.

I'd go with the tiller, but I'd look around because prices vary a good deal on the different makes and models. Just look at the recent posts and questions on them.

 

[frank_f15]

I think i would go with the tiller, for food plots it don't have to be tilled to garden specs + you could break the 8 acres up and do a few acres each year, on a rotating basis as needed. This way it is not so much of a chore.

 

[Alan L.]

I've had a disc for 4 years and a tiller for less than 48 hours. Get a tiller.

The only advantage a disk would have is if you have a field of dirt with no vegetation, the disc will go through it fast, and churn it up good. But if there is any growth on top it will take several passes.

 

[Tom_H]

I'm going to say that it could have a lot to do with your type soil. A moist and very sandy loam may actually do better with a disc because its physical properties allow the plates to slip in and move the particles easily and to great effect. Dry clay, on the other hand, would be the opposite.

My BX2200 is lighter than your B3030; my implements are light as well. When my adobe clay is dry and hard, my middle buster, even my sub-soiler simply drag across the surface of the soil, even when I pile extra weight on the top. The Muratori roto-tiller, on the other hand, pounds the clay into clumps.

I am going to suggest that you need a local answer for your question, not one from other parts of the country. Ask local farmers and call your local soil and water conservation agent/county extension agent. A specialist who knows about your local soils is the person most qualified to answer this question.

 

[teach]

Bowhunter,
I have been wondering the same thing for several weeks now. I have to put in some small food plots for someone's forestry plan (and for some "improved hunting habitat" for me) after I finish clearing the land. I think a disk would be nice if it is rocky, like it is here in RI, but I just bit off on a tiller. I picked up a used 42" Landpride tiller yesterday in good shape, for $600 to use on my B7100. Used disks or new ones for small tractors like mine, are hard to find in RI. I haven't used the tiller yet, but I'm hoping it will do the trick, even with all my rocks! A friend used a disk last year for his plots deep in the woods and he said he had to go over, and over it so much, he ended using his backhoe on his 25 hp Kubota to scratch it all up first.
If you use a disk, I would think bushhogging and spraying roundup first would be a big help based on the location you described. Whatever you go with, good luck and happy hunting!
Teach

 

[teach]

Darren,
Is this invite to come hunt in WV open to ANY tractorbynet members?
Teach

 

[Theowegian]

Howdy Bowhunter3030.

Im going thru the same thought processes. Here's a couple things that come to mind:

1. A disc works really well when it is used after plowing. Therefore, you really need a disc AND a plow, in my opinion, to properly work the ground to about 8" deep.

2. discing bare ground is more difficult and usually takes several passes to cut it up. That's why plowing is often done first as opposed discing several times.

3. Most folks that have used a 3 pt disc, find that the 3pt style doesnt work the ground up the same way that a pull type disc does, at least from the folks Ive talked to. That may relate to the 3pt discs are lighter than the pull types or that the geometry of three points doesnt let the disc float as well as a one point pull type does. Think about that one...

4. A disc needs to be HEAVY to do a good job. A light weight disc will almost certainly need cement blocks or railroad ties added to get it to dig in deeper.

5. A tiller is more compact than a disc...A tiller is not very long, it is short...length wise, I mean. Some fellas use a tiller as ballast when using a front end loader! I wouldnt want a disc as ballast. It would extend out from the tractor too much.

6. Finding a used disc or tiller in my area is tough. It might be the same in your area. (And I live in an agricultural area). I do think the demand is higher, tho for a used tiller than a used disc. Translate: tillers are easier to sell.

7. A disc should be used at fairly fast ground speed. A tiller is used slowly-in a comparative way. So depending on your conditions, keep that in mind. For example, in a garden spot, high ground speed is NOT a real good thing. Likely there are fences or buildings close by and you cant turn your head around very quickly with a disc to see what you have done. A tiller is much more controllable in a small area. A disc works great in an open field. A tiller is better in a small space.

8. Tillers are more expensive. I suggest that the more expensive implements be kept under roof. A disc is often left outdoors. My point is, do you have the room to shed a tiller or disc? A tiller should be easier to shed, because it is so compact.

hope this helps.
dwight

 

[Bowhunter]

Part of it will depend on what type of plot you intend to plant. Clovers and alfalfa require shallow planting (1/4" to 1/2") and a tiller would be the best tool for them. Soybeans and oats require deeper planting (approx. 2") and with a disk you could work the ground, broadcast your seed, then lightly disk again to cover the seed.

For the best overall versatility I would go with a tiller. It is on my list of implements to be bought.

 

[stevenf]

Bowhunter, I faced the exact same situation your facing a month ago and my farmer friends recommended the disc for my needs and landscape conditions. I own 347 acres but only patches here and there are tillable soil or in this case discable. I went with a 3pt 8'6" Hay King lift disc and in 3 weekends I've put in the equivalent of 4 or so acres of food plots spread out around the ranch so far. I do have a 90hp tractor with a grapple rake so I was able to go into the clearings and reach in and get the root balls and larger rocks out before discing but it works beautifully the ground I was doing it in is typical South Texas soil and rock most of the fields actually had very little rock as they were in the valleys but had never been farmed. By the third or fourth pass I was pulling the 22" disc down to the axles on the disc so a good 12" being turned over. The fields look great and the plot I got in almost three weeks ago is already coming up as it close to the house and I'm able to irrigate it. I planted a regional spring summer mix of 85% iron clay peas, 10% sorghumXsudan and 5% Clemson Okra. Its the peas that are coming up first but the rest should follow soon especially if we get some rain.
I have no experience with a tractor run tiller and it certainly would have done the job and probably faster if it had a slip clutch as no matter what I did occasionally in every field I had to stop and pull some more roots, stumps or rocks after I started discing and without a slip clutch you'd better of had a couple of pockets full of sheer pins or bolts because they just lifted the disc up but they'd have sheered a pin every time I'm bettin. Although if you were going to plant in the same areas every year you'd only have to worry about the majority of the stump, rock and root problems one time after that the ground would be loosened up and mostly free of obstructions. I didn't even have to weight the disc down at all and it did a great job I'm very pleased with my decision as it has done exactly what I wanted to do and very quickly considering in prior years I've been using a jeep pulling a heavy cedar log full of stobs around for my preparation I may be easier to please than someone used to using the right tool for the job but you gotta start somewhere and thats how we've done it for the past 5 years with marginal success maybe 25% germination, this year I'm hoping for 75% but anything better than 50% and I'm very pleased and my fields look like a real farmer did it instead of a bubba with a big stick.
Steve

 

[Theowegian]

You've gotten some excellent suggestions, especially from stevenf.

Why not buy the disc and see if it will do what you want? If it works, then great!
If not, then trade it back to your dealer for a tiller.

dwight

 

[stevenf]

Bowhunter3030, Here are some pictures of one of the food plots we did this weekend it'll take 3 post but its start to finish cleaned up , disc'd,planted and fertilzed in about 3 hours.

 

[stevenf]

Next cleaned up and ready to plant or almost

 

[stevenf]

Last picture in the previous one I had just popped up the root balls and my son was gathering the small loose stuff
The disc does a great job and as you can tell this was in places that had never seen a disc or plow.
Steve