making rows for crops

[silverking]

Ok guys I am new to the farming for food deal somewhat and could use some pics for ideas so if you could show me what you make rows with that would be great.

I have a 4630 with r4's so the same or similar setup would be best.

I am thinking i would take this unit http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a171/Svtjedi/unsortedpics004.jpg
and remove the middle 3 tines and get a little bigger blades for the outer 4? what you you think?

Many thanks for any and all ideas.

 

[beenthere]

Can you fill us in on what you are planning to plant?

Sometimes the 'rows' are made by the planters, i.e. a corn planter. Usually fields are planted where there are openers, seed drops, and then closers. The rows are kept at a particular, and even, distance apart with 'markers'.

If you are planting by hand, then need to know that. Planting by hand, usually rows are made by hand, as seeds are not planted very deep, and seeds are often very tiny. Opening a row by hand will expose moist soil, such that seeds dropped in quickly, and covered will remain in moist soil. Opening a long row with a tine like you show in the link, will dry quickly, be uneved in depth, and planting seeds in such rows will not do as well, I don't think. But I'm not very familiar with what you really have in mind to do. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

R-4's are not the best for working ground, I suspect because they are usually quite wide and more for flotation than for lugging in dirt.

Cozy up to some neighboring farmers to find out more in your area. Would be helpful if your Bio was filled out too. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Toolguy]

Not sure what kind of rows you are trying to make. What crops do you want to grow? The tool in the picture looks like a one row cultivator with shanks added to make it a primary tillage tool. Don't know if you could make it work for you or not. Would like to help but need more info.

 

[Bird]

I used a cultivator, like the one in the picture, except I removed the points and replaced them with 6" sweeps to use it as a cultivator. But like the other guys said, to tell you anything about making rows, we'd have to know what you're planting and how you're planting it (by hand or maybe using one of these Earthway Precision Planter like I had).

 

[silverking]

Ok we are going to plant by hand and i am ok at figuring what depth to plant at, as far as what i am planting it will be a little bit of everything corn,squash,cucumbers,beans,peppers,greens,tomatoes quite a few different things but i want to create all my rows with one implement unless thats not going to work for some reason i am too new to understand yet.

 

[Bird]

Well, you can lay out your rows with that cultivator as you suggested. And if you use the same spacing for all your rows, I guess it would work OK, but I just tilled my garden, then drove steel stakes at the end of each row, pulled a string tight, then followed the string to plant using the planter. If I didn't use the planter, then I just used a manual "V" shaped hoe under the string to make the furrows. For maximum yield, though, some rows will be need to be spaced wider than others. For maximum convenience, it might be good to make them all the same. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[RonR]

If you don't need to make raised beds, that tool will work fine. Just work the ground up really well at several different angles, then with the last one, drive in the direction you want the rows to go. Simply plant in one of the furrows. Then to cultivate the small plants, you can remove one or several shanks.

I've also seen pics of steel plates bolted to the rear of a rototiller dirt deflector, so the plates drag "rows" in the tilled ground. That would work as well.

Ron

 

[theboman]

You can use the one row cultivator, that's the way I've done it the past 2-3 years. You can use only the outside tines and you'll have v rows about 4' apart (depending on how wide that implement of distruction), and in a pinch you can hill up rows by using the inner two tines (it's a poor mans way). I've done a few rows that way just playing around.

I've also used a tater plow with a small hoe, similar to the one on the culitvator. It ain't perfect but does in a pinch.

If you use a tractor look forward all the time, drive straight. When you turn your head you get crooked rows, well, in my case I do. Heck I get crooked rows following a straight line. Now I'm thinkin' I just buy crooked growing seed!

I love the Earthway, I may give'm a call.