rototillers vs plow & disc

[fatjay]

I move slower with rototillers, but move faster with a plow & disc. But I make multiple passes with plow & disc. Right now my rototiller tractor is a dedicated machine, I was thinking of getting a 3pt rototiller. I do about 1 acre in one field and 2 ½acre fields. I can run plow and disc with 3 different machines. What is the fuel compared between the two? I feel like hte rototiller has better soil mix, but how big of a difference is that in yield? I do corn in 1 acre, and the others are just various. Not large scale stuff.

Is the improvement in soil mix/quality much for rototiller, vs the plow and disc to justify the increased fuel?

 

[D&D]

running a tiller (at pto speed) is not harder on fuel than running a bush hog. Buying a good tiller is scarier than the fuel to run it.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I have clay loam, so I really appreciate the one pass to create a good seed bed. The tiller makes a very fine and uniform bed to plant seed in.
I travel slower, but fewer passes, maybe 1.5 gallons per acre.

 

[workinonit]

Those are 3 different implements for 3 completely different purposes. I run all 3 every year. I don't run a turn plow but have replaced that with a chisel plow.

 

[oldnslo]

What type of soil conditions are you working in? If plow is working correctly one pass with disc should level the field for planting unless breaking up sod. To work correctly a mold board plow and disc should be pulled around 4 - 5 MPH.

 

[nybirdman]

I have all of the above;tiller after plowing works the best for me;also levels the ground.we do about 10 acres a year(21 years).We also cultipack after planting.

 

[fatjay]

This is all red clay. My tilling tractor is a 14hp new holland s14 gas. I till at about 0.5mph, and occasionally slower. I pull a 14-2 bottom plow with either my kubota or ferguson. If I got a 3pt tiller I'd put it on the kubota which is diesel and gets better fuel economy than the gas. Also I'd be hoping I could move faster than the new holland.

From year to year, the soil manages to completely compact. I was thinking a tiller may be easier. The big field is corn and after I collect, hand picking, I leave the stalks and just turn over everything in the spring and then disc it.

 

[jyoutz]

In my opinion, a plow/tiller combination is best for garden plots used repeatedly. A tiller provides the best fluffy soil seed bed, but overtime a hard pan will develop in the soil just below the tilling depth. I have a Fred Cain ripper plow that I use in the fall and spring to loosen the soil deeply, then follow up with the tiller before planting.

 

[JJT]

This is all red clay. My tilling tractor is a 14hp new holland s14 gas. I till at about 0.5mph, and occasionally slower. I pull a 14-2 bottom plow with either my kubota or ferguson. If I got a 3pt tiller I'd put it on the kubota which is diesel and gets better fuel economy than the gas. Also I'd be hoping I could move faster than the new holland.

From year to year, the soil manages to completely compact. I was thinking a tiller may be easier. The big field is corn and after I collect, hand picking, I leave the stalks and just turn over everything in the spring and then disc it.

I was in the same boat with clay and compaction until I added an enormous amount of compost and lime. I've added so much compost to my garden that it's now a raised bed and the soil is like potting soil, (black, crumbly and well drained). It took years to get to this condition.

 

[nybirdman]

Another thing we do is bush-hog down any standing food plots before working.

 

[CADplans]

Soil gets "HARD" when the organic matter is eliminated, and the soil is broken into too small of crumbles.
I feel that breaking organic matter into tiny pieces makes it decompose too fast to do the garden any good.
You need organic matter in the soil,, not simply clay.

The general consensus among some "organic" gardeners:

Tillers of any sort reduce or eliminate the tilth of the soil
TILTH
cultivation of land; tillage.

• the condition of tilled soil, especially in respect to suitability for sowing seeds.
  "he could determine whether the soil was of the right tilth"
  
  
  
  

 

[CADplans]

I try to not till or plow the garden every year, sometimes as infrequent as every 5 years.
When I do want to "plow", I use a Gravely rotary plow.

As far as weed control, I try to stick with a Gravely cultivator
(machine on the left)

It only disturbs the soil deep enough to knock down the weeds, it can not go deep in the soil.

My other option is a Troy-Bilt Horse, set to till very shallow,
again only disturbing the weeds, not the organic matter or the worms.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I till in buckwheat twice per year. Do you know how much organic matter is in an acre of buckwheat?

 

[Williy]

Only use a rototiller here and the ground is very soft about
8 inches deep very easy to plant anything we want

willy

 

[fatjay]

Rototiller I sometimes have to make 2-3 passes to get to full depth. It rotates forwards, so it sometimes propels me along the soil is so hard.

This isn't the field, but on the second run, you can see what happens in this video.

https://imgur.com/HYvFcMb

 

[2manyrocks]

Rototiller I sometimes have to make 2-3 passes to get to full depth. It rotates forwards, so it sometimes propels me along the soil is so hard.

This isn't the field, but on the second run, you can see what happens in this video.

https://imgur.com/HYvFcMb

You've got hard ground, and it is normal to have to make multiple smaller passes to till it. It would take a lot of organic material like sawdust to loosen it up. Even if you plow it, it will still compact like hard ground until you get a lot of organic material into it.

I know this because I started a garden spot 20 years ago in hard ground. Years of organic material have improved it, but it's still not the best soil.

 

[2manyrocks]

I try to not till or plow the garden every year, sometimes as infrequent as every 5 years.
When I do want to "plow", I use a Gravely rotary plow.

As far as weed control, I try to stick with a Gravely cultivator
(machine on the left)

It only disturbs the soil deep enough to knock down the weeds, it can not go deep in the soil.

My other option is a Troy-Bilt Horse, set to till very shallow,
again only disturbing the weeds, not the organic matter or the worms.

I have a Gravely rotary plow that still amazes me for how it fluffs the ground in one pass.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I had to make three passes on virgin clay loam to get a good seed bed. After that, one pass is enough, it's remained very soft.