Dirt Moving To Overlap or Not to Overlap...

[cmcramer]

....that is the question. Trying to learn the best technique for using my new 58 inch LandPride reverse tine tiller behind my L2505, in some deep, loose soil here in Upstate NY. I usually run with the 'tailgate' fully open, skids set all the way up, and 3 point hitch set all the way down: maximum depth for best root penetration. I easily get 8 to 10 inches of tilled soil with one pass.

But....if I overlap each pass, the tractor wheels that align on top of the tilled soil sink down several (4-6) inches, resulting in a less than level soil bed. Plus, the overlapping tiller skids/tiller body tend to push up soil into a considerable ridge that requires fixing.

If I do not overlap, even if I do my best to align the second pass skid marks with the first pass skid marks....there is a good 6 inches of untilled soil left.

How do you experienced soil tillers handle this? Thanks!

 

[aczlan]

I till twice overlapping both times. The second pass smooths things out and makes them level.

Aaron Z

 

[LD1]

Its important to have a tiller wide enough to cover the tire tracks. That way the tractor tires can be on untilled ground (and remain level) yet the tiller itself can overlap a few inches so you dont have those strips of untilled ground.

Sounds like you are right on the bubble with a tiller that is just as wide as the tractor and no more, or even a little narrower.

Dont know how big the area is you are tilling, but if just a smaller area, till all one direction only. And offset the tiller so it sticks out a past the rear tire that is running next to what you just tilled. Make a pass, back up (but not on what you just tilled), and go again with the tractor tires still on untilled ground, but the tiller slightly overlapping.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I set my 3 PH stabilizers so that the right side of the tiller is aligned with the right tread of my tractor. All I have to do is put my wheels at the edge of the tilled soil and the tiller is automatically tilling right to the edge of the last pass. I had to do this because my tractor tread is set up wider than my 6 foot tiller and I didn't want to look for a wider tiller nor did I want to adjust the tread which is just right for my 7 foot bush hog.
SO by tightening the stabilizer on the right side to keep the tiller aligned with the tires it works ok. I have to till twice just to get the depth with my forward turning tines, so I straddle the previous lines with the second pass. With the tiller set to one side I have to till always from the right to the left of my garden with the center being the last pass OR till and back up to the beginning to make the next pass which is what I do on the second till so I don't have the one wheel track on the last pass.

 

[captronr]

My ground is hard clay, so that might make some difference. When I first used my tiller, I also set the skid shoes to achieve maximum depth in one pass. I found that the tiller beat itself silly since the tines were striking the ground at a near 90* angle. Plus the ground was so loose, it was difficult to plant in.

I learned to set the skid shoes to the minimum depth, which was an inch or two. The angle the tines hit the ground was much less, so the tines cut into the soil easier, and there was ZERO banging of the tiller.

An immediate second pass over the ground, the tiller skid shoes sank into the loose soil about 2", making the final depth around 4 inches. Two quick passes took me less time than a slower single pass.

Not sure I understand the need for deep root penetration in sandy soil. A farm I worked on decades ago was totally sandy. We barely tilled it 4" deep--for us, going 12" deep put the less nutrious soil on top of the ground.

I might suggest if you want to till deep, go ahead and don't worry about levelness. Let it rain on it a few times, then do a finish till at minimum depth and it should level things out.

The thing I learned on deep tilling clay was it took forever to dry out. Planting grass was a mess in that loose soil. Once I started shallow tilling, it was easier to plant grass.

Hope this helps.
Ron