What implements should I get for gardening

[botagreen]

I have a Kubota B7610 (24 hp), and would love to find a way to use this more with my gardening. I primarily grow tomatos, cucumbers, peppers, squash, brocolli & lettuce and have always done it the old-fashioned way.... with a hoe, mattock, rake etc, but it would be really nice to have implements to make it easier for me. The only 3 point implement I now own is a 5' box blade. There's a lot of clay in my soil that can be tough at times to cut. If I had a MAXIMUM of $1,000 to spend on a implement(s), what should I get ??. I would especially appreciate responses from owners with experience with a similar HP tractor as mine. Thanks in advance.

 

[ChuckinNH]

With that kind of garden, soil, and budget I might suggest a single bottom turning plow. The best way to improve your clay soil is to add lots of compost, and organic matter to it, and a turning plow is a good way to get that incorporated into the soil. If your garden is big enough a small disc harrow 4'-5' would help too. I'm also going to get a middlebuster / potato plow to help harvest my potatoes, and to use ditching, etc. but you don't mention raising them. JD, Brinley, Linebach, and others make the kinds of things you are looking for. I doubt that cultivators would do you much good unless you have a lot of room between your rows, etc. If the garden is any distance from your water supply you might also consider a 3pt watering tank, or a 3pt carry all to build something on that would make watering easier. Even watering sure helps a good garden along! Have fun in both your tractoring, and gardening!

 

[Bob_Young]

I've become interested in this problem as well, of late. Looks like gardening may be in the future for a lot of us if food prices follow the cost of fuel.

For prepping the soil or working in mulch/manure, I imagine a 3PH rototiller or a disc harrow would be quite useful. 4 ft. sizes are available for the B7610. King Kutter makes the XB series tiller which is sized for BX and B series machines. But the tiller goes for over $1K, as I recall, while the disk harrows were around $650. Maybe a small subsoiler/middlebuster would be an economical alternative...they go for around $200. Don't think they'd work nearly as well as a tiller though.

But, once the garden's planted, the tiller and disc harrow won't be of much use. I've seen a single row 3PH cultivator offered by Howse. It's got 6 tines (3 on each side) and would probably do a good job of turning up soil between the rows if your spacing let you straddle the row. They were around $220 a year or so ago. Would probably last forever in the typical garden.

For planting there are small 2-row 3PH corn planters, but the one my Dad used to have was too big for the B7610. It was the perfect size for a Ford 8N tractor. I've heard of single row, push powered seed drills for planting garden crops, but haven't seen anything similar offered for a small CUT. Maybe garden seeding is something better done by hand anyway.

I'll be watching the responses to this thread. There are some serious gardeners who post here. I've never put in a garden and am just starting to read up on the subject.
Bob

 

[wushaw]

I am no seasoned gardner ( only my 2nd year ) I think my 45" tiller was my best purchase, I pull it with my 15hp Mitsubishi, it does a great job.

 

[nh DRAGON]

Harrows and plows are nice but you really can't beat a rototiller. I was able to fined a used one for nothing and fit it to the tractor. Keep your eyes open for use, You might fined one that is in good condition for little $, Even if it is not in the best shape you will only use it a couple times a year.

 

[Botabill]

I've been an avid gardener for 25 years and my father and grandfather before me. Your question left out a very important component. How big is your garden. I have about 1 acre of garden. I use an 8 HP walk behind tiller and it is great. At time I wish it were smaller to scuffle between the rows. Point is I wouldn't want a tiller on my tractor for my small garden. I agree with Chuck that a single bottom plow can be useful. If your garden is big enough you use green cover crops for fertility and plow down organic matter that the clay soil needs. A tiller will just get all bound up with the stems. Chuck's other suggestions have merit as well but it really depends on the size of your garden and what you will be growing.

 

[ChuckinNH]

I agree with Botabill that after my gardens get growing my 6hp Troy built walk behind gets more use than anything on a tractor would. I did plow one garden with a middlebuster, and then smooth it with a chain harrow (see pics) but I ended up still tilling it lightly with my walkbehind for the shallow seedbed needed. I was a bit surprised about how good a job the chain harrow did smoothing out the rough furrows. By the way, that was some winter rye that I was tilling under.

 

[MAG]

Rototiller is great. I till up my garden, lay out the drip system and plant in the wet spots. Then the backhoe is great for planting... So I grow $100 tomatoes. In my master gardeners class the first thing they told us is you can't grow food as cheap as you can buy it, but you can grow food better than you can buy! At least my hobby gives me high quality food. "The Backyard Vegetable Factory" tells how to grow for 4 people in 25 square feet. So you can go to extremes or just enjoy and eat well.

 

[pitt_md]

I've been an avid gardener for 25 years and my father and grandfather before me. Your question left out a very important component. How big is your garden. I have about 1 acre of garden. I use an 8 HP walk behind tiller and it is great. At time I wish it were smaller to scuffle between the rows. Point is I wouldn't want a tiller on my tractor for my small garden. I agree with Chuck that a single bottom plow can be useful. If your garden is big enough you use green cover crops for fertility and plow down organic matter that the clay soil needs. A tiller will just get all bound up with the stems. Chuck's other suggestions have merit as well but it really depends on the size of your garden and what you will be growing.

Preping an acre of gargen for planting with a walk behind would be long and slow. If your busting through sod for your 1st time planting you would have your hands full. The 3PH tiller would do a better job in a fraction of the time. I really like my Befco 66" tiller for lots of things so far. preping a 7 acre field for planting, various food plots, two gardens...

 

[Mickey_Fx]

Don't know much about local conditions in your part of the world but here is what I'd suggest given your budget.

As others have suggested, a 3pt tiller is hard to beat for typ home sized gardens. As for wrapping things around the tiller, It's not been a big issue for me and my 3pt tiller. Grow a green crop during the winter months and needing worked in in the spring, one can always hit the crop with a mower first then till it under.

With your budget, I'd suggest looking for a used 3pt tiller and one that is either wide enough or is offset to at least cover one rear wheel's foot print. I think you should be able to find a decent used model is good condition in the $400-$600 range. With the extra bucks look for a walk behind tiller to cultivate between the rows during growing season.

I have a total of 4 tillers of different size and 3 get used on the garden yearly.

Here are a couple pics of the larger tiller turning under crops at the end of the season. It gets worked in and no wrapping of the crop.