Looking for a BCS

   / Looking for a BCS #1  

farm23

Silver Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2006
Messages
191
Location
Western, NC
Tractor
PT-1430, Wright Z-turn mower, BCS 853
I thought I posted this earlier but evidently it didn't go thru.

I grow organic procuce and have a 30 HP tractor. The deer are such a problem I have to fence all growing areas (approx 1 acre) and the tractor is too big inside the fenced areas.

I think the BCS will be used for raised beds and laying mulch. Would appreciate your input on which accessories I should consider and how well they work.

If anyone has suggestions other than the BCS would like to hear your opinion.
 
   / Looking for a BCS #2  
If you're thinking BCS, you're already contemplating the cream of the crop for that type of equipment, they've been around for years, the transmision is warrantied for life, with the differential and differential lock they are the easiest to handle. I have had one since '87 and it has been bullet proof, 5 speeds forward and 1 reverse, gear drive, no belts. Here's a link to see all the attachments and you can give Joel a call if you have any questions. Earth Tools - Walk-Behind Tractors - (502) 484-3988 You can even schedule a visit and spend the day and watch them work the machines, great guy, knows the machines inside out.
 
   / Looking for a BCS
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Milkman, I see earth tools also has Grillo. Any thought on one vs the other?
 
   / Looking for a BCS #4  
I'm not familiar with the Grillo, and there are others from Europe along the same line, some owned by BCS and I'm sure they are excellent machines, I just don't know of them around my area.
 
   / Looking for a BCS
  • Thread Starter
#5  
I saw video clip in a previous therad and wonder if the berta plow works well to make raised beds. Has anyone used one of these plows to make raised beds.
 
   / Looking for a BCS #6  
Hi ! I use Gravely Rotary plows for making small hills . I put some manure in range and after I run the rotary plow over each side. I use it for corn and strawberry with succes. Now I use the rotary at very slow speed with only two plows on mine for minus disturbing soil. Gravely are very good machine. Good luck ! Oldmech
 
   / Looking for a BCS #7  
I bought a BCS 853 in June, and am extremely happy with it. I have the Berta plow. I haven't tried using it for raised beds, but based on my experience with it, it would definitely help, but probably some hand work would be required to shape and level the beds. You would plow a furrow on each side of the bed, running the Berta in opposite directions on each side, throwing the soil toward the center of the bed.

I am an avid gardener, not a farmer, and use the BCS now for my 30x80 foot garden. I have the same problem with deer, by the way. Anyway, I have been creating raised beds by hand - using a 36" landscape rake to pull uo the dirt from either side and then level the bed along its length. It's good exercise :) I may try using the Berta next year to do the rough bed shaping, but as I said, I expect I'll still have to do some hand work. There is also a raised bed attachment for the BCS which is basically a pull-behind double furrower, but I don't have one and don't know how well it would work. I am skeptical, and suspect it would not work as well as the Berta, but it probably would save some hand labor.

The BCS 853 is a fine machine - very powerful and robust. I highly recommend it. I have the 30" BCS tiller, which works like a dream on all but really hard ground. I also have a BCS 50" sickle bar mower which I got used for $90 but haven't used yet, a 26" Palladino flail mower which I love for chopping up cover crops, leaves and brush into a fine mulch which I can then easily incorporate, and a 26" rotary mower (bush-hog style), which I haven't used yet and probably shouldn't have bought in retrospect, since the flail mower and sickle bar mower will probably do evertyhing I need in the way of mowing.

The only real criticism I have of the BCS is the shifting mechanism, which is a little crude and not as easy to shift as I would like. But I can live with that given the many other virtues of the BCS.

BTW, there is a Yahoo users group of BCS uses, which now also has one Grillo user. You may want to check it out to get more inputs from BCS and Grill owners:

BCS_Users : BCS_Users

Regards,
Al
 
 
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