Attachment to create rows in a home garden

   / Attachment to create rows in a home garden #1  

chuckcou

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Jan 17, 2005
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Please be kind, this is a new area for me and I am a new member. I am sure my question will show this.

Anyway, I am confused about something and I am hoping you can clear it up.

I have a garden that is about 75' wide and 150' long. Currently I am using a cheap craftmans rototiller for turning the soil. It works, but takes a long time. Anyway, my confusion is regarding the making of the row. Currently, I manually make the rows with a hoe. I would like to change this to something that requires less work. So, in order to make row beds of 36 inches what type of machine would I use. Do I use BRINLEY 1 BOTTOM PLOW or do I use discs? Or do you have some other method to making your rows?
Thanks for your time, and I am sorry for my stupid question /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 
   / Attachment to create rows in a home garden #2  
For the initial turning of the soil can be done in a variety of ways, you can use a rototiller, either the craftsman you mentioned or one attached to a tractor. The one attached to the tractor will be a lot less work. Another way the soil can be turned is to plow it first, but this leaves a rough surface that must be broken up either with the use of a disc or a harrow type implement.

I think that you will be a lot more pleased with the results of the rototiller.

When it comes to making a row to plant the seed, this can be accomplished in one step. Following is a link to a type of seeder that I used two years ago before my garden went a lot larger. I would not buy it from this source, check your local farm and home supply, believe I paid about $70 two years ago. TSC would be a good source if you have a local one. There are addtional seed plates available in addition to the four or five that come with the seeder.

If you have any other questions. please let us know.

Push Garden Seeder

If you click on the attachment above you can see a picture of our garden two years ago which the corn was seeded with this type of seeder.
 

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   / Attachment to create rows in a home garden #3  
Hi Chuck,
And welcome to TBN. You didn't mention if you have a tractor or not. My garden is not nearly as big as yours, about 40 x 30, but I use a push plow/cultivator to make my rows up. I used one of these when I was a kid, and looked all over before finding this one. You still have to pull them up with a hoe or rake, especially if making a wide bed, but this does help to make a straight furrow, and also for cultivating out the weeds.

Link to push plow
 
   / Attachment to create rows in a home garden #4  
Forgot to mention they usually come with with a wide blade good for turning the furrow, and a narrow cultivator blade, which is usefull for opening up a shallow trench for planting, and a 5 pronged cultivator that is shown in the photo. This company shows it out of stock, but you can find them from other sources for about the same price. I call it a push plow, but it's more like a shove, pull back, shove, pull back operation as you move up the row.
 
   / Attachment to create rows in a home garden #5  
Get yourself a David Bradley, or similar walking tractor. Cat's meow for small gardening. Veggies taste better....push plows leave a bad taste in your mouth. I think I can still taste it. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
I think the bigger walk behing tillers have row builders you can mount also. Of course, for what you spend on that you could get a lil Cub (tools included) and do 2 rows at once....and have something to talk about on this site.
 
   / Attachment to create rows in a home garden
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Wow, thanks for the replys.
Dumbdog---Thanks for the tip. I like it a lot. This year is going to be great. I figure just by the replies I have gotten thus far, it will save me days of work.
My question to you is how did you build your rows? I am not sure about the idea of the push/pull method, even though it is better than my current method. I am wondering if I can make a attachment or something to the back of my tiller? Or maybe something is sold by another company that I can modify to fit my tiller. Anyway, any ideas would be good.
chuck

PS Currently I do not have a tractor, maybe next year I am thinking of Deere 318 /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
   / Attachment to create rows in a home garden #7  
If I understand you correctly the question is on the rows themselves where you put the seed?

If this is the case, the seeder that I had shown you the link for creates a furrow, drops the seed and then covers it up. In a freshly tilled garden, it will push quite easily and even has a row marker to mark the path of the next row for you.

If this does not answer your question ask again.
 
   / Attachment to create rows in a home garden
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Sorry for the confusion. Usually my rows are 36 inch double rows. Thus, I will have lettuce>T tape in middle>Lettuce, with one furrow on each side.
>Currently I rototill. That does a good job in preparing the soil.
>Then I run a hoe on either side to create a ditch(ferrow). In the process I scoop the dirt out of the ditch and put it on top of the row, later to smooth out with a rake.
>After both side are done, I hand plant my seeds. After reading you suggestion I will use a seeder next time.BIG BIG time savings.
Now I have to find a way to create a ferrow that lifts the dirt to the top center of the 36 inch row(more or less).
Hope that helps. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
Chuck
 
   / Attachment to create rows in a home garden #9  
Sounds like you are creating a raised bed. If this is the case the tractor that you are looking at would be on the small side for the equipment to create a raised bed.

This is a link for a distributor for all kinds of large gardening equipment.

Market Farm

On their online catalog they show the equipment for a raised bed.

If you are not describing a raised bed, but just two rows with a t tape inbetween the rows, the type of seeded that I orginally showed you will work fine.
 
   / Attachment to create rows in a home garden #10  
I'm debating this myself. Here's another site for a push plow: http://www.earthway-outlet.com/6500.htm. It's cheaper than the other one someone pointed out. Think the local Southern States in Va has them in stock.

The nice thing about push plows is they won't leave wheel tracks or pack down the soil where the wheel has gone. They're also good for weeding between plants in the rows themselves (testimony from a local agent whose family has grown veggies for years and still use a push plow).

For the past 3 years in my 50x75 garden down below, I've used my Gravely rotary plow. I makes really nice mounded rows. Mine got too mounded though with a donation of 3 or 4" of compost from hurricane Isabelle. I scooped it from between the rows and piled it on top the rows. This fall, I went down and knocked the rows down with the rotary plow. Also in the fall, I got my new JD 4010. Attached is a pic of the soil ripper I used recently. It doesn't make the rows, however; so, I'm still debating what to do. Think a push plow may be the way to go.

I think that I'll make some furrow around the sides of the garden with the rotary plow. One thing I thought about was to then run the JD down the rows, with the wheel tracks making between-row areas (but a bit wide, 12.5" tire tracks). Then shovel the wheel track stuff on top of the approx. 2' wide rows (between wheels). Think the push plow is a better choice, as the between rows doesn't have to be that wide, and the rows need to be about 3' wide. That's why I flattened them to begin with. They were too high and not wide enough.

Another thought was to just mark off the between row spaces and shovel about a 4" wide between row space with my 4" trenching shovel. This is about what the folks at the Twin Oaks commune do. They rototill with a walk-behind and then run the between rows with a shovel. They do acres of veggies but have about 100 people for the labor. They used to use a tractor (with ag tires) for the garden work and found it packed the ground too much. My JD with turf tires and 2 tine runs from the soil ripper behind each tire doesn't seem to pack the soil much.

I just plant the seeds with a regular or skinny hoe making a trench and drop the seed. Some small gardeners use those push seeders, but they do plug up or bind. Unless you're doing a 1/2 acre or more, planting by hand is no big deal. Do it naked, and it's more fun.

Ralph
 

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