How heavy should a tractor be?

[Indian Territory]

One of the problems we have now is simply the lack of steering control and lateral shifting.

With what width/weight implements in use?

Could tire selection, lack of front weight, or overly wide/heavy implements be creating the steering issues you’ve experienced with the 1,900 pound subcompact tractor you have? ( milkman636 )

Many garden one acre IN GOOD TILTH with 1,900 pound subcompact tractors and patience.

March 1,2020​

We are turning over acreage that has grown hay for 30 years. The field is flat and even, with a slight south facing slope, with few to no rocks. I am determined to turn the sod using a moldboard plow. The ground is simply too compacted without this step.

Our intention it to plant a 1-2 acre vegetable garden. We may sell some produce for supplemental income.

Plowing one acre of MOIST compacted soil with a single bottom/furrow, 12" wide moldboard plow in good condition and correct plow technique should be within the capability of your 1,900 pound subcompact tractor.

Do you have a mid-mount mower? Is the MMM off?

A PTO powered, forward rotation, 48" - 60" wide roto-tiller is a reasonable choice for smoothing plow furrows in slightly moist soil using a 1,900 pound bare weight tractor.

After year one ground conditioning, a tiller should be adequate for one pass, Spring, slightly moist soil preparation unless the weeds have gotten totally out of control. Alternate tilling direction from one year to the next.

Be sure to have your soil tested, notifying the tester of your intended crop(s).

Thanks for all this. Good suggestions.

Our implements are all 4’ wide and down:
—1-bottom, 14-inch moldboard plow with coulter blade and depth gauge wheel.
—Tiller. Forward rotating.
—brush mowever

No MMM

Strangely the things that give us the most trouble are less ground-engaging. Bed shapers, etc.

Our tilts leaves much to be desired, despite our amendments. Very heavy clay, which may well be the real problem.

 

[workinonit]

I basically do the same thing you are doing. I use my JD 5090(8000 lbs) for breaking ground and running a 6' tiller for prep along with other things like discing, turn plowing and chisel plowing. Once that is done I have 2 Farmall 140s that are used for bed prep, planting and cultivating. I also have a tobacco transplanter that I use for tomato sets and the like. I use my Polaris ranger with a 40 gallon spray rig for spraying. It's hard to beat a 140 for vegetable growing.

 

[Indian Territory]

Sorry I don’t have answers, only questions.

Would the extra 4000 lbs on similar sized rubber just result in deeper compaction and having to wait a little longer for the soil to dry out before you get on it?

Do you expect that the extra weight would allow you to till with wider implements or possibly bed or cultivate one more row on each pass?

Could tire selection or lack of front counterweight factor into the steering issues you’ve experienced?

Fair questions. I’m happy to have so many options to think through.

If we had a larger machine, we’d likely expand our tiny implements into moderate sized implements given enough time. But that’s not my primary concern. Just maintaining control is the trickiest part. My soil may well be to blame. Very heavy clay.

I do not have front weights, but I do carry a 4’6 section of my great grandpa’s old house footing in the front bucket. Seems to help some, but not enough.

 

[rScotty]

People tend to start with one tractor to "do it all", and end up with several. For what you are doing I'd get one 5000 lb tractor with a FEL that can lift 3000 lbs, and a couple of Farmall Cubs. Then I'd scour the county for original implements for those Cubs.
rScotty

 

[Bill Guenthner]

Fair questions. I’m happy to have so many options to think through.

If we had a larger machine, we’d likely expand our tiny implements into moderate sized implements given enough time. But that’s not my primary concern. Just maintaining control is the trickiest part. My soil may well be to blame. Very heavy clay.

I do not have front weights, but I do carry a 4’6 section of my great grandpa’s old house footing in the front bucket. Seems to help some, but not enough.

I have heavy clay soil as well. When it’s at all wet no amount of weight will allow you to steer a straight line. It’s like grease.

 

[Hay Dude]

People tend to start with one tractor to "do it all", and end up with several. For what you are doing I'd get one 5000 lb tractor with a FEL that can lift 3000 lbs, and a couple of Farmall Cubs. Then I'd scour the county for original implements for those Cubs.
rScotty

A 5000lb tractor lifting 3000lbs in the loader is going to lift the back tires off the ground.

 

[jeff9366]

Our soil tilth leaves much to be desired, despite our amendments. Very heavy clay, which may be the problem.

The field is flat and even, with a slight south facing slope, with few to no rocks.

Keeping adding organic matter to your garden. Can you collect composted leaves and grass clippings from your city waste department?

Be grateful for the southern slope, for drainage, drying and the potential for a one week earlier harvest than your competitors.

Have you dug a pit to see what constitutes the upper 18" of soil?

A soil test will give you a good read on the nutrients and soil pH in the critical top 6" layer but I would want to know about the next 12" below before deep plowing.

When you purchase a heavier tractor an All Purpose Plow will allow you to rip 14" deep. Don't rip unless you have dug a pit on your one acre to inform yourself about the soil content 18" deep. Ten pits on ten acres.

Dirt Dog - All Purpose Plow / Field Cultivator REVIEW + PICTURES

Dirt Dog All Purpose Plow / Field Cultivator Dirt Dog Model APP 66-5 Total Width 66", Working Width 62", Five Tines, Weight 284 Pounds, Paid $835.00 (2010) Field Cultivator: A Three Point Hitch mounted, secondary tillage implement, used to perform operations such as soil aeration...

www.tractorbynet.com

For ten to twenty acres of vegetables few here will dispute a recommendation for a tractor of ~4,000 to ~5,000 pounds bare tractor weight.

I’m certain I want a +5,000 lb tractor.

5,000 pounds if a Category 2 TPH and heavier, 30" wider implements are needed or if you need to regularly lift one ton or more with the FEL. For veggies I would test air inflated tires first, then, if air inflated rear tires do not give sufficient traction pulling your implements, 50% liquid fill.

Avoid compacting clay.

 

[oldnslo]

Basic guideline for Putting power to the ground is 100 - 130 lbs per HP. If doing lots of loader work then more weight in rear is your friend. I have always preferred bigger taller tires for better pull.

any local dealers allows test drive on your property? That is the best way to see how they perform for you. What works for me may not work for you.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

You'll have more permanent ruts than rows with a 3-4.5 ton 75+ hp tractor on one acre (or 10).

3
We had a tractor die with a 14' disc behind it. The neutral switch is a touchy situation. Went and retrieved it with another tractor. Two of us were in a 1 ton flat bed with good grips on it. There were 3 vehicles to drive back. The truck was spinning and cutting down as it moved. The big tractor only left cleat marks. Tire body itself never touched, only the tread bars. I know that tractor weighs 13,600 pounds. It stays up very well. It pulls good too. It will boil dirt over a 5 yard dirt pan. I've done it.

 

[HST4Me]

Our implements are all 4’ wide and down:
—1-bottom, 14-inch moldboard plow with coulter blade and depth gauge wheel.
—Tiller. Forward rotating.
—brush mowever

Very heavy clay, which may well be the real problem.

The MFWD 1620 I just sold sounds like it would have been perfect for your current setup. Not a disposable plastic toy like the boomer 24 - has plenty of grunt and weight. Enjoyed it on R1s even more than turfs/R4s. No issues with moving round bales, pulling the double water wheel transplanter, or digging in with the keyline plow. Perfect for 7' sickle, 5' box blade, and 4' tiller. Good track width for veg and your current 4' wide implements. HST made life easy.

Anyone suggesting a big tractor doesn't understand veg on small acreage imo. Find something that works for what you run now, but is "chonky" enough to help open up more of your land on slower days. Don't get a tractor that will literally rut up and compact a 1/4 of your current operation just pulling it out of the shed on a rainy day...

As for your clay: the more you plow it, the more you'll make cement out of it. I've found fall planted cereal rye does wonders for aerating clay in addition to creating a weed free mat for fall veg after sickling in the summer. The more organic matter you can build, the less you'll be bothered by clay's drawbacks and more you'll be able to enjoy its benefits (excellent nutrient and water holding capacity). Take a look at how richard perkins, charles dowding, and morag gamble use compost and mulch. Their methods translate surprisingly well to larger fields with little more than a tractor, sicklebar, and hay rake.