John Deere for large lawn and garden(s).

[WillysWoodPile]

my brother-in-law has a 4320 on his dairy farm. It's quite a machine. It has a Heineker (SP?) cab on it. They use it for harrowing and corn chopping mostly.

Personally, I'd rather have a used JD lawn and garden tractor than a new one. Keep your eyes peeled and you can probably find a nice GX325, 335 or 345 reasonably priced with a 54" deck. I have the 30" mechanical tiller for my 1994 325 and I can switch from mow to till and back to mow in about 15 minutes. It has ag tires and hydraulic lift and cruise control. I love it.

Mechanical tiller or the hydraulic tiller? I see you have the mechanical and like it. And I noticed the hydraulic tiller [as advertised] only goes 6 inches deep.

 

[jenkinsph]

Woody,
I think the better choice in tillers for this size equipment is the Deere 647 or comparable unit, these will till about 7" deep. To till much deeper most of the tillers would be designed for larger tractors. An alternative solution might be to use a larger tractor each year at the beginning to till the garden plot then use the smaller unit to cultivate (till as you mentioned) between the rows.

I ordered a new X749 and plan to purchase the 647 tiller for it this spring but this is for lawn use planting new grass. My focus here was for something to get into the tight spots where the larger tractors won't fit.

 

[jcmseven]

I would recommend looking into a used 500 series (the equivalent of the 700 series now) if you can find one at a good price. The older 400 series (425, 445, 455 diesel) are really nice also. The problem here is that in "not brand new" equipment, often the prices are similar but the machines may be vastly different. While the 300 series machines are really nice, I would consider a 400 or 500 series machine at a couple thousands dollars more to be a worthwhile deal if they are in similar shape. They are just much more efficient machines.

John M

 

[LBrown59]

This is what I use.:laughing:

--- Can anybody suggest a decent priced combination of a John Deere larger-than-average lawn mower with a sturdy rear-tiller?
---.

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

the mechanical tiller I have works great although sometimes, when breaking new ground, it turns the tractor into a rocket...

 

[iowacorn]

gentlemen:
i have a john deere xuv 850d that i was using in the cornfield, after the corn was picked, apparently a cornstalk pierced the rubber boot that covers the u-joint to the front wheel drive.. that u-joint is now exposed to the dirt and everything else on the ground. i can't have it exposed, but it looks like a all day job to take that old boot off and put on another one... i don't use that drive shaft often, but it turns weather it's being used or not..
has anyone else had a problem with this? appreciate any and all the help i can get. thank you for the help .

 

[Gator6x4]

gentlemen:
i have a john deere xuv 850d that i was using in the cornfield, after the corn was picked, apparently a cornstalk pierced the rubber boot that covers the u-joint to the front wheel drive.. that u-joint is now exposed to the dirt and everything else on the ground. i can't have it exposed, but it looks like a all day job to take that old boot off and put on another one... i don't use that drive shaft often, but it turns weather it's being used or not..
has anyone else had a problem with this? appreciate any and all the help i can get. thank you for the help .

I have seen farmers split an inner tube place it around the shaft and use tire cememt to seal the tube and then place hose clamps on the ends. This was a field repair I do not know if they left everything in place when the harvesting was done or not.

 

[WillysWoodPile]

This is what I use.:laughing:

--)> I used a Kubota when I worked on a golf course.

-- You have a nice machine. How well does that tiller work?

 

[KB9UDE]

If you are looking for a garden tractor I have owned and loved the following: 285 with 30" tiller, 445, x485, x720 mower and front blade. Each of these has been reliable and done more than expected.

If you want a slightly larger tractor (CUT) I have owned a JD 2320 and 2520. On our farm we currently have a 2520 running a 5ft tiller and 62" drive over MMM. It works wonderful. We use this for mowing around fields in the summer and tilling gardens and food plots for hunting deer.

 

[jenkinsph]

If you are looking for a garden tractor I have owned and loved the following: 285 with 30" tiller, 445, x485, x720 mower and front blade. Each of these has been reliable and done more than expected.

If you want a slightly larger tractor (CUT) I have owned a JD 2320 and 2520. On our farm we currently have a 2520 running a 5ft tiller and 62" drive over MMM. It works wonderful. We use this for mowing around fields in the summer and tilling gardens and food plots for hunting deer.

We are both setup similarly and I likewise have been impressed with the abilities of the 749. As far as tilling goes there shouldn't be much difference between the X7xx mowers and a 2320 or even 2520. By that I am referring to tilling depth, most of these max out about 6 or 7 inches. That is the limit of these rotor diameters but some of the large ag tillers can till about a ft deep.