Disc Hiller Project Got Out of Control

[jwillett]

Seeing the pics reminded me of why I got rid of my Disc Hillers and built this instead:

That really looks good and simple too. I see you paint your designs to match your tractor too!!

I finally got the head of R&D involved in my design.

Her helper taking a break in the sun.

 

[jwillett]

Would you have pics of your forming pan or is it just a "flat pan"?

Updated pan design change - Riv-2.1

I did not get to the farm this weekend as I help the USFS once a month and this was the weekend to help out. I did get a chance during the week to upgrade the chutes on the pan as I brought it home from the farm. I made them longer and higher to catch more dirt. Hope to try it out next weekend to see how she does.

 

[TDVT]

Seeing the pics reminded me of why I got rid of my Disc Hillers. I don't think discs move enough material to make a nice bed...probably better suited for "cultivation" type tasks. I'm currently pondering combining the two...a moldboard type blade combined with your pan design and mulch/drip tape laying capabilities... Single pass gardening :thumbsup:

I have been following this thread with interest & finally got the front bar w/discs mounted this past weekend & I have to say that I too now wonder about the capacity of the discs but haven't jumped ship quite yet.

Not sure if you guys have seen pics of the Buckeye bedder/layer unit.

Some on TBN have dissed the build quality of Buckeye stuff (I have only seen it online) but the beds they make sure look nice! They use two sets of discs on separate mounts to move the soil so maybe that's what it takes. I noticed that the inner set of discs are ahead of the outer shanks, forming the center of the bed first, then moving in more dirt before it gets to the pan.The forming pans are very similar to what you guys are building & they have versions/attachments that lay cover sheet & bed it in. I have checked out most of their pics for ideas.

I am now contemplating a modded furrower,

feeding a disc(s), then to a forming pan.

I'm interested to see how your Rev.2.1 works.

I should add that putting a large weight (approx 200 lbs) helped alot with my limited trial yesterday.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

I have been following this thread with interest & finally got the front bar w/discs mounted this past weekend & I have to say that I too now wonder about the capacity of the discs but haven't jumped ship quite yet.

I cant say the discs "didnt work", but they werent what I had imagined, thats for sure. I had wanted something similar to the beds you posted...nice beautiful beds. I think that can only be had with a pan former of sorts..MY only thought is that depending on what size row/hill your looking for the discs may not pull enough dirt in to give enough material for the pan to do its job. Again...depends on how tall/wide of a row your looking for.
My new "kick" is gardening with plastic mulch...this year is a trial...we laid down a couple rows of mulch by hand this year and I can already say that weeding those rows will be a JOY! aka...no weeding to be done :thumbsup: SO, if it proves out like I hope it will, my attention will be focusing on fabbing up a mulch & drip tape layer.

 

[jonyyuma]

Real nice shaped beds, what crop are you planting there? JY

 

[Bilko]

Question for Spudland Dave?
Excuse my slowness, but how do you go about picking up the mulch before starting the next season?

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Question for Spudland Dave?
Excuse my slowness, but how do you go about picking up the mulch before starting the next season?

No prob...i'm no pro at this either, this is my first year with Plastic Mulch...to pick it up this fall prior to plowing I'm just planning on pulling it out by hand. Should be much easier to pull it out then it was to put it in...

 

[Baby Grand]

No prob...i'm no pro at this either, this is my first year with Plastic Mulch...to pick it up this fall prior to plowing I'm just planning on pulling it out by hand. Should be much easier to pull it out then it was to put it in...

It is. Last year we used it for our summer & winter squash and pumpkins. It worked great. We cut circular holes for the plants with a propane torch - this created a sort of grommet of material around the hole and kept it from fraying. It pulled right out at the end of the season & we rolled it up and saved it for re-use this year. What can I say - we're cheap.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

It is. Last year we used it for our summer & winter squash and pumpkins. It worked great. We cut circular holes for the plants with a propane torch - this created a sort of grommet of material around the hole and kept it from fraying. It pulled right out at the end of the season & we rolled it up and saved it for re-use this year. What can I say - we're cheap.

Hey...I'm the king of cheap too..:laughing: but even I was planning on chucking mine...at 80 bucks for 2,400 feet of it, I considered it disposable... I used about 200 feet in my garden this year....
Which one are you using? Sounds like yours is woven? I got Regular 1 mil Embossed 4' wide.
LOVE the torch idea!

 

[ZDB]

We use 1.25 and 1 mil each year for strawberries and vegetables. With a Rain-Flo 2600 mulch layer.

Its usually pulled up in fall by hand at our place. It can be a pain to remove if the soild is dry and the sides get weedy. Sometimes we wait for spring and it pulls up easier with moister soil.