Tiller Rototiller Newbie

[LHS Inc]

Picking up a KKII 5' Tiller from Everything Attachments later this week and I had a question.
I'll be working up a food plot. I bushhogged the plot to about 6 inches. I was thinking of discing the area before I rototilled to cut up any weeds that didn't get cut so it doesn't get wrapped around the tiller. The area was mostly foxtail that like to lay flat and are hard to cut.

Am I wasting my time? Should I just go ahead and jump right in and rototill it and not worry about it?

As far as virgin soil goes the plot has been plowed every year for the last 5 years so it should work up without a problem.

 

[nybirdman]

You can try but;I think you will have to plow first.May-be after a good rain you could do it.If you don't have plows,you can purchase an inexpensive middle buster(Tractor Supply) and at least break the sod.

 

[LHS Inc]

You can try but;I think you will have to plow first.May-be after a good rain you could do it.If you don't have plows,you can purchase an inexpensive middle buster(Tractor Supply) and at least break the sod.

It's not really a sod so to speak. I plant forage oats in my food plot and the oats hold off the weeds until they finally take over in the spring/summer.

I was more concerned with the foxtail that might still be there wrapping around the tiller shaft and creating a problem.

I do have a nice disc to use to prep the ground if needed but my whole purpose of the rototiller was to eliminate all the different implements needed to get a good seed bed.

Only way to find out is give it a try.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[jenkinsph]

If it were me I would set the shoes for maximum depth and fire it up. a couple of passes and it should be looking good. How deep does the King Kutter till?

I have used both the Howard tiller and the Deere tiller, both will cut through sod and chew it up. The Deere 673 will till deeper and has a larger rotor diameter. You may get some grass wrapped up but I would just let it turn and beat the crap out of it all. While I use to have plows, disks and v rippers for field work I use tillers for all the smaller acreages I deal with now. They seem to work well and are a lot easier to transport.


Did you ever get a power seeder or core aerator? I sem to remember you were considering the aerator.

 

[bilrus61]

If you still have the bushhog on your tractor mow it again a little lower. That will let you till it just fine. For some reason guys that get a new tiller want to till deep in one pass on sod. If your breaking much groundcover go over it twice. First time about 4 inches deep them again deep as you can go. Or you can just lap the tilling. I like to break the sod and let it lay a day or two. Then come back and till it deep.

 

[LHS Inc]

If it were me I would set the shoes for maximum depth and fire it up. a couple of passes and it should be looking good. How deep does the King Kutter till?

I have used both the Howard tiller and the Deere tiller, both will cut through sod and chew it up. The Deere 673 will till deeper and has a larger rotor diameter. You may get some grass wrapped up but I would just let it turn and beat the crap out of it all. While I use to have plows, disks and v rippers for field work I use tillers for all the smaller acreages I deal with now. They seem to work well and are a lot easier to transport.


Did you ever get a power seeder or core aerator? I sem to remember you were considering the aerator.

Thanks for the advice. You have a good memory. Yes I did get a core aerator. A Frontier CA2060E. Bought it from the local JD dealer. It was called used but the guy who traded it in never used it, those spoons never touched the ground.
He didn't do his homework, it was too big for the properties he has. Saved about 800 bucks over a new one. It has six spoons per hub compared to eight on the more expensive models. I thot that might be a problem but they let me try it out since it was classified used and I really liked the job it did. I believe with the six spoons you get better penetration while the eight spoons ride more on top, just my opinion.
It has a very HD frame, a well built piece of equipment. Used it on a job last year and plan to use it more this Fall.

 

[Baby Grand]

If you still have the bushhog on your tractor mow it again a little lower. That will let you till it just fine. For some reason guys that get a new tiller want to till deep in one pass on sod. If your breaking much groundcover go over it twice. First time about 4 inches deep them again deep as you can go. Or you can just lap the tilling. I like to break the sod and let it lay a day or two. Then come back and till it deep.

I was thinking the same. Hog it again, and short as you can. I've only had 2 incidents with plants wrapping around the tiller. The first was long, green, field grass that was just cut with a scythe and the second was bittersweet vines I had pulled out of the trees over our field and forgot to remove before tilling. Come to think on it you may just want to take a quick pass with a rake to get the long, green, stringy stuff and any big sticks up.

 

[LHS Inc]

I was thinking the same. Hog it again, and short as you can. I've only had 2 incidents with plants wrapping around the tiller. The first was long, green, field grass that was just cut with a scythe and the second was bittersweet vines I had pulled out of the trees over our field and forgot to remove before tilling. Come to think on it you may just want to take a quick pass with a rake to get the long, green, stringy stuff and any big sticks up.

Thanks for the reply BG. I'll look at it today and if it needs it thats what I'll do.
Waiting on the tiller to arrive so I'll have time to do some prep work if needed.

If try to take some before n after pics.