Is there a right or wrong type of plow?

[johnrex62]

I have never farmed or used any ground engaging implements other than a boxblade ripper. I have been reading recommendations about using a plow to breakup the ground before running a tiller for a garden. I have always used a troybilt horse tiller on virgin ground when starting gardens and am wondering about the ins and out of plow usage now.

What is the practical difference between a mouldboard plough and a disc plow? How does a middlebuster differ in it's use? Can someone give me a practical, real-world primer on what type of plow to pick for specific uses, which are interchangeable and which are not? why should I choose or avoid a type of plow for a small garden application? At this point I am not concerned with large acreage applications or massive agricultural tasks, most I am interested in what the plow does, how it is beneficial to ground prep and what one type provides in an end result over another type.

Keep it simple and as practical as possible. The theoretical and scientific explanations will be lost on my simple mind at this point. :ashamed:

 

[bp fick]

The Middle buster slices through the ground, turning the soil equally in both directions.
The share plow turns over the sod/soil, flipping it continuously, as you plow, in the same direction. This effectively turns the top sod or organic stubble over, burying it.
The disc is a gang of rotating blades. These are set on an angle and this slicing, dicing action cuts and rips the soil.

Each have their place.

The cheap, simple way to go is to use a middle buster, because it also has other applications around a homestead, to trench. But the followup must be either a disc or a roto-tiller. The tiller does not have capacity to go anywhere near as deep as a middle buster. The MB can really go deep, 10-12 inches, breaking up the harder soil beneath.

There is no ONE right way. I'll attach some photos later.

 

[bp fick]

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Here is a garden that was "virgin" sod 4 years ago, we when took this property. The middle buster did a fine job of ripping it up, down to 12" deep.

 

[bp fick]

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This is a middle buster, of course. It serves as my trench maker for planting rows of some things and also is my potato digger extraordinaire. Wouldn't be without it.

Next is my field cultivator which is a kind of C tine drag, I can lift it on my three point. Wouldn't be without it either.

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Finally, this is my disc. A relatively recent addition. This really is a wonderful tool for chopping up the garden in fall and slicing up all the rubble. It really speeds the breakdown of these materials.

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[bp fick]

Finally, there is no better site, in my opinion, than EverythingAttachments.com to learn how these things work and might work in concert, their differences and what they are intended to do.

Ted has an instructional video series that are entirely enjoyable to watch. He demonstrates just about every attachment they sell, which is a bunch. I highly recommend a rainy day or cool evening of watching these videos. Frankly, I've been market gardening since I was a kid, and grew up doing this stuff on small tractors like the Massey Harris Pony and 8N, and Farmall Cubs, but I get a complete kick out watching these videos.

Ted should have been nominated for a Emmy or Oscar or what award is given for this type of small video making. Yup, they are just that good. :thumbsup:

 

[bullbreaker]

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Here is a garden that was "virgin" sod 4 years ago, we when took this property. The middle buster did a fine job of ripping it up, down to 12" deep.

Neats pics,work,etc ! Thanks for shareing info.
Question cause that section of land in pic #1 looks like a piece on my property : Did you put that garden over under ground utility(s) ?

Boone

 

[bp fick]

Neats pics,work,etc ! Thanks for shareing info.
Question cause that section of land in pic #1 looks like a piece on my property : Did you put that garden over under ground utility(s) ?

Boone

Boone, yes and no. The only thing underground is the power feed to our home. It is two feet down. I can't reach it with implements, not even the MB.

Gardening, pastures, crops in general under the power lines is the best thing to do, frankly. The land owners own the land, but covenants with the power company allow them access, of course. The power company will not allow any trees to grow under the lines and that is in the covenant. If the landowner does not at least bush hog the land, they will and will use powerful "Agent Orange" type chemicals. Most land owners do not want that, as we are on wells here, of course. Better to use it as pasture or farming, and the power company agrees whole heartedly.

 

[milkman]

This works really well for me, and lot of enjoyment.



Plowing the garden with BX2200 - YouTube

 

[nybirdman]

Your manual should tell what your tractor can handle.I.E. 2/12 bottom plow ect.As stated a "middle buster" is a inexpensive investment with may uses.If possible break your new ground in the fall.My spring routine is (on food plots) bush-hog all standing plots,plow(I have a old 2/12) roto-till,plant and drag.

 

[Don87]

As others have stated, using a middlebuster, then a tiller will work fine. It's what I do also.

 

[sweettractors]

When it comes to turning plows, always go for the older name brand plows with the 3 piece setup. The only time you would need a disc plow if for soil with lots of roots or rocks otherwise stay with a moldboard plow to turn the soil and organic material upside down. Just below is a partial listing of our plows. Ken Sweet
Plows

 

[johnrex62]

I picked up a Dearborn 10-28 2 bottom middlebuster today for $275. It appears to be in excellent condition to my inexperienced eyes. There are not cracks or repairs that I can find, the edges are sharp and smooth (but do not appear to be recently sharpened), It is missing one of the bolts holding one of the beams to the toolbar, but the other three are still in place and that one would seem to be a very minor cost to replace.

I have not been able to locate any documentation on this model, I did locate a parts document for the 10-27 frame and the 10-29/10-30 bottom assembly that seem to be the same as what I see on the 10-28 (that is how I knew the name of the beam and tool bar ). Nothing like an operator manual or guide to making adjustments. Does anyone know where I can find a good primer on using this middlebuster correctly?

 

[johnrex62]

Ken, Here is a pic of the bottom and the badge....are parts available should I break something?

 

[Kioti Tom]

If you will google "Dearborn model 28" it will come up with a number of places selling the manual.

Good luck

Tom

 

[Botabill]

There is no right or wrong way to plow. You need to determine what you want to achieve and based on that some methods work better than others. I use a single bottom or double bottom plow when I want to break up sod or bury trash. A middle buster leaves a surface that looks less finished also I don't think you can avoid leaving compacted tractor tire imprints using a middle buster as it is mounted in the middle of the tractor rather than off to the working side as a mold board plow is. For a garden it really isn't so important as you really just want to break up soil prior to tilling. The advantage to a middle buster is you can also use it to dig potatoes.

Yesterday I was doing some work with my mini excavator at a job site and the owner asked me to use it to break up a sodded area where he was planning a new garden. I simply ripped the sod and flipped it over in a area about 15 feet by 30 feet with the bucket. When I was done it looked like a plowed garden. Roots from nearby trees were ripped out and the bigger rocks moved to the side.

 

[sixdogs]

Bobabill---we mostly use chisel plows around here because of the clay but I sure do like your "vee" style middle buster. That is a keeper.

 

[EverythingAttachments]

The key to good plowing is having a well designed plow and making sure that it's adjusted correctly. Here's a video of us adjusting and testing our compact tractor single bottom plow for the first time.
Our plows are built heavy like the older antique plows on the market, priced right and designed to last a lifetime.

 

[oldballs]

I'm a newbie to gardening with a tractor. So far my experience has been that a moldboard plow really turns things over, but it leaves the really large furrows that are hard to till with a walk behind. The middle buster breaks up the ground deep but the furrows aren't so deep for later tilling. That's where BP Fick's disc would come in handy. But better yet, a tractor driven tiller might do that even better. At this point I don't have either (disc or tiller). And so far, the expenditures make each potato or tomato cost about $50 each.:shocked:

 

[Qapla]

We use a single or double bottom plow depending on which field we are plowing. Then, either a 3PH disc set or a 3PH tiller, again depending on the field.

On the 10 acres, we use the disc set. On the smaller areas we use the tiller. In some of the areas and depending on what we are planting, just the tiller.