Attachment to create rows in a home garden

[chuckcou]

Please be kind, this is a new area for me and I am a new member. I am sure my question will show this.

Anyway, I am confused about something and I am hoping you can clear it up.

I have a garden that is about 75' wide and 150' long. Currently I am using a cheap craftmans rototiller for turning the soil. It works, but takes a long time. Anyway, my confusion is regarding the making of the row. Currently, I manually make the rows with a hoe. I would like to change this to something that requires less work. So, in order to make row beds of 36 inches what type of machine would I use. Do I use BRINLEY 1 BOTTOM PLOW or do I use discs? Or do you have some other method to making your rows?
Thanks for your time, and I am sorry for my stupid question /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[DUMBDOG]

For the initial turning of the soil can be done in a variety of ways, you can use a rototiller, either the craftsman you mentioned or one attached to a tractor. The one attached to the tractor will be a lot less work. Another way the soil can be turned is to plow it first, but this leaves a rough surface that must be broken up either with the use of a disc or a harrow type implement.

I think that you will be a lot more pleased with the results of the rototiller.

When it comes to making a row to plant the seed, this can be accomplished in one step. Following is a link to a type of seeder that I used two years ago before my garden went a lot larger. I would not buy it from this source, check your local farm and home supply, believe I paid about $70 two years ago. TSC would be a good source if you have a local one. There are addtional seed plates available in addition to the four or five that come with the seeder.

If you have any other questions. please let us know.

Push Garden Seeder

If you click on the attachment above you can see a picture of our garden two years ago which the corn was seeded with this type of seeder.

 

[slydog]

Hi Chuck,
And welcome to TBN. You didn't mention if you have a tractor or not. My garden is not nearly as big as yours, about 40 x 30, but I use a push plow/cultivator to make my rows up. I used one of these when I was a kid, and looked all over before finding this one. You still have to pull them up with a hoe or rake, especially if making a wide bed, but this does help to make a straight furrow, and also for cultivating out the weeds.

Link to push plow

 

[slydog]

Forgot to mention they usually come with with a wide blade good for turning the furrow, and a narrow cultivator blade, which is usefull for opening up a shallow trench for planting, and a 5 pronged cultivator that is shown in the photo. This company shows it out of stock, but you can find them from other sources for about the same price. I call it a push plow, but it's more like a shove, pull back, shove, pull back operation as you move up the row.

 

[MMM]

Get yourself a David Bradley, or similar walking tractor. Cat's meow for small gardening. Veggies taste better....push plows leave a bad taste in your mouth. I think I can still taste it. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
I think the bigger walk behing tillers have row builders you can mount also. Of course, for what you spend on that you could get a lil Cub (tools included) and do 2 rows at once....and have something to talk about on this site.

 

[chuckcou]

Wow, thanks for the replys.
Dumbdog---Thanks for the tip. I like it a lot. This year is going to be great. I figure just by the replies I have gotten thus far, it will save me days of work.
My question to you is how did you build your rows? I am not sure about the idea of the push/pull method, even though it is better than my current method. I am wondering if I can make a attachment or something to the back of my tiller? Or maybe something is sold by another company that I can modify to fit my tiller. Anyway, any ideas would be good.
chuck

PS Currently I do not have a tractor, maybe next year I am thinking of Deere 318 /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[DUMBDOG]

If I understand you correctly the question is on the rows themselves where you put the seed?

If this is the case, the seeder that I had shown you the link for creates a furrow, drops the seed and then covers it up. In a freshly tilled garden, it will push quite easily and even has a row marker to mark the path of the next row for you.

If this does not answer your question ask again.

 

[chuckcou]

Sorry for the confusion. Usually my rows are 36 inch double rows. Thus, I will have lettuce>T tape in middle>Lettuce, with one furrow on each side.
>Currently I rototill. That does a good job in preparing the soil.
>Then I run a hoe on either side to create a ditch(ferrow). In the process I scoop the dirt out of the ditch and put it on top of the row, later to smooth out with a rake.
>After both side are done, I hand plant my seeds. After reading you suggestion I will use a seeder next time.BIG BIG time savings.
Now I have to find a way to create a ferrow that lifts the dirt to the top center of the 36 inch row(more or less).
Hope that helps. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
Chuck

 

[DUMBDOG]

Sounds like you are creating a raised bed. If this is the case the tractor that you are looking at would be on the small side for the equipment to create a raised bed.

This is a link for a distributor for all kinds of large gardening equipment.

Market Farm

On their online catalog they show the equipment for a raised bed.

If you are not describing a raised bed, but just two rows with a t tape inbetween the rows, the type of seeded that I orginally showed you will work fine.

 

[RalphVa]

I'm debating this myself. Here's another site for a push plow: http://www.earthway-outlet.com/6500.htm. It's cheaper than the other one someone pointed out. Think the local Southern States in Va has them in stock.

The nice thing about push plows is they won't leave wheel tracks or pack down the soil where the wheel has gone. They're also good for weeding between plants in the rows themselves (testimony from a local agent whose family has grown veggies for years and still use a push plow).

For the past 3 years in my 50x75 garden down below, I've used my Gravely rotary plow. I makes really nice mounded rows. Mine got too mounded though with a donation of 3 or 4" of compost from hurricane Isabelle. I scooped it from between the rows and piled it on top the rows. This fall, I went down and knocked the rows down with the rotary plow. Also in the fall, I got my new JD 4010. Attached is a pic of the soil ripper I used recently. It doesn't make the rows, however; so, I'm still debating what to do. Think a push plow may be the way to go.

I think that I'll make some furrow around the sides of the garden with the rotary plow. One thing I thought about was to then run the JD down the rows, with the wheel tracks making between-row areas (but a bit wide, 12.5" tire tracks). Then shovel the wheel track stuff on top of the approx. 2' wide rows (between wheels). Think the push plow is a better choice, as the between rows doesn't have to be that wide, and the rows need to be about 3' wide. That's why I flattened them to begin with. They were too high and not wide enough.

Another thought was to just mark off the between row spaces and shovel about a 4" wide between row space with my 4" trenching shovel. This is about what the folks at the Twin Oaks commune do. They rototill with a walk-behind and then run the between rows with a shovel. They do acres of veggies but have about 100 people for the labor. They used to use a tractor (with ag tires) for the garden work and found it packed the ground too much. My JD with turf tires and 2 tine runs from the soil ripper behind each tire doesn't seem to pack the soil much.

I just plant the seeds with a regular or skinny hoe making a trench and drop the seed. Some small gardeners use those push seeders, but they do plug up or bind. Unless you're doing a 1/2 acre or more, planting by hand is no big deal. Do it naked, and it's more fun.

Ralph

 

[ronjhall]

Ralph
Your link did not work. Click Here
Thanks for posting the URL. I need some replacement plates from my seeder.

 

[Bird]

My main garden was 83' x 103' and I used a walk behind tiller until I got a tractor and tiller. And I used the same one row planter that Dumbdog provided a link to; bought it at Gebo's before we got a Tractor Supply Co. store in our area, but the price was the same. I did spend a little more because I ordered all the "optional" seed plates to go with it. And maybe I spent a little more time than necessary laying out the rows because I drove steel rods into the ground at each end of each row. Then I pulled a string from rod to rod to lay out the rows. I had a long enough string to do 4 rows at at time. Some things were single rows; just push the planter down one side of the string, and some were double rows, push the planter down on side of the string and back up the other side. The planter has a little chain that's supposed to pull the dirt back over the seeds, and in my opinion it wasn't quite heavy enough, so I usually walked back down the rows dragging a garden rake over them to pull the dirt over the seed a little better. The back wheel on the planter is also supposed to "pack" the dirt down on the seeds, but I never worried about that because as soon as I put the seeds in the ground, I just used water to settle the dirt on the seeds.

 

[SPT]

I have misunderstood your question but it sounded like you wanted an easier way to mark the rows for planting? I made up a row marker that is quicker than using the hoe and string method mentioned, but it may not be easier. Basically, it consists of a 6' 2X3 with 3- 1X3 row markers attached (spaced 3' apart) that were cut to a point at the end. I attached a 6' 1X3 to the top to pull it down the garden. It was also braced from the ends to the pull board with 2 more 1X3s. The following year an old wooden snow shovel handle with a plastic D handle was bolted on to get a better grip. (Have to get the digital camera working.) I try to get as straight a row as possible the first time down and then overlap on the return (to make only one new row). This way it cleans out the furrows a bit more and gives more depth, usually enough for seeds. By keeping the rows straight and spaced right, I can cultivate with the rototiller. You could put two markers the right spacing to do the double row on either side of the T tape. It is still doing the job by hand and your garden is larger than mine. Perhaps if you beef it up, an attachment to the rototiller could be made.

 

[RalphVa]

Sounds as though you walk down your rows with that 2x3 with 1x3 diggers in it. No in-between row walking space?

Many gardeners world-wide avoid walking in the rows. They generally keep the rows about 3' to possibly 4' wide and only have skinny paths between them that they walk or push a wheelbarrow down. Many of the rows of veggies are actually planted perpendicular to the walking paths.

Ralph

 

[chuckcou]

Ok, I have done a little more research thanks to all the great feed back. Now I have a better understanding of what I need.
Does anyone have any pictures of their Bed Shaper? I am trying to see the front to understand the concept of how it works.

Next year I will step up to a small tractor, but this year I am making a small Bed Shaper.

I am pretty good at welding and with metal. I think a mini bed spreader might work.

I attach a home made bed shaper to the back of my rototiller in the final pass. Since the rototiller has it wheels spaced two feet apart my rows will have to be 2 feet. Since the rototiller isn't a tractor the Bed Shaper has to be smaller than ones I would purchase, like(see attachment) buckeye pro junior but smaller.

<font color="orange">So now comes the fun---Any pictures of Bed Shapers would be great. Any suggestions would also be great. Of course maybe I am going off the deep end on this one. I am sure I will hear about it. I want to thank all those who have posted thus far, it has been a great help. THANKS AGAIN!!!!!! </font> /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[theboman]

For furrows: I use a one row cultivator now. In the past I used a tater plow.
My dad used a push plow unless he had a horse and most my life it was a horse.
The funniest was my pulling the horse plow on the Wheel Horse garden tractor as my 70+ dad guided it along...I still laugh thinking about what folks drivin' up and down the road must have thought....you know he'd never let me do the guiding the plow.

Raised beds, never mess with them. I should I just don't know anything about them.

 

[KiotiJohn]

Attached is a picture of a bedder disk that goes on a 3pt hitch. I realize you don't now have a tractor, but if you get one, these are great for raising beds. I don't think you'll get a 36" bed though, I've never seen anyone make a 3ft high bed.
If you run the slide show on this attachment, you'll see the individual bedder discs with shafts. By the way, when it's on the tractor, the discs are not in the position they are in the pic. John
Bedder disc
EDIT: I'm not sure it's possible, but maybe you could modify one of the discs to fit on your walk behind so it beds as you go. John

 

[MMM]

Here you go chuck
2 legged mule

and here's one for the tiller
No kill tiller hiller

 

[RalphVa]

The Gravely rotary plow does about the same job as that picture shown of the David Bradley. You can find a lot more old Gravelys around for as cheap as about $250/tractor and about another $150-250 for a rotary plow. They're easy to work on.

One way that came to mind for me is to remove the inner wheel of my duals on the Gravely. Then remount the wheel spacers and only the outer wheels. This will yield a track about 30+ inches wide. Turn at the ends of the rows and come back down the same track on one side each time: rows about 30" wide and between-row tracks about 6 to 8" wide. Shovel out the compacted stuff made by the tracks and put mulch there.

Plant rows with a skinny hole, backfilling with back side of the hoe that has a little rake (available from Southern states). Easier way is one of those push type seeders, but I've been told that they plug or bind.

Ralph