disc harrow or rototiller

[jyoutz]

I'm planning to upgrade to a much larger tractor (L4701) than I currently have. I plan to sell my current 54" rototiller because it would be too narrow for the L4701. I have a large garden that I plow in the fall with a moldboard, and I've been preparing for spring planting by rototilling. My soil is good and have been used as a garden spot for 14 years. I'm considering just getting a 6 foot disc harrow instead of a larger rototiller. Any thoughts? Would the disc prepare the seed bed good enough for gardening, or would I miss having a rototiller?

 

[lakngulf]

You would probably miss the tiller but with enough weight and trips over soil the disc harrow will do the job

 

[captronr]

A lot of options here, each with advantages/disadvantages, plus different costs.

If you plow every fall, I'm not sure you need to rototill before planting. A disc might work. Another option would be to obtain a mounted springtooth or chisel plow. Either would require more than one operations, such as work the ground, wait for a rain and / or 10 days, then work it again.

I used to have a tractor with a 7 shank spring tooth. I used it on fescue sod on very good ground. It looked like crap after the first 1 or 2 operations, but by the 3rd or 4th, it was perfectly tilled to plant.

Later, with a larger tractor, I purchased a 10 foot pull behind chisel plow for $40 at a farm auction. Cut it apart and built a 7 foot three point chisel plow. Sold the rest for scrap for about $20. Worked great and the price was right.
Ron

 

[jyoutz]

A lot of options here, each with advantages/disadvantages, plus different costs.

If you plow every fall, I'm not sure you need to rototill before planting. A disc might work. Another option would be to obtain a mounted springtooth or chisel plow. Either would require more than one operations, such as work the ground, wait for a rain and / or 10 days, then work it again.

I used to have a tractor with a 7 shank spring tooth. I used it on fescue sod on very good ground. It looked like crap after the first 1 or 2 operations, but by the 3rd or 4th, it was perfectly tilled to plant.

Later, with a larger tractor, I purchased a 10 foot pull behind chisel plow for $40 at a farm auction. Cut it apart and built a 7 foot three point chisel plow. Sold the rest for scrap for about $20. Worked great and the price was right.
Ron

I already have a moldboard plow. I plow in the fall to open the furrows so that snow can penetrate. But my soil has some clay and plowings isn't sufficient to make a planting bed in the spring. I'm wondering if a disc harrow would be able to make a suitable planting bed?

 

[captronr]

To me, if you say "clay" and disc in the same sentence, I'd be leary. Unless the disc can cut the clay up (which it might be able to do), it might just pack it down which will not make a decent seed bed.

I'll defer to others.
Ron

 

[TheMadOne]

A disc will work, but it won't be as quick or uniform as a tiller.

Why the L4701 instead of a MX or Grand L?

 

[Sawyer Rob]

You would probably miss the tiller but with enough weight and trips over soil the disc harrow will do the job

And there lies the problem, more weight and more trips over the soil!

That's called compaction, I'd either offset the tiller you have to cover one track, or get a bigger tiller.

SR

 

[jeff9366]

I'm planning to upgrade to a much larger tractor (L4701) than I currently have. I plan to sell my current 54" rototiller because it would be too narrow for the L4701.

I have a large garden that I plow in the fall with a moldboard, and I've been preparing for spring planting by rototilling. My soil is ]good and have been used as a garden spot for 14 years.

What is LARGE in terms of square feet or acres? Is this a kitchen garden?

Assuming your garden is less than five acres, a Roto-tiller is simpler mixing soil than a Disc Harrow.

With a Roto-tiller on previously tilled ground it is usually once and done. You can till slowly.

A Disc Harrow has to be pulled at a brisk pace in order to mix soil, hence it is not as good for relatively small areas.

 

[MHarryE]

Soil type is the key. My soil is graded 49% clay, 42% loam, and 9% sand. One needs to beat it into submission. Moldboard plow, disc twice, cultivate twice in the fall. Multi-weeder (Euro spring teeth in the spring after Mother Nature has done its freeze/thaw job and I’ve got a seed bed for farm crops. For garden it’s moldboard plow in fall, disc once if there’s time, and roto-till before planting. Needs to be dry with the high clay content.

 

[jyoutz]

A disc will work, but it won't be as quick or uniform as a tiller.

Why the L4701 instead of a MX or Grand L?

I like simple tractors, and don't really care for the gadgets on the grand L (or the price). I like the simplicity and the weight/HP/capabilities as well as the size of the L4701. It hits a sweet spot for what I need. The MX seems a little larger and less handy in the barn/pens/garden, and I don't want to pay for Cat 2 implements. Also the price of the 4701 is reasonable for that size/HP tractor.

 

[jyoutz]

What is LARGE in terms of square feet or acres? Is this a kitchen garden?

Assuming your garden is less than five acres, a Roto-tiller is simpler mixing soil than a Disc Harrow.

With a Roto-tiller on previously tilled ground it is usually once and done. You can till slowly.

A Disc Harrow has to be pulled at a brisk pace in order to mix soil, hence it is not as good for relatively small areas.

What size is my garden? About 1/4 acre. I'm not buying a tractor sized for my garden, other wise I'd keep the one I have. I need a larger, more stable tractor for utility chores on my 20 acres,

 

[jyoutz]

And there lies the problem, more weight and more trips over the soil!

That's called compaction, I'd either offset the tiller you have to cover one track, or get a bigger tiller.

SR

I wished that my current 54" tiller was offsetable. But it's not.

 

[TheMadOne]

OK, that sounds fairly well thought out. I tend to ask for reasoning from people who say they want the L4701 because it's an orphan and a lot of the time their only reasoning is that it's the biggest "standard" L. With both the MX4800 and L4060 hitting within $1000 or so of the same price there's quite a bit of personal choice to be had.

That said, a friendly reminder that the MXs are II/I, meaning you don't have to pay for CAT II if you don't want to.

 

[Egon]

1/4 of an acre. Think rotatiller.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I may be confused and probably am but under the situation that you already have a tiller which isn't as wide as your tractor tires wouldn't it work with walking rows (The row where your tires is rolling on) between your tilled rows and be OK? With 20 acres you seem to have plenty of land to still have a half acre of tilled ground. My tiller is wider than my BX and narrower than my L and I use it on both tractors.

 

[TheMadOne]

I may be confused and probably am but under the situation that you already have a tiller which isn't as wide as your tractor tires wouldn't it work with walking rows (The row where your tires is rolling on) between your tilled rows and be OK? With 20 acres you seem to have plenty of land to still have a half acre of tilled ground. My tiller is wider than my BX and narrower than my L and I use it on both tractors.

That's not a bad idea at all. Walking rows are more of a southern thing, I think. Most gardens here in the Northeast are fully tilled, so the idea never crossed my mind.

 

[Fallon]

I upgraded from a 60" L3200 to a 72" L4060HSTC. I havent yet upgraded my 60 or 62" King Kutter tiller. It works fine for the arena maintnance side work I do. Upgrading to a 72" would be nice, but not worth the cost at the moment. I'd see how poorly your current tiller works before upgrading. I have a feeling it might be a bit small (unlike mine), but it cant hurt to try.

As far as disk vs tiller... do you have room to maneuver & get up to speed? A disk needs to run at the proper speed to properly throw & mix dirt. If you dont have room to get up to speed, a disk is the wrong tool. A disk may be faster in some conditions, but often struggle in others. A tiller will get the job done in pretty much all conditions.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I till the whole garden, (this is the front garden)

but I do put in walking rows after,

One note on tractors, The "M" series are heavier duty tractors over the "L's", and I prefer to have the stronger built tractor here on my place!

SR

 

[jyoutz]

I may be confused and probably am but under the situation that you already have a tiller which isn't as wide as your tractor tires wouldn't it work with walking rows (The row where your tires is rolling on) between your tilled rows and be OK? With 20 acres you seem to have plenty of land to still have a half acre of tilled ground. My tiller is wider than my BX and narrower than my L and I use it on both tractors.

Yes, I used to have a 1 acre garden that fed our family plus allowed us to sell at the weekly farmer's market. But our boys are grown now and it's just the wife and I. I converted 3/4 acre of the garden to a dwarf fruit tree orchard and raspberries, leaving 1/4 acre for annual vegetables. I do like the idea of keeping my tiller and doing walking rows. I would probably need to buy a longer driveshaft because mine is cut for my current small frame tractor. I'm wondering about the 38 HP tractor PTO being too much torque for my small 54 inch chain driven tiller (It's a 20 year old Woods brand tiller, chain-driven)? It I can make this tiller work with a much larger tractor, I will keep it.

 

[Fallon]

If the slip clutch is in good shape it will protect things. You should be loosening it up & making sure it slips properly. The clutch on mine is locked up tight every spring. Even when the springs are completely loose it will cut half way through a 2x4 jammed in the tines before the clutch let's loose.