Disk Search

[TNSmallfarm]

I want to put in some food plots and larger gardens (1-3 acres). This may scale up eventually as I explore selling vegetables. I am trying to decide on disc or tiller. My tractor is a 70hp kubota. Anyone have thoughts. Seems as if all the smaller equipment is harder and harder to find that is at a reasonable price.

 

[Rockbadchild]

Personally I would suggest a tiller, one pass and done, 3 acres is within a very doable range with a tiller, a disk takes as much time and more since you have to do many passes depending on the soil. The soil has a impact on that decision, some soil like sandy soil breaks down very easily, it barely need to be disked after plowing. If that's the case the disk might be the way to go but even with a sandy soil you most likely will have to plow before you can disk every year, with a tiller you can just till without plowing after your first year once the soil have already been worked on.

 

[workinonit]

I have both as well as a chisel plow to break the 1.5' crust. A tiller won't realistically cut any more than about 4". A gang disk maybe 8", in my case. For me a chisel plow is a necessary implement to minimize compaction and break the crust.

 

[oldnslo]

What type of cover crops will be the land you are trying to till? What type of soil?

Tillers tend to wind up any grasses, stalks, vines, etc. and then you have to cut this stuff off the tines. Cutting or shredding before tilling helps eliminate this problem.

A good offset disc will turn the soil in one pass while cutting and mixing the crop residue.

A heavy tandem disc may take 2 or 3 passes depending on soil type, crop coverage, etc.

 

[masseyrider]

I do a 4 stage approach.
I plow for depth. Gets to deep rooted weeds, Brings up rocks.
I disk to level the ground and breakup the bigger clumps.
Then I use the spring harrows. They pull up rocks that need to picked up and other debris.
Lastly I use the tiller to give a well cultivated planting bed.
Tillers are great but if you have rocky, heavy soil, with lots of debris they can be easily enough damaged.
Once you have an established garden area in following years you might get away just tilling.
Here frost pulls up rocks every year and you won't get the depth of a good plow.