Market farming without 3 pt hitch tiller

jsanders420 · Jun 15, 2015

Hey guys. It's been a looooong time. I've decided to start market farming (since my wife retired and won't leave) and I don't have a pto tiller. I know they are only $1000 - $2000 but I hate to spend it right now. I have a turning plow, disc, cultivator, spring plow. Is it reasonable to go this way? I know it will take me a lot longer.

By the way, it's hot as **** in Alabama right now.

Just wanting to hear your $.02 worth.

Thanks.

DFB · Jun 15, 2015

Go for it!

JSanders10 · Jun 15, 2015

I think you'll be perfectly fine with that setup. According to what you're planting and raising, your cultivator should be able to layout your hills for planting pretty well.

And yes, it is hot as h*ll the past few days.
What part of Alabama are you in? My place is just between Greenville and Fort Deposit.

Will_C · Jun 15, 2015

Although this was back in the 1950 and 60's, my grandfather had a successful market garden with an Allis Chalmers G with a plow, cultivators, and a raised bed maker/ potato hiller, along with a 2 wheel Gravely. He supplemented his income nicely with his 2.5 acre set up.

Will

DJ54 · Jun 15, 2015

The ground will work much better with that type of tillage. A buddy of mine is in the Farm Market as a sideline. He tills the dirt too fine to my notion, so as to use his Jung seeder. It's practically like flour... After a rain, it gets so hard, the new shovels on his mounted cultivators on the CA Allis, just skim the surface.

He has since gone to using a hiller, and plastic mulch, and drip tape. After tilling that fine, the dirt seems to mellow a lot quicker under the plastic.

whis · Jun 15, 2015

lots of produce was raise before tillers where made

Poopdeck Pappy · Jun 15, 2015

whis said:
lots of produce was raise before tillers where made

Amen to that. And wheat, cotton, milo, soybeans, blackeyed peas, etc., etc., etc.

I've never had a tiller and have nothing against them. In fact, I'd like to have one. But the tools the OP listed will work just fine for a market garden (or anything else he wants to grow).

leonz · Jun 15, 2015

jsanders420 said:
Hey guys. It's been a looooong time. I've decided to start market farming (since my wife retired and won't leave) and I don't have a pto tiller. I know they are only $1000 - $2000 but I hate to spend it right now. I have a turning plow, disc, cultivator, spring plow. Is it reasonable to go this way? I know it will take me a lot longer.

By the way, it's hot as **** in Alabama right now.

Just wanting to hear your $.02 worth.

Thanks.

============================================================================

What are you going to use to plant seeds with???
I would contact Joel at Earthtools and ask him about a
small BCS tiller with a rotary plow to build raised beds
as they can dig 14 inches deep. you should be able to
buy a seeder from him too.

Your going to need gypsum and lime as well.

You have to spend money to make money my friend.

jeff9366 · Jun 15, 2015

Disc Harrows and PTO powered roto-tillers are both forms of earth mixing tillers. You need one or the other, not both.

The Disc Harrow will leave moderate ripples in your soil. Roto-tillers generally leave a ready seedbed.