Rototil or turn plow

[Eyecatcher]

Just getting into the garden thing, and have about 5 acres to play with. N. florida sand. Runs from sugar sand on the hills to black muck in the bottoms. Lots of roots just underground in the good soil areas. Neighbor tried a rototiller, and wound up the roots so that it took hours to clear. I'm wondering if it would be wise to plow first. I have a kind of sub-soiler that I've put together with the 5 scarifiers off my box blade, but haven't had a chance to try it yet. Have a Yanmar EX450 (45 hp), how big a plow can I pull?

 

[sweettractors]

If you could use a disc plow first and then a roto tiller would work thereafter. Ken Sweet

 

[remington270]

If your tractor is heavy enough a two bottom 14 inch moldboard plow would do well. May not need to plow every year, once the roots are out just till in coming years.

 

[jenkinsph]

As others have suggested disking and using a turning plow for the first run, you may want to hire out the first deep tillage then use a tiller in subsequent years. That way you are only buying a 72" tiller which should be about right for your tractor.

 

[Botabill]

I have a mold board plow and rototiller. The plow I use to break up and flip sod and green manure / cover crops. Once they have rotted down a bit I til. I went years with only a tiller though. One down side to tillers is they are bad at creating a hard pan in our heavy clay soil. Might not be so bad in sandy soil. Plows and several other tillage implements will do that also to varying degrees.

 

[Eyecatcher]

I'll keep my eyes open for some used equipment. Can't afford much new stuff till the tractor payment is gone. I watched the video on plows, and he had a 50 horse tractor w/R4's, and had 2-12" plows. indicated that that's about all that combo could handle. I'm not sure how the R4's will pull in this sand, I think I have more hp than I can get on the ground. Have to use front wheel assist to do much of anything. Apprehensive about loading ghe rear tires - will that pack the garden soil too hard?

 

[flusher]

Rip in criss-cross and diagonal directions with your subsoiler and then use an offset or tandem disc (6-7 ft wide) with a drag attached (5-6 old tires chained together) to finish the job.

Good luck

 

[Botabill]

I don't think R4s will do any more compaction than other tires. Obviously you have some compaction when ever you step or drive on soil. Implements following the tractor generally break up the compaction the tires cause. The hard pan we struggle with is not really so much a symptom of travel as much as the result of fine particules of clay washing down through cultivated soil to mass at the uncultivated level.

 

[James Thomas]

Have same question have a Massey Ferguson 1250 32 HP Tractor and am needing a one pan plow and disc harrow to work a garden plot. My question is regarding plows. Are the older used one pan plows sufficient? Are the TSC new one pan plow a good buy? Should I spend extra $$$ and get a Howse etc?

 

[davethegundoctor]

I would spray with Roundup and wait 7-10 days and then plow. It will start to kill the roots. I do this every year on my Deer plots.

David Pidgeon
New Haven, Vermont