Tiller tiller? or bottom plow/disc ?

[kbota]

I'm approaching decision point, and am interested in opinions. I'm going to either purchase a 5' tiller to pull behind my Kubota 30 hp 4 x 4 tractor, or find a single bottom plow and a tandem disc.
The cost of each option is close to the same, so it's a matter of which method will provide the best job.
The tiller will pretty much do the job, but most tillers only penetrate about 5 inches if your travel speed is slow.
The bottom plow will break up a foot easily, and then the top 6 to 8 inches can be further broken up with a tandem disc.

Thoughts from folks who have used both would be appreciated.

k

 

[Egon]

The tiller will dig down deeper than you think.

My own 44 in. tiller behind not enough HP. will go down about 8 inches in rocky clay soil.

A 65HP. tractor and tiller the neighbour lent me went down to an easy 12 inches and with a few more passes would have gone much deeper.

Another consideration may be the amount of land to be cultivated and how tight it will be to maneuver the tractor.

You may also want to investigate you anticipated ploughing dept a little farther.

 

[kthompson]

kbota, even if the bottom plow can plow a foot deep does not mean you should in your soil. At least here the desire is NOT to pull subsoil up and again here that is way short of a foot.

 

[AKfish]

In general, most plants don't need 12" of soil to grow efficiently. Commercial varieties that are commonly grown in this country; corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, etc. utililize the upper 6"-8" of the topsoil.

If you purchase a plow and disc - that's at least 2 passes over the ground with each implement - more likely, you'll need to make 3-4 trips over the plowed ground with just the disc.

So, if time and fuel are an important consideration - the tiller may just save you both.

AKfish

 

[tractorman99]

Here is a few videos that might be helpful.

Single Bottom plow- YouTube - How to - Plow a Garden, Single Bottom Plow, 3pt. Hitch

Disc Harrow- YouTube - How to - Disc Harrow a Garden, Tractor 3pt. Hitch

Tiller- YouTube - How to - Rotary Tiller for 3point Hitch, PTO Drive

 

[RalphVa]

Back in the 50s, I worked with my Dad on our farm. We'd plow and then disc. What the disc did was to even out the furrows that the plow made, a VERY ROUGH ride on the tractor. We'd often pull a harrow behind that further evened out the ground. If one plowed in the fall, weather would often even out the furrows. Can't really see a disc working behind a plow being effective. Think a good disc alone with plenty of weight on it to force it to dig in would turn the soil over, the amount that you need to bring nutrients back up.

Plowing or discing buries weeds but also brings some nutrients washed down into the soil back to the surface.

Ralph