Tiller Vs Plow and Disk Etc

[DeerPark5]

I live just north of Spokane WA with 5 acres of former wheat field. There is a sod covering of few years worth volunteer wheat, weeds etc. There is about 3 feet of sandy loam before you get to any real rocks. I would like to have an oversized garden 2 acres, plant fruit trees, berry etc. (the typical dream too far). I’d also like to migrate the left over grass area back to a drought resistant grasses etc. I keep going back and forth between tiller vs ploughing disking ideas. Ive seen discussions where small disks won’t penetrate very deep and it’s recommended to run an actually plow first then disk it smooth.

I was pretty convinced on disk route, but then I was at a nearby you-pick operation (that was amazing BTW) and some of their row crops (corn etc) were on fluffy ground that must have been tilled.

And then if tiller - reverse vs forward rotation?

 

[jeff9366]

There is about 3 feet of sandy loam before you get to any real rocks. It’s recommended to run an actually plow first then disk it smooth.

Mow very short as the first step.

This is the way the prairie was converted to farms. Still good today. Especially if your land is more in rectangular shape than a square for reasonably long runs with both plow and disk. It should be easy to pay someone to break up the sod on a one-time basis near Spokane, rather than buy a plow which will be used only once per ten years. (Also, plowing well requires quite a bit of experience.)

Consider plowing now, letting the plowed land sit over the winter, then roto-till rather than Disk in the early Spring.

For five acres, however, most here will recommend a tiller. One piece of equipment rather than two. Forward rotation tillers require very little PTO power as the rotating tines push the tractor forward, so forward rotation tillers are usually sized about 12" wider than rear tire spread. Forward rotation tillers are almost always used in gardens in good tilth.

Reverse tine rotation tillers require quite a lot of power. I'd consider your Deere 3033R pretty light to absorb the shaking that goes along with a reverse rotation tiller.

Some tillers are reversible. I do not know what effect that has on component longevity.

A clamp-on Bucket Spade is excellent for planting fruit trees and berry plants in moist soil.
LINK: Front-End Loader - BUCKET SPADE TODAY // FEL BUCKET ATTACHMENT

Buckeye Tractor is a good source for tractor implements and attachments for those with large gardens.
LINK: Buckeye Tractor Co -- Online

Buckeye Tractor makes a knockoff of the Unverferth Perfecta soil preparer. Here is information on the original Unverferth Perfecta:

https://media.unverferth.com/unverferth/tillage/um-tillage-perfecta-field-cultivator-18-11.pdf

 

[DeerPark5]

There is about 3 feet of sandy loam before you get to any real rocks. It’s recommended to run an actually plow first then disk it smooth.

This is the way the prairie was converted to farms. Still good today. Especially if your land is more in rectangular shape than a square for reasonably long runs with both plow and disk.

For five acres, however, most here will recommend a tiller. One piece of equipment rather than two. Forward rotation tillers require very little PTO power as the rotating tines push the tractor forward. Forward rotation tillers are almost always used in gardens in good tilth.

Reverse tine rotation tillers require quite a lot of power. I'd consider your Deere 3033R pretty light to absorb the shaking that goes along with a reverse direction tiller.

Some tillers are reversible. I do not know what effect that has on component longevity.

A clamp-on Bucket Spade is excellent for planting fruit trees and berry plants.
LINK: Front-End Loader - BUCKET SPADE TODAY // FEL BUCKET ATTACHMENT


Give us a list of the tractor implements you own now.

I have lots of dirt moving stuff. FEL/BH, Misc buckets, PHD, BB. The land and areas to be worked would be rectangular. I’ve got runs of about 330-400 feet but wouldn’t use all that space for gardening.

 

[jeff9366]

There is sod covering several years worth of volunteer wheat, weeds etc.

Mow very short as the first step.

The rippers on your Box Blade might suffice to break up soil surface prior to roto-tilling. Not efficient for a lot of land but OK for loosening sod on two or three acres of moist ground.

 

[jjeff]

Hi, here's what I learned from experience and have had good results or maybe luck, I use an old massey f two bottom plow and 5' forward rotation pto tiller I plow and till with an an old Kubota 4150 which does a great job much better than my old 2850. I plow what im going to plant in the fall than till the furrows lightly in the spring for Christmas trees and sweet corn. I also will attach a homemade drag to the back of my tiller while I'm tilling to help smooth everything out. Since its pretty sandy soil I usually plow as deep as I can go 14+ inches. When I plant Christmas trees in the spring usually several hundred a time I go old school and use a 5' wedge point solid bar drop it in the soil and roll the end around making the hole. to plant sweet corn I use and old one row planter using my 2850. I wish I had a 6' rotary tiller with reverse rotation.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

You can buy an old break plow pretty cheap. They are nice to have around. I would get a tiller in addition to the disc but not a tiller as the only thing. Once you break ground then use a tiller. Next year you can just disc before tilling. We always loosen soil before tilling. Probably why we still use the same tiller after nearly 50 years.

 

[LD1]

Plow in the fall after harvest. Disc in spring once dry and no more frost or freezing temps. No need for a tiller. Discing is faster. Just get a good finishing disc with tighter spacing. Go fast for good results.

Tillers have their place...and I use one in my garden. But it's just too slow for the 2 acres I plant Deere corn in.

And plowing the crop residue under to decompose and provide nutrients for next year's crop, as well as burry weed seeds has merits too

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

I use a chisel plow to break up the soil and then run a tandem disc to break up the clods left by the chisel plow. We have heavy black clay soil, so the chisel does leave some big clods.

I have a chain harrow that I hook onto my Kubota RTV, and I run that over the area a couple of times after discing.

On the whole, that process works pretty good and probably takes less time than running a tiller (which is a very slow process). But I'm doing about 7-8 acres. I'd never get that done with a tiller.

 

[Torvy]

Prairie converted to farms? They called them sod busters for a reason. Most of the people back then literally cut the sod, scraped it off of the top soil and built houses with it. Trees were practically non-existent. Once the sod was off, they could run their livestock-powered plows to turn the exposed soil.

 

[Fallon]

I used a subsoiler to break up things 8-12" down. Not the greatest "plow" by any means, but they are only $250ish & get the job done for a first pass.

To mix soil properly a disc should be adjusted properly & ran at the correct speed. Getting up to speed in tight areas or maneuvering at speed is problematic. A tiller is not really speed sensitive. Even if it's way slower than a disc, a tiller is more flexible. For 5 acres you are only looking at a weekend or so any way you slice it. A day is an easy tradeoff for the extra flexibility.

I use my tiller a lot for arena maintenance gigs these days. I only used it once for tilling up & renovationg my over-rated pasture as it was designed. Tines are about wore out from all the arena jobs though.