Tilling

[KReashorsr]

I have a Kubota B2320 and am looking at tilling a piece of land 150'x150'. The land was recently stripped of all trees and stumps. I plan to turn the land into lawn. About have the land has some grass growing on it. Any suggestions on what tiller could handle this? Thanks

 

[davesl708]

My BX2200 handles a 48" tiller just fine. Keep it shallow to avoid large roots.

 

[Baby Grand]

My BX2200 handles a 48" tiller just fine. Keep it shallow to avoid large roots.

Welcome to TBN, KReashorsr.

A King Kutter II 48" would be my first choice, after years of great service from a 60" KKII.
If the going is really rough with the 48", you can always unbolt the tines from 1 or 2 of the outside hubs to reduce its working width, increasing your effective PTO HP/ft of implement.

Before running the tiller through there, I'd have a go at it with an inexpensive middle buster or subsoiler, set to about 6" deep to disclose any "surprises" lurking below the surface. No sense tearing up a perfectly good tiller on a lot of rocks/roots/fence posts/bricks/engine blocks/barbed wire/rebar/etc that your are going to have to remove, anyways. Shear pin protection on the plow/subsoiler is highly recommended.

 

[HEC]

I agree with the above comments , don't ruin a nice tiller on roots etc. . I have been able to find old draw bars , harrows etc. for next to nothing from folks who were once potato farmers . I just downsize them if they are to big .

 

[nybirdman]

Welcome to TBN, KReashorsr.

A King Kutter II 48" would be my first choice, after years of great service from a 60" KKII.
If the going is really rough with the 48", you can always unbolt the tines from 1 or 2 of the outside hubs to reduce its working width, increasing your effective PTO HP/ft of implement.

Before running the tiller through there, I'd have a go at it with an inexpensive middle buster or subsoiler, set to about 6" deep to disclose any "surprises" lurking below the surface. No sense tearing up a perfectly good tiller on a lot of rocks/roots/fence posts/bricks/engine blocks/barbed wire/rebar/etc that your are going to have to remove, anyways. Shear pin protection on the plow/subsoiler is highly recommended.

Exactly my answer also.Cheap($150)middle buster will save a lot of head-aces.Also usefull for a garden later.

 

[2458n]

A pull type disc can be had pretty cheap if you have a trailer to get it home. They just ride up over the junk in the field,or you can stop and dig it out.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

OR you could hire it done by some one with a HEAVY DUTY tiller.

I've done a LOT of those jobs and I don't worry about roots ect. one bit, my tiller pulls them out of the ground or breaks them off...

It would be a LOT cheaper to hire it done and you won't be tearing up your light duty equipment.

SR

 

[Huskerfan]

My BX2200 and Kuhn 51 inch tiller zipped through my 7500 square feet of hard compaction, (read road like hard this spring). Reseeded grass is now growing lush and thick. A caveat, I pulled a Heavy Hitch ripper shank through the compaction first. It took care of all the tree roots. I'd recommend this as a first step.

 

[JWR]

OR you could hire it done by some one with a HEAVY DUTY tiller.

I've done a LOT of those jobs and I don't worry about roots ect. one bit, my tiller pulls them out of the ground or breaks them off...

It would be a LOT cheaper to hire it done and you won't be tearing up your light duty equipment.

SR

I agree with Sawyer Rob 100% ! Get someone with a bigger rig to till up that soil at least the first time. If trees and brush were recently removed you are essentially certain to have root problems and likely to either break a bunch of shear pins or worse yet tear up a light duty tiller. Since the object is eventual lawn-type grass all you really need to do is prepare a shallow seed bed. On that size lot it would not cost much to use a chemical and kill everything (as is done with large crop fields) and then use light tilling (as one guy suggested with a disk rather than a tiller.) Then seed it down and you'll end up with a much cleaner turf and more satisfaction I think.

 

[jeff9366]

Before running the tiller through there, I'd have a go at it with an inexpensive middle buster or subsoiler, set to about 6" deep to disclose any "surprises" lurking below the surface. No sense tearing up a perfectly good tiller on a lot of rocks/roots/fence posts/bricks/engine blocks/barbed wire/rebar/etc that your are going to have to remove, anyways. Shear pin protection on the plow/subsoiler is highly recommended.

A middle-buster first, then almost any tiller. Set the tiller to cultivate fairly shallow.

You cannot pull a Disc Harrow heavy enough, fast enough, to effectively mix soil with a B2320 tractor. Also, a Disc Harrow will leave 3" - 4" furrows of its own, which have to be smoothed out.

 

[JWR]

A middle-buster first, then almost any tiller. Set the tiller to cultivate fairly shallow.

You cannot pull a Disc Harrow heavy enough, fast enough, to effectively mix soil with a B2320 tractor. Also, a Disc Harrow will leave 3" - 4" furrows of its own, which have to be smoothed out.

You're probably right about the disc harrow leaving furrows of it's own. Another posting person mentioned picking up almost any old used hunk of inexpensive soil stirring equipment and dragging it over that 150' square patch. All Kreashorser is doing is preparing a seed bed for grass in a garden-sized spot. He has not said if he has long-term need for a rototiller. If not, I can't see buying one. Borrow one or get a cheaper tool for next to nothing.

 

[Big Barn]

Just an FYI.
If a disc harrow is used for final or near final seed bed prep, what we did was replace the extreme outboard disc on each side of the rear gangs with a smaller diameter disc than the rest.

Terry