A "Gentlman Farmer" question?

[Sprucegum]

I have a couple acres of open land I want to break up/till for a garden. I don't know if it was ever broke before, in any event I bet there are lots of rocks. I have a 40 horse tractor with 3 point hitch. The question:

Should I buy a rotary tiller or a breaking disc? Which one can cope with rocks better? Will there be a big difference in price between the two implements?

[Tom]

I don't know about rocks because we don't have any here.   I do know that a rototiller doesn't handle anything hard, like roots.  That thing will climb out of the ground and try to push the pto shaft into the tactor and then try to follow it.   The tractor can become un-handle-able ( :-\) when all this is going on, making you think seriously about getting off and running, if you could.   Lots of tractors are torn up by 3-point hitch rototillers.  If the ground is clean and the grass is already broken, they make a beautiful seed bed.  It's an implement for the final dressing of ground, not the first.

The best think I found for breaking new ground is a New Ground Plow.  That is a disc plow with one or more large disc.  It cuts turf, roots, stumps an rolls over most other things.  I guess it would handle rocks OK.

If it were me, I'd be looking at a plow of some sort, followed by a rake of some sort, like a big heavy root rake.   Once you get the rocks out, you can tend to the ground.

Tha's all I know. 

[Radar67]

I would start with a breaking plow, then a disc after the rocks are removed.

[ErikC]

 I also would plow first, then disc and harrow. Rototill last. There's a reason Farmers have all those implements. ;) Should be a good size garden.

[LAZERDAN]

Like this   )Tractors Plowing Field
Old time Plowboys Spring Show Tractors Plowing the Field For more show information go to: www.oldtimeplowboys.com
by oldtimeplowboys       Please go to plowing video

[CHARLIE]

I'd hire someone that has the equipment to come over and break it up for me. Then I'd give some High School age kids a summer job picking rock.
Then I'd plant some grits, collards, mustard greens and turnips.

[Tom]

Charlie!  I buy you books and buy you books.  :-\ :-\

You know that you can't grow Grits Trees in Canada.

Don't pay Charlie any attention, Sprucegum.  He's just pulling your leg.  :D

[Cedarman]

The grits don't grow, they are used to fertilize the collards, mustard and turnip greens.

[Sprucegum]

Tom When I get my rocks picked I will send you some. I'll send Charlie some to. He can put'em in his grits for body.

That plowing video was awesome! I don't remember them moving so fast when I was a kid.

I will start looking around for plows and discs; they look like more fun than tillers  ;D

[easymoney]

a fellow i know is always talking about a maccaroni patch. i think you can make a lot of money with maccaroni.
just watch out that no one sends you some cudzu plants calling them watermellon plants.

[Tom]

A friend of mine, years ago, brought a long, skinny squash looking things to work.  He said it was growing in the top of his pine tree and he had to use a fishing rod to reach and pull down the one he got.  It was a Spaghetti Squash.

Grits trees don't grow any further north than about Tennessee.  The air is too rare.

[Gary_C]

Grits trees don't grow any further north than about Tennessee.  The air is too rare.

Is rare air the same as thin air? If so we don't have any of that around here. Been looking for some thin air and all I can find to breathe is heavy air. 

[Tom]

"That's not heavy air...   This is Heavy Air".  Crocodile Dundee

Well....   He said something to that affect, anyway.  ;D ;D

[bandmiller2]

Sprucegum,unless your going into market gardening you don't need two acres a 1/4 or 1/2 acre is plenty to weed.A single bottom plow with a working trip,and a disc harrow.Plow a furrow and dig out big stones as you go theirs really no easy way,if you don't get those hoopies out the will always haunt you.Frank C.

[Sprucegum]

I don't really need much of a garden at all but once I start plowing........ 

I am going to look at a new tractor this weekend (Mahindra 3525) and the dealer has a 2 bottom plow he might throw in.

It all started when the old Cockshutt got a bad tear in a rear tire - it could go flat any minute. When I asked my friends how to fix it they all said I should buy a new tractor. The wife heard that so many times she thought it was the truth. The next time I brought the subject up she looked at me and said

"I thought you were buying a new tractor?"

"Oh......why yes, of course I am; and I'm getting one that will make you a nice garden spot, too  "

[isawlogs]

There you go , plow over the two acres , disc it then harrow it , let her decide what size she wants it and seed the rest for deer to come in close for your freezer

[stonebroke]

Yeah, you really want to attract deer to your garden?

Stonebroke

[CHARLIE]

Tom always said that the best way to keep deer out of your garden is to hang a fresh deerhide on the garden fence each day.

[SwampDonkey]

What does pronghorn antelope taste like? Or are they more down in the bald prairie? That's where I've seen them.

I know now the real story behind Charlie moving as far from Florida as possible. Not enough deer left to get hides to hang on the garden fence. I wonder if hog hide would be a substitute, I hear they are gone wild down there. :D

[Sprucegum]

I didn't get a Deere to hang -





We won't see the tractor for 2 or 3 weeks; the loader has to come from California and get installed. I bought a Mahindra 3525

SD the pronghorns are pretty rare around here. You can see a few about an hours travel South East.

[Tim/South]

I bet you can find an old disk turning plow on an old fence row some where.
We have two of them from back in the day.

If you get them to throw in a bottom plow, it will work better if it have the cutting coulters that split the sod just ahead of the point..