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  • From: "David I." <mhcsa AT bcn.net>
  • To: "market farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Spader ?
  • Date: Wed, 1 Mar 2000 21:48:06 -0500

Marcie wrote:
 
Can you elaborate on your question? 
Sure:  We have had a 53" Celli spader for a number of years and it is the primary and secondary tillage tool in our soil [gravely, sandy loam]. We use it on 16 Acres of vegetables in combination with a Yeoman plow. Half this ground is in greenmanuring crops at any one time and we have found the tool invaluable in dealing with plowdown of heavy crops with our two 25HP tractors. We use a permanent bed system on 5 foot centers.
However: We are considering going over to a Williams tool system for all our stalebedding and post planting weed control for a number of reasons.
The Williams is a guided weeding system and the better of the two guidance systems seems to be the cone system that keeps the tool tracking on the bed, and therefore parallel to the planted rows, by running two large discs against the edge of the beds [ one on each side, convex side of the disc facing the center of the bed ]
Marcie, I too find that the spader, which I only run in the beds not the pathways, creates a raised bed of sorts: though I think of them as sunken pathways,  I need more height than this though, and a more solid shoulder.
We have worn out a set of depth control skids  in the past 5 years and are taking the opportunity to design out two of the problems with the implement.
  1. very heavy, unmowed crops of rye/vetch  can bunch up in front of the skids and
  2. the spaded bed sometime needs consolidation if being sown with small seeded crops
So, we are putting the depth control for the spader on the rear with a home built roller built from a section of pipe 12" diameter that is the width of the bed top. Two discs that have a diameter greater than the pipe are welded onto the pipe ends and an axle passed through them to mount on the spader [original idea from Eric Kindberg who sold me my Yeoman plow ]. This takes care  of the back end of the raised bed making but we are hoping to feed soil from the pathways into the mouth of the spader and distribute it across the spades without making a separate pass with another implement. This [finally] is what I am looking for ideas and experience on.
Thanks for your interest.
The Williams system is available from the excellent people at Market Farm Implement @ [814]443-1931 as are spaders and more 'toys' than you can shake a stick at.
Yours  
David Inglis
Mahaiwe Harvest C.S.A.
Housatonic MA
 
 



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