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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Bed Shaper

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  • From: "TxBeeFarmer" <txbeefarmer AT hotpop.com>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Bed Shaper
  • Date: Mon, 12 Dec 2005 07:39:31 -0600

I can't quite understand all this bed shaping business. However, it does seem like a lot of you are using one though. I've run into the problem of clods interfering with the planter too, but found virtually all it caused by forming the beds when the soil is too moist. We do use clod crusher when deep plowing, but that's every three years or so and only in the cotton field. Here's how it goes in the garden. A tandem disk is run over it when the soil is pretty dry - maybe more than once. Then chiseled where the beds will be - as deep as possible. Then busters to make the beds. At this point the beds are pretty dry and have few if any clods. After a good rain let the field sit until the top soil is dry. Although the surface may be a little dry, that's where running busters in front of the planter comes in. Set them to be level with the ground and about a half inch above where the seeds come out of the tubes. When planting, lower the planter so the busters skim off the dry soil and make a perfect level surface for the planter as it comes along. The opening plows are set to 1.5 - 2.0 inches and the paddles to cover the seeds are set at the same height as the seed tubes.

Well, anyway, that's the way I do it. No bed shapers here.

TxBeeFarmer
Mark (West Texas - Zone 7b)


----- Original Message ----- From: "Kelly Saxer" <kellysaxer AT hotmail.com>
To: <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Sunday, December 11, 2005 11:13 AM
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Bed Shaper


That's exactly what I use now. I have a 6 foot draw bar, with 2
middle-buster plows mounted directly behind my tractor wheels. I till with
a rototiller attachment first, so that the soil is well worked before I make
rows. My tractor pulls the 2 middle-buster plow that I have just fine, but
it doesn't make the best planting surface at the top of the bed. The soil
it throws to the top of the bed is often uneven and sometimes a little
clumpy. As a result, my seeder can't run smoothly along the bed top and I'm
not getting the germination rates that I'd like to. I work by myself and
depend a lot on my tractor and attachments to be my help. I'm not the
handiest person in the world and have found that when I try to improvise,
I'm often sorry I wasted the time and heartache. All I need is something to
smooth the top of my rows, though. So, I do think I'll give it some thought
before spending the extra money.

Thanks,
Kelly





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