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  • From: Andy Fellenz <artisanfarms AT gmail.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] cultivation/transplanting systems
  • Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2012 09:35:04 -0400

Hi,

I use a Japanese paperpot transplanter for all of my alliums, beets, turnips and any greens which can be planted at either a 2, 4 or 6" spacing.  The plants are set in 4 row beds with 10-12" between the rows.  The paperpot transplanter has been a gamechanger in terms of reducing growing costs and improving yields per bed foot for these crops. 

For larger plants or plants needing a greater spacing I use a Holland Rotary One transplanter mounted on a home grown hydraulically offsetable 3pt. hitch that we can use to plant 1, 2 or 3 row beds with while keeping the tractor in the same set of tire tracks.  The Rotary one with its offsetable hitch requires a tractor with a Cat 2 3 pt. 

I have also used a Mehanical Transplanter finger style transplanter for setting strawberries, cabbage, tomatoes and several other crops and it has worked OK, but demands a little bit more attention and skill on the part of the operator than the Rotary One.  This transplanter was completely rebuilt in 2010 and is now for sale (and I'm not that far from you - I am in Phelps between Rochester and Syracuse.). 

I can't comment specifically on the Farmall 140, but I have a Kubota L245H which is about the same size which we use for spraying and some cultivating, but for most of the vegetable beds on tight spacings we end up using Planet Jrs. and hoes.  We also have a compact Kubota for work in the high tunnels and tilling and two larger tractors which are used with the Rotary One, for primary tillage and hilling our potatoes.


Andy Fellenz
www.FellenzFamilyFarm.com
585 260 2477

On Thu, Jul 5, 2012 at 5:19 PM, Jessica Runge <rootsandwingsfarm AT gmail.com> wrote:

Hello,

First, I just want to say that I really appreciate all of you who contribute to this list.  I’ve learned so much--you’re invisible mentors! 

 

Second, how do I search the archives?  I see you can look through the various months, but is it possible to search for, say, “cultivation” and come up with ALL the entries from the past years?

 

Third, our farming methods need to become more efficient.  We currently weed by hand, seed with an earthway push seeder, and transplant by hand.  I should say, we do that when we can!  We’ve also become “long term” foster parents to four siblings (no, they’re not old enough to be a farm crew!).  We do have a MF 165 that we bought last year.  We use it for tilling, disking, and hilling/digging potatoes.  It’s great, but now I need to do a better and faster job with the seeding/transplanting/cultivating.  It seems that most mixed-veg farms have two tractors—one for the heavy work, and a smaller tractor for cultivation/seeding. 

 

We grow a mix of crops for a non-traditional CSA.  There are four acres in production, though at least half of that is in cover crop, typically.  We plant squash and tomatoes as one-row crops, but many of our crops are planted 2 rows to a bed(peppers, eggplant, potatoes, leeks), 3 rows to a bed (like carrots, beets), sometimes 4 rows (onions, radishes), and even more dense for things like lettuce mix and arugula.  Each bed is 200’ long, and almost 5’ wide (the width of the tiller, does not include the tire tractor tracks).  I’m willing to change the planting layout, but am just not sure what equipment would most suit our needs.  I could also move the tires on the MF so that the tiller just makes a “clean slate” of the field and a smaller tractor could imprint the bed layout. 

 

There is a Farmall 140 for sale with cultivators nearby (a later version of the Super A).  I think I can make it work for our current system, but is there something more appropriate for multi-row beds? 

Is an Allis G worth waiting/paying for?   They seem hard to find…

What are your “systems”—what do you use for tillage, seeding, transplanting, cultivation?

How are your rows/beds/fields set up? 

If you could start over, what would you do differently?  What would you do the same?

 

Thank you!

Jessica Runge

 

 

Roots & Wings Family Farm

523 Kent Street

Cherry Creek, NY 14723

 

Phone: 716.338.6153

Email:  rootsandwingsfarm AT gmail.com

Web:  http://www.rootsandwingsfamilyfarm.com

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Roots-Wings-Family-Farm/111922598831502

 


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