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market-farming - Re: Tractor turning radius

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Subject: Market Farming

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  • From: mckemie AT inetport.com
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Tractor turning radius
  • Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2001 06:20:11 -0600


> What about the bed shaper? What about simply a toolbar with blades
> bolted to it so that earth is drawn up to form a raised bed slightly
> less than the width between the inside of the tractors? Is this too
> low-tech? I'd like to be able to hill potatoes this way, too.

I have experience with two bedding implements:
1) I have and use extensively a bedding disk that has two ajustable
disk axles, three disks (16", I think) on each; I use this to build
beds that are 5', center to center. It takes several passes even
with a 60hp tractor to build full height beds. "Full height" being
crowding the ground clearance of the tractor which is 16-18". This
disk brings soil from the tractor tracks and throws it to the center.
2) I have recently had a combination bed shaper, plastic mulch layer,
drip tape layer. The bed shaper is a big steel plate funnel which
presses and shapes the bed of loose soil. It leaves a several inch
high, about 3' wide, crowned bed; nicely compacted. I imagine that the
shaper needs at least 50hp. It only works well in uniform soil that
will slide easily against the steel of the funnel; that is, sandy soil
with the right moisture content.

With the disk bed builder alone, it is troublesome to pull a planet jr
through the freshly loosened soil; it is best to wait for a rain to
get the soil settled some. The bed shaper leaves a ready to plant bed.

--
Onward! Through the Fog!
Willie
http://austinfarm.org/homegrown




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