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  • From: sarah wiederkehr <mahkulu AT gmail.com>
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Market-farming] spader
  • Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2009 10:53:05 -0800

I bought a gramegna spader last summer- and while I agree that maintenance is high for these machines, I couldn't have been happier with the results. A spader is much better for the soil than a tiller- it actually acts more to double dig than to till. I have had issues in clay soils with using a tiller as it creates a hardpan underneath the depth that it has worked to. The spader works to a depth of about a foot and I mounted a tool bar with shovels on the back of it so that I could simultaneously spade the soil and form a bed. If the soil moisture was good I could get very deep beds this way.
a spader has to be run at a very low speed (1mph) and so takes a lot of time to prepare a field this way, but in the end I would always vote for a spader over a tiller.
depending on the spading machine you will need a pretty high hp tractor. I ran mine on a kubota L5030 which is a pretty beefy machine itself.
There are a number of spader companies (all Italian) : gramegna, tortella, celli, but again, they are usually pretty pricey (though I have a friend who got one used for $1500 that needed a little love so it is possible to find one if you really want one)



  • [Market-farming] spader, sarah wiederkehr, 01/23/2009

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