Posted by Hugh MacKay on March 01, 2008 at 03:39:18 from (216.208.58.184):
In Reply to: Super A Finally! posted by nvfarmer on February 29, 2008 at 14:56:21:
Josh: Back when these trsctors were built, they called them a one row machine, however a lot of cultural practices have changed since then.
I personally use two cultivators; one the traditional 1 row cultivator, where row spacing or bed is same width as tractor. I use this for high bushy crops that require a lot of space, and to take advantage on SA highest clearence right down the middle. That one is often used with wheel tread settings of 48" or 52".
My second cultivator is a tool bar type cultivator, with center and rear mount tool bars. I have used this one with wheel tread set as wide as 68", giving me 4 - 15" rows, with wider spacing for wheel tracks. As Jim Becker points out the planting device, whether seeder or transplanter must plant the same 4 rows on 15" centers. More common I have used 60" wheel tread doing 2 - 30" rows or 3 - 20" rows, ie corn in 30" rows and items like beets, carrots, etc in 20" rows. I must admit I liked the 60" wheel tread and 20" - 30" row option better than 68" tread.
I have always used two tractors, and what I liked best was my Super A set on 52" wheel tread and my 130 on 60" wheel tread. This gave me several planting options, by moving my cultivators from one tractor to another. With the Super A, I could do 52" single rows, beds close to 30" wide and 2 -26" rows. Then my 130 gave me the option of 60" or wider single rows for pumpkin, 4' wide beds, 2 -30" rows or 3 - 20" rows. Doesn't matter what you grow, as I see it the main goal is get a complete crop canopy everywhere except tractor wheel tracks. With that approach, the crop very quickly controls a lot of weeds.
I have also changed a bit in the past few years. I no longer grow vegetables commercially. I do grow flowers to sell. In this northern climate I try to not do any spring tillage. I completely prepare my seed bed in Oct., fertilize quite heavily, let the weeds grow and if old man winter doesn't get them, I assist with a bit of roundup. The goal here is to create an enviorment so every weed seed in top 3" will germinate in the fall. In spring my planting is a no till operation. Spring tillage will only bring other weed seeds close enough to surface for germination. Don't disturb the soil and you will have very few weeds. Some years this works better than others. I have gone through growing season without using my row crop cultivators and precious little hand weeding.
Mixed vegetables operations do not lend themselves very well to chemical weed control. Hand weeding will soon eat up profits. Bear in mind my planting today are a family vegetable garden and about 1/2 acre of marketable flowers. I use 3 - 3/4 acre plots. first one is my current crop, second is summer fallow and third plot is plowdown buckwheat and next years crop. The weeds my buckwheat don't get my fall tillage and germination will.
If your interested send me an e mail I do have some photos scanned of my tool bar cultivator. Bear in mind, my cultivators don't look much like what IH built 50 years ago. Most of my ground working tools have been converted to modern day S tines. Those IH ground working tools are much too costly to on annual upkeep.
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