In checkrow corn, we would (in Iowa in those days) cultivate the corn the 1st time same direction as it was planted (lengthwise of the field). We cultivated soon after the corn could be "rowed", meaning you could visually see most every plant was out of the ground and you could see the rows. The cultivator shields and shovels were set very close to the rows and it was very easy to accidently cover up a plant or two. My dad was a stickler about that, so I was equipped with a small tree branch about 5-6ft long which was draped over the hood of our H Farmall. If I covered up a plant, or two, or more, I stopped & reached down with the branch and wiggled the dirt until the plants were uncovered (it was better than getting off the tractor every time). I didn't like to stop for anything when I was on a tractor, so taking time to do the uncovering made for a decision; do I stop or are the covered plants so few that maybe Dad wouldn't notice? This was done with the tractor in maybe 2nd gear and throttled back. It was boring. I did not like cultivating for the 1st time. As a kid, I wanted to go fast.
The second cultivation was done crosswise of the field. The moving of the wire at the ends when planting was an "art"; some farmers were better at that than others. The good ones left rows of corn that were planted so square, that visually it looked as nice and straight crosswise as lengthwise (made easier by the fact our fields were level or not more than 3% slope. By this time the corn was maybe 5-10" high, so we set the shields and shovels further away. This also gave me more room to steer without uprooting any corn. I'd put the H in 2nd or 3rd, rev the motor a little bit and crosswise I'd go. If you were cultivating corn that a guy did a poor job with that wire, then you were really winding the steering wheel back and forth quickly to avoid hitting corn. This made for strong arms!
By the time we cultivated the 3rd time (lenghwise) the corn could be touching the rear axle, depending on how long you waited (farmers would watch the rate of growth of the weeds). The last time was called "lay by"...meaning you were done for the season. You took off the shields because you wanted to throw dirt up against the corn plants. I liked the 3rd time, you could put the H in 4th, rev it up wide open and take off! But the front end would bounce quite a bit from the cross ridges of the 2nd pass. In the distance you would hear tractors sounding "whump, whump, whump" from the rapid bouncing (no kidding). I remember some old F20s with poor fitting radiator caps would be leaking water or even steaming some as they tore down the rows.
My Dad was so determined to get every weed, sometimes we cultivated 5 times...and I always complained that we were "wearing out our corn" so that I didn't have to cultivate twice more; and I never won that argument. (The only weed killer available was 2,4-D for broadleaves, no grass killers were invented yet.)
You couldn't cultivate the 45 degree angles (axis), as those rows weren't 40" apart (try laying out rows on a sheet of paper and you will see what I mean.)
I loved steering an H Farmall with it's easy steering. Those old A and B John Deeres didn't steer as easy and I grew to really dislike them. I'd bet a B or C Farmall would be great, but hardly any farmers had tractors that small in Grundy Co. so I drove an H Farmall, SC Case or B JD for other farmers.
I don't think I ever ran a 4-row cultivator....Dad wasn't that progressive! He cultivated with that H until he quit farming in the mid 1970s. That's why I love that H so much as I take it for rides and other events.
I love to go to plow days and pull my Little Genius, ride the H in parades, go for rides, but never want to cultivate again. Good riddance!
And Len....our JD290 planter would release the wire automatically when we turned at the end.
And Len....the wire had to be moved 4 rows over for our JD290, not two rows. Think about it and you will see what I mean. You wrote a good article to get this subject started.
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]
Today's Featured Article - Choosin, Mounting and Using a Bush Hog Type Mower - by Francis Robinson. Looking around at my new neighbors, most of whom are city raised and have recently acquired their first mini-farms of five to fifteen acres and also from reading questions ask at various discussion sites on the web it is frighteningly apparent that a great many guys (and a few gals) are learning by trial and error and mostly error how to use a very dangerous piece of farm equipment. It is also very apparent that these folks are getting a lot of very poor and often very dangerous advice fro
... [Read Article]
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy
TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.
