Rowmarker2
We bought a new rototiller this spring to run behind the higher horsepower Landini tractor. We bought a 64″ model that would till the wheel tracks as I was making beds. This would help reduce the weed pressure that always happens in the wheel tracks. (Before I just used a 4 foot model that would till the 4 foot bed but left the wheel tracks to grow weeds like crazy. We would then have to come back continuously with the walk behind BCS tiller- A real time killing project) I decided to try a row marking system that mounted right on the flap of the tiller, allowing the wheels to float with the terrain. Also because the wheel tracks are being tilled- the tire tread tracks being what I used to line up for the next beds- I added two extra marking wheels on the outside to mark the edge of the bed. All in all it works pretty well. There was some bending and adjusting of the marking wheel mounts to get the angle with the ground just right, but other than that it’s worked pretty well. Let me know if you have any comments or additions to this creation.
1 comment
Hi Chris,
I was just talking to someone about your marking system yesterday. When I first set things up at SIO I used a very similar system, but with a drum with dibbles hanging off the back of a spader. You might try screwing little dibbles to the wheels for marking in row spading for transplants.
I found that for us it was much better to spade or till up the bed and then mark with the cultivating tractor, which would set wheel tracks at the same time. Marking with the spader it was hard to get just the right spacing between passes so that the cultivating tractor would line up. That was on very soft soil, and I’ve noticed that it makes less difference on heavier soil. There are photos of bed marking at SIO on my blog (http://www.slowhandfarm.com/Blog/765E7239-3645-4143-A728-4B4F2FE34F2F.html)
Also, tilling the pathways, as much as it may seem excessive, really does save a lot of work in the end. If you have a 4′ tiller I think you should be making 4′ beds (measured center to center. That’s tricky if your wheels hang out to the sides but not impossible.
Thanks for the great posts.
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