Our Potato Harvesting Just Got Easier!

[neogardener]

Purchased this EA Extreme Potato Plow/Middle Buster...ordered on 7/25/22 and was told should be about 6 weeks, ended up getting shipped and delivered on 8/6/22...I was really happy about that! I will primarily be using this for digging potatoes/other root crops that we grow.

I've looked at other brands over this last year available at TSC/Rural King/Etc. and wasn't fond of the quality (thin material/poor-messy welds/etc). I'm sure they would work, but none that I came across were quick hitch compatible. Overall, this EA plow is a beast in comparison to the others. Very thick/heavy materials, larger 18" plow section, nice wide wings built into the upper area of the plow which should allow the material to flow well when digging our harvest. This should easily last my lifetime of gardening and be able to pass it on to my kids for there use later. Wasn't cheap (nothing is right now) but I am overall impressed and glad I made the purchase. I will update once we put it to use in a few weeks.

Here is a couple pics with it mounted on my B2601...last one is just showing off the tractor, as I haven't posted here in awhile and have added a couple other things. Just wanted to show how it sits when the 3pt is raised all the way up, incase others were wondering. Only thing I need to do is add some Cat1 bushings to the lower pins, that way the fitment will be better inside the QH15.

Enjoy!

 

[michigander]

That looks heavy/heavy duty enough to use as ballast

 

[rc51stierhoff]

Purchased this EA Extreme Potato Plow/Middle Buster...ordered on 7/25/22 and was told should be about 6 weeks, ended up getting shipped and delivered on 8/6/22...I was really happy about that! I will primarily be using this for digging potatoes/other root crops that we grow.

I've looked at other brands over this last year available at TSC/Rural King/Etc. and wasn't fond of the quality (thin material/poor-messy welds/etc). I'm sure they would work, but none that I came across were quick hitch compatible. Overall, this EA plow is a beast in comparison to the others. Very thick/heavy materials, larger 18" plow section, nice wide wings built into the upper area of the plow which should allow the material to flow well when digging our harvest. This should easily last my lifetime of gardening and be able to pass it on to my kids for there use later. Wasn't cheap (nothing is right now) but I am overall impressed and glad I made the purchase. I will update once we put it to use in a few weeks.

Here is a couple pics with it mounted on my B2601...last one is just showing off the tractor, as I haven't posted here in awhile and have added a couple other things. Just wanted to show how it sits when the 3pt is raised all the way up, incase others were wondering. Only thing I need to do is add some Cat1 bushings to the lower pins, that way the fitment will be better inside the QH15.

Enjoy!


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Hi there neighbor…nice set up you have there…Please do a write up / advise how you set the plow and the result if you don’t mind sharing. I am very interested. I added a garden bedder this year and had a very good result for hilling, but have not gotten to plowing the potatos yet (I added a plow this year to the lineup but most likely will not use before end of august)….but I am anxious. In my mind I should be able to just put straddle the hilled row, drop the plow down and drive…but I have never used the plow before…any advice would be appreciated on the set up / tilt.

 

[neogardener]

Hi there neighbor…nice set up you have there…Please do a write up / advise how you set the plow and the result if you don’t mind sharing. I am very interested. I added a garden bedder this year and had a very good result for hilling, but have not gotten to plowing the potatos yet (I added a plow this year to the lineup but most likely will not use before end of august)….but I am anxious. In my mind I should be able to just put straddle the hilled row, drop the plow down and drive…but I have never used the plow before…any advice would be appreciated on the set up / tilt.

Sorry for not responding earlier, but here are a few pics when I used the plow last week to start digging my crop. Hopefully the side shots will give you an idea of what depth & angle I had everything set at. Oh, and I didn't like the mustard yellow paint color that it had, so I painted it orange

The Tilt Angle can be deceiving, as I set the tilt so that the plow bracket was basically vertical when the 3pt is lowered and the blade is resting on level ground. I wanted this to be a good start point. Once I set this, I raised the 3pt all the way and proceeded out to my garden. So what you see in the pictures might look like I changed the tilt, but really all you are seeing is the natural angle that the 3pt is at in the raised position.

I will tell you that I did not have to lower the 3pt much at all, as I found it was digging way to deep (but I also had my potato's hilled, so there is not much digging but more busting up the row).

From the highest lifted setting (8 on my B2601), I only lowered the 3point down to about a 6 setting. Your machine may be setup different (overall tractor size, different brand middle buster, etc.) so you will have to check this and make adjustments as needed. You will quickly be able to tell if you digging to deep, as you will end up burying your harvest just as quickly as you dig them up.

 

[rc51stierhoff]

Very nice. Thank if i am not mistake, it looks like the carpet matches the curtains now . Nice paint job…I think I may have some implement color envy now….it looks good what you posted. I think I posted after I harvested last month, but I don’t remember which thread. Anyway I had positive results but I am not sure I did as well growing the potatoes as you did. The plow itself was great though. I think having the plow angle slightly forward helps draw it down into the soil IMO on a first time use. But it sure beats a shovel/pitchfork. I think longer rows are the way to go…before I thought shorter rows and wider garden to limit how far to carry tools and harvest. Now I think long rows and narrow garden. Set the equipment and drive. Short rows now become less efficient IMO. I planted buckwheat between my rows of potatoes and it did just fine.

 

[GeoHorn]

Nice red potatoes…. What hybrid is that..? (and what hybrid is it that comes in the neat little net-bags Kroger sells)…?

 

[sheepfarmer]

I thought maybe the gadget would pick up the potatoes too? Looks like a lot of work left to do. I grew two 50 ft rows with a total of 7 different varieties and am drowning in potatoes this year but they have to be dug on hands and knees. Easier than shoveling and then bending over to pick them up. A year's supply plus next year's seed potatoes. I'd love an easier way but the tractor wouldn't fit in my garden.

 

[neogardener]

I thought maybe the gadget would pick up the potatoes too? Looks like a lot of work left to do. I grew two 50 ft rows with a total of 7 different varieties and am drowning in potatoes this year but they have to be dug on hands and knees. Easier than shoveling and then bending over to pick them up. A year's supply plus next year's seed potatoes. I'd love an easier way but the tractor wouldn't fit in my garden.

A PTO driven potato digger would be awesome, but I don't plant anywhere near enough potato's to justify spending $3500+shipping for one. And even those units still require you to pick them up, unless you have a conveyor setup behind it to catch them, which is another additional investment.

I was ok spending roughly 1/10th the price of PTO style on a middle buster plow and picking them up by hand. The only real work left to do is pick them up off the ground, which I have my wife and kids go behind me after I make a pass and grab them. It takes me roughly 30seconds to make a pass with the tractor/plow to dig them up, and it takes my wife & kids roughly 5 min. per row to gather them. They grab what you see on top and do a simple kick in the loose dirt to see if any got missed. The fact that we are no longer on hands/knees or digging with the forks saves a ton of time and everyone is much happier. We had all our harvesting done in just under an hour.

I planted 8 rows total, each row is 50' in length. This year I went with my usual Red Norland's, as I have the best luck with that variety. They have the best blight & rot resistance the I have experienced, and also have great size/great overall yields. I also did a couple rows of Yukon Golds, but they have never produced the same level of quantity as the Red's do. I love the flavor though, just wish I had better yeilds (end up with about 1/3 the amount when compared to the Red Norlands - both planted the same seed qty and same length rows). I've tried different seed sources for the Yukon's thinking maybe that has something to do with it, but I haven't seen a difference either way. All in all, we end up with plenty to store/eat every fall/winter and plenty seed left for next year

 

[Daylight]

$3,500 plus shipping seems very steep.

Considering your needs (400' total row length), a machine like this should do nicely, for around $1,000, including tax (this one is actually EUR 874 + VAT):

A PTO driven potato digger would be awesome, but I don't plant anywhere near enough potato's to justify spending $3500+shipping for one.

I was ok spending roughly 1/10th the price of PTO style on a middle buster plow and picking them up by hand. The only real work left to do is pick them up off the ground, which I have my wife and kids go behind me after I make a pass and grab them. It takes me roughly 30seconds to make a pass with the tractor/plow to dig them up, and it takes my wife & kids roughly 5 min. per row to gather them.

I planted 8 rows total, each row is 50' in length.

 

[neogardener]

$3,500 plus shipping seems very steep.

Considering your needs (400' total row length), a machine like this should do nicely, for around $1,000, including tax (this one is actually EUR 874 + VAT):

View attachment 89143

Trust me, I would love to have something like this. For some reason here in the US, they are not easy to find and all the ones I have been able to find are nowhere near that cheap. The good name brand models are usually Italian made and typically in the $3,000-$3500 range depending on where you can get them...sometimes you can get free shipping "to a commercial address", but if you want it delivered to you house, you will pay extra for the shipping. I have seen Chinese made units advertised online for considerably less, but these are fairly new to the market so quality is questionable. I also have not found a credible retailer in the US that sells the Chinese made units. I have seen used units for sale before, but they usually are not much cheaper than new as most people know what they have and ask top dollar.

Here are a couple links to what we can get here:

Potato Digger to Harvest Potatoes

Learn the easy way to dig or harvest potatoes with your tractor

www.everythingattachments.com

Farm-Maxx 3-Point Tractor Potato Harvester Model CPP-T

Farm-Maxx 3-Point Tractor Potato Harvester Model CPP-T Perfect for the small producer, the CPP-T Single Row Potator Harvestor is a reliable and inexpensive way to get your potato crop out of the field. Optimimized for use behind smaller tractors, this unit gently extracts your potatoes from the...

www.durattach.com

Needless to say, unless I come across a really good deal, I am more than happy with the results we are getting using our simple middle plow setup. I will always be on the lookout though for a PTO harvester

 

[Daylight]

I looked around, and indeed: these darn things are terribly expensive in the US, even on Al*b*b*!

 

[PoTreeBoy]

Coming from someone who has never dug a potato (but my mother was from Irish stock), it looks like a manure fork could greatly reduce the back breaking part.