Plowing with a B series

[robinson1]

First post here. Hello all and thanks for having me!

I've got a B2920 TLB that I originally bought to do improvements to my property and small excavation work for my business. I own a small construction and remodeling company.

Anyway long story short a few months after buying the tractor I inherited a 10 acre tract of property. Its river bottom land and approximately 75% cleared. Ive been bush hogging and keeping the cleared section mowed.

Ive decided that I want to put in about 2 1/2 acres of crops next year. This is going to be a hobby project but hopefully something I can turn a little profit on as well.

Current plan is 1 acre of sweet potatoes. 1/2 acre of Yukon gold potatoes, 1/2 acre of pumpkins, and the balance in garden vegetables.

I have a Titan Implements 6112 single bottom plow that I bought from the local dealer on his recommended. Soil is fairly sandy but has a thick layer of sod. Its been probably close to 20 years since this tract has been farmed.

So for all the guys doing some small scale farming with small tractors. How long can I expect the plowing to take?

Should the next step be discing or would a tiller work better? My dealer seems to thing 2 1/2 acres is outside the scope of tiller work but also cautioned Id have a hard time pulling a disc with my tractor.

I dont currently own a tiller or disc so I need to buy one or the other before planting season next year anyway.

I think a tiller has more applications than a disc in the long term. Also more potential for sidework turning gardens. On the other hand i dont want to buy something thats going to be a maintenance headache down the line due to over use.

All help appreciated.

 

[SDT]

First post here. Hello all and thanks for having me!

I've got a B2920 TLB that I originally bought to do improvements to my property and small excavation work for my business. I own a small construction and remodeling company.

Anyway long story short a few months after buying the tractor I inherited a 10 acre tract of property. Its river bottom land and approximately 75% cleared. Ive been bush hogging and keeping the cleared section mowed.

Ive decided that I want to put in about 2 1/2 acres of crops next year. This is going to be a hobby project but hopefully something I can turn a little profit on as well.

Current plan is 1 acre of sweet potatoes. 1/2 acre of Yukon gold potatoes, 1/2 acre of pumpkins, and the balance in garden vegetables.

I have a Titan Implements 6112 single bottom plow that I bought from the local dealer on his recommended. Soil is fairly sandy but has a thick layer of sod. Its been probably close to 20 years since this tract has been farmed.

So for all the guys doing some small scale farming with small tractors. How long can I expect the plowing to take?

Should the next step be discing or would a tiller work better? My dealer seems to thing 2 1/2 acres is outside the scope of tiller work but also cautioned Id have a hard time pulling a disc with my tractor.

I dont currently own a tiller or disc so I need to buy one or the other before planting season next year anyway.

I think a tiller has more applications than a disc in the long term. Also more potential for sidework turning gardens. On the other hand i dont want to buy something thats going to be a maintenance headache down the line due to over use.

All help appreciated.

Your tractor is not designed to pull a moldboard plow. Note, I did not say that it cannot be done.

It does not have draft control and probably has R4 tires. It probably also does not have wheel weights and being a TLB, likely does not have liquid ballast. It is also a HST.

How wide is your single bottom plow, 10", 12", etc?

Is it equipped with a coulter (round, sod cutting disc in front of the plow)? Is it equipped with a rolling landslide (tail wheel)? Plowing sod is tough, especially without a coulter, and you will likely be moving slowly enough that the plow may not roll the ground completely.

That said, you can probably pull a single bottom 10" (12"?) plow but the going will be slow, especially through sod and without a coulter.

Plowing 2 1/2 acres with your set up will take some time.

Once plowed, I would work up the ground with a roto tiller rather than a disc given the tractor that you have.

SDT

 

[torch]

I have a 4' tiller for my B7100 and it works great in sandy soil, even with my turf tires. As opposed to a plow or disk, the tiller actually helps propel itself. I've used it to break sod, taking a light pass initially then deeper on a second round. One caveat: you do want to cut any vegetation first, so that long stalks are not wrapping themselves around the shaft. OK, two caveats: if you hit a rock of substantial size, you will know it!

 

[torch]

Oh, and to (sort of) answer your question: based on my experience, I think it takes about an hour an acre to till each pass with a 4' tiller. Which probably means it takes 2 hours per acre because I have the habit of losing track of time.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

With 29HP and 4wd, you should be able to pull a 2 furrow plow , a single is darn easy. I can pull a 2F plow all day long with a 60 year old 2WD tractor.
Since the soil is 'virgin', plow say 'North-South'. Wait 2-3 days, then plow 'East-West', Wait 2-3 days, then plow again 'North-South',then drag a series of chains behind a steel bar. This usually will breakup the soil very well, allowing using a rototiller. Be sure to make the garden patch BIGGER than you need...and add compost/ponypoop,leaf mulch,grass clippings EVERY year.

 

[SDT]

With 29HP and 4wd, you should be able to pull a 2 furrow plow , a single is darn easy. I can pull a 2F plow all day long with a 60 year old 2WD tractor.
Since the soil is 'virgin', plow say 'North-South'. Wait 2-3 days, then plow 'East-West', Wait 2-3 days, then plow again 'North-South',then drag a series of chains behind a steel bar. This usually will breakup the soil very well, allowing using a rototiller. Be sure to make the garden patch BIGGER than you need...and add compost/ponypoop,leaf mulch,grass clippings EVERY year.

Not a chance.

That's 29 engine HP.

Probably about 24 at the PTO and, probably less than 15 at the drawbar.

Drawbar HP is all that matters when plowing.

SDT

 

[skeets]

I dont understand why he cant pull a single bottom plow with a B2920. I mean it has a 3 point set up and I would think if you can plow with a BX the B shouldn't have a problem,, Although were I to put another BIG garden in, I would again opt for a tiller. Plowing has its place, but unless you are set up to plow like SDT said tailing wheel and a colter blade and need or should be in place before you start. Untilled ground is going to be (bytch) for that little guy.
Can it be done, sure ,should it be done, well maybe if thats the only option you have, will it beat the snot out of you, yeppers it will, and make you wonder WTH was I thinking..
If you can and live in an area where ther are farms, talk to one of them and ask if they will come and do it for you the first time, for a fee or a case of their favorite adult beverage, always the hardest time! And in MHO put the plow up for sale or use it as yard art, and go look for a 48 or 50 inch tiller, either reverse or forward rotating. And while it aint as classic as being out plowing your fields,, it will save you MUCH GREEF and aggravation

 

[NHSleddog]

I regularly disc and then till if there is sod or wild growth. It gives a better product with a faster end result. If I cut everything up in advance with the disc, the tiller doesn't get all clogged up with it. The disc is about 3 times the speed of the tiller.

On my B2650 I pull a 5' disc (with added ballast) and a 5' LP tiller, without issue.

You will hear people say not to till if it is several acres but honestly there is nothing like a tilled finish, the size doesn't change the end result. It is more a matter of the end result you are looking for.

The guy I bought my 5' LP unit from had broke and tilled 15 acres with it before upgrading to an 8' tiller to continue his farm.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Hmm,,I've got a 70ish Sears ST12 here, with maybe8-9horse left in it and it pulls a Brinly single furrow plow all day.... the A-C CA(+-20hp) pulls a BIG ( heavy) 12" 2 furrow plow all day so if the B2920 can't pull a SF plow, it's probably not setup properly. You don't need 'draft' control, though nice, to plow a field. I just plow and till the wife's 1/2ac veggie patch, sold the discs and harrows 15 years ago. I do plant rye every fall and run the subsoiler through every Spring.

 

[torch]

Just do like the pioneers, and hitch the wife to the plow. Problem solved:

 

[troverman]

I owned a B2920 and it was a tough and reliable tractor. I flail-mowed 30 acres with it, twice a year, for many years. Many people said that was insane. It took longer than with a larger tractor and mower, yes...but it got the job done. I was very pleased with all the work I got out of that tractor and miss it now that it is gone.

 

[Tornado]

Hey Robinson and welcome to the forums. You are making a decision I myself was making several months ago. I own a year old L2501 and next year I plan to finally put in a good size garden. I will not be doing 2 acres as you are, but the rest of our situation is pretty similar. I was looking at putting it in what was previous horse pasture with thick bahia grass. I was also debating between a Disc Harrow or a Rototiller. Ill share here what I ended up doing and how its worked out so far and hope you will find it helpful.

I ended up going with a disc harrow over a rototiller. This was primarily because I landed a great deal on one from a coworker. It had never been used but had sat out for over a year under a tree. Aside from some dirt and just a little rust, it was in excellent condition. It was a Frontier DH 1176. I will include a picture of one below. He told me to take it for free but I insisted on paying him $500 and he finally took it. From my research it was worth around $2,000. I just couldn't pass up such a good deal so this largely decided the question for me. I had began to lean toward a disc harrow anyways however, for a couple of reasons: You can pull a disc harrow in wooded areas, and I have an ongoing project of clearing wooded areas around my property and expanding my yard space. A disc harrow in my opinion just is a better tool in these areas than a rototiller. A rototiller would be hitting tons of roots and other things in these areas. This was a big deciding factor for me. I also had experience using a disc in wooded areas before and felt it worked really well.

When I first began considering my co workers disc harrow I made a thread here. My primary concern was whether the DH 1176 was too big and/or too heavy for my L2501. The DH 1176 is both wider and heavier than the allowance for a disc harrow in the L2501 owners manual, but not drastically so. It is a beefy, heavy, well built disc harrow though, so I did have some concerns that I would struggle to pull it. Some on this forum told me I wouldn't be able to pull it, that it was too heavy for the L2501. I ended up getting it because the deal ended up being too good and have since used it extensively on my property, both in wooded areas and in putting in my new garden plot for next spring.

So how did it go for me? In my case, I got the Harrow and immediately put it through a lot of fun tests. I was really curious how the L2501 would handle it. It turns out the L2501 handles the disc harrow just fine. Ive had no problems at all pulling it in any situation Ive put it in. In woods with thick leaves and clutter and roots, or in well tilled loose soil in my garden plot where I can bury the discs. If I set the front and rear axle of discs in the most aggressive setting, I do have to put the tractor into 4WD to pull it. This has been the only caveat. If Itry to stay in 2WD at the most aggressive setting the rear tires will begin to slip and then spin - Meaning I dont have enough weight. Weight is THE decider on what you will pull on your tractor, so before I began this post I looked up your tractor weight which is listed at 1554 LBS (No FEL or anything attached) My tractor weight is listed at 2623 LBS for comparison (again no FEL or anything) I also have liquid balast in my rear tires that put me a little over 3000lbs. The FEL with bucket is rated I believe around 1,000lbs as well, so before I attach the disc harrow my L2501 is sitting somewhere just over 4,000lbs. The DH1176 disc harrow is 76 inches wide and weights over 700lbs.

What is the best choice for you? It will depend entirely on your application I think. If you want the best solution for a garden, I think the rototiller is the better option. A disc harrow can make a patch of ground look very similar to what a rototiller can, so you can achieve roughly the same results with either, but a rototiller is just much quicker about it in my opinion. For me to break in my new garden plot and go from grassed pasture to soft, fluffy garden spot, I had to take multiple passes over the plot. A rototiller would have broke this ground in much faster, and would have broke the grass down easier and more efficiently. A rototiller is also substantially easier to pull for the tractor, so if you have no ballast in your tires, and especially if somehow happen to have no FEL on the tractor, you will be pretty light. Weight is king when you start talking about pulling something, and especially pulling something with a lot of resistance. Horsepower will not be your limiting factor. You have a 29 horsepower tractor, I have a 25 horsepower tractor, but I suspect the weight difference would mean the L2501 likely pulls more. What will happen is your tires will just start spinning and you cant get traction - This is a problem of weight foremost, and traction secondly, not engine power. If you do find applications where you think a disc is more preferable, as I did in my case, I would suggest keeping it under 600 lbs and under 6 foot in width, and look for one that offers some adjustments to its aggressiveness. In the end both options will but you in a nice garden. One relies more on your PTO power while another relies more on your tractors ability to pull. The jobs you want to accomplish with this new option is what I would let decide which route I went.

This is what my harrow looks like:

 

[SDT]

Hmm,,I've got a 70ish Sears ST12 here, with maybe8-9horse left in it and it pulls a Brinly single furrow plow all day.... the A-C CA(+-20hp) pulls a BIG ( heavy) 12" 2 furrow plow all day so if the B2920 can't pull a SF plow, it's probably not setup properly. You don't need 'draft' control, though nice, to plow a field. I just plow and till the wife's 1/2ac veggie patch, sold the discs and harrows 15 years ago. I do plant rye every fall and run the subsoiler through every Spring.

The AC CA produced 24.79 belt HP in NE Test Number 453, 10/31 - 11/09 1950. This probably translates into about 30 engine HP.

More importantly, the tractors of that day were designed for plowing whereas, modern CUTS/SCUTS are not.

The AC CA weighs 2763 Lbs. and had 1048 Lbs. of added ballast as tested. It also has a gear type transmission and was equipped with 10X24 (11.2X24) R1 tires. It was designed to pull a 2X12 snap coupler plow. Accordingly, the CA produced 17.83 drawbar HP in NE Test Number 453. This compares favorably with the 17.65 drawbar HP produced by the Ford 8N in NE Test 443, 06/16 - 06/27 1950.

Don't have the specs for the B2920 handy but my similar B3350 produces 27 PTO HP, weighs 1896 Lbs., and is equipped with R4 tires, which will not pull the hat from one's head, ballasted or otherwise. Kubota does not specify drawbar HP, which is all that is important when considering plowing, but it is likely that the B2920 produces no more than 10-12 drawbar HP due to reduced weight, HST transmission, and unsuitable tires vis a vis the CA. FWA is of little value when plowing due to weight transfer.

As previously said, I expect that the 2920 can pull a 10" or 12" single bottom plow in sod at a depth of 8" or so but ground speed will be low due to the HST transmission and the need to operate in low range. Accordingly, the plow may not roll the ground properly.

If I ever decide to plow again, I will choose my very, very good 52 Ford 8N 12 speed rather than my B3350 (or likely even my L6060 with optional draft control).

SDT

 

[SDT]

Deleated

 

[BAP]

A B2920 will pull a 10-12” one bottom plow in sod. A plow wants to be set at a depth of 1/2 it’s width. So a 10” gets set at 5” and 12” at 6” max. The biggest problems people have pulling a moldboard plow is not knowing how to set them up and try to pull them too deep.

 

[robinson1]

Your tractor is not designed to pull a moldboard plow. Note, I did not say that it cannot be done.

It does not have draft control and probably has R4 tires. It probably also does not have wheel weights and being a TLB, likely does not have liquid ballast. It is also a HST.

How wide is your single bottom plow, 10", 12", etc?

Is it equipped with a coulter (round, sod cutting disc in front of the plow)? Is it equipped with a rolling landslide (tail wheel)? Plowing sod is tough, especially without a coulter, and you will likely be moving slowly enough that the plow may not roll the ground completely.

That said, you can probably pull a single bottom 10" (12"?) plow but the going will be slow, especially through sod and without a coulter.

Plowing 2 1/2 acres with your set up will take some time.

Once plowed, I would work up the ground with a roto tiller rather than a disc given the tractor that you have.

SDT

Its a 12 inch single bottom plow without coulter

 

[BigG]

Wheelhorse:

Cub Cadet:

Farmall Cub:

Kubota BX: https:

Kubota B:

I am just saying you can plow with little light tractors and do a good job. As with any garden the first year will leave a lot to be desired. Add the amendments as mentioned earlier in this thread will make the second year much more productive.

Two acres will plow pretty quickly but I would mow it short and plow it under in the fall. This will improve the production for next summer.

Do take the soil to be tested for ph and have the additions to the soil this fall. Look at what you want to grow and match the amendments as to what you need. Prepping the soil this fall will help next years crop. Adding amendments to the soil such as chopped leaves, fireplace ashes, saw dust will help condition the soil.

A disk also called a harrow could be purchased off of Craig's List or Facebook and save you some money. A tiller is nice but there is maintenance for them and they cost a lot of money and as stated before rocks and roots will give you problems. It might behoove you to have a neighbor with a large tractor plow it the first time. After that you will be ok.

Read as much as you have time for for ideas of how to dry and store all those potatoes and a good potatoes plow will make life easier.

Also need to think about a walk behind tiller for keeping the weeds at bay. Find you a old neighbor and soak in the wisdom he/she has about growing gardens in your area.

Best of luck

 

[D2Cat]

For 2 1/2 acres, why not have a neighbor with a large tractor and disc go through it? Then you can play (work) all you want.

Get it done this Fall so whatever winter you get can help to break it down.

 

[SDT]

Its a 12 inch single bottom plow without coulter

As I said previously, your 2920 will probably pull it but the lack of a coulter will make the going tough in sod and the ground speed will be low.

SDT

 

[GreensvilleJay]

I 'gold standard' for a market garden tractor was and still is the A-C G. The one I bought off local farmer had been used to do 50 acres, every year for 50 years. When new they had 10HP.....
D2 has a great idea..get neighbour to do the first plowing, over winter ,soil will break down. I always plow every fall,wait 2 weeks, till, then sow rye