Go Bottomneed information about use of cultivators
 | sumbob
Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 2 Long Branch, in East Texas 
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2007-03-22 140633
I'm brand new and this is my first post. I've been looking for information and hopefully pictures of the proper uses of a cultivator and the various sweeps and configurations that can be used. I hope you guys can point me in the right direction. All the old-timers in my area are just about gone and I'd like for someone to show me proper cultivation of my garden this year.
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 | yooperpete
Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 1413 Northern Michigan 
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2007-03-22 140634
Few people cultivate gardens anymore. Most use a roto-tiller.
If you're planning to use a cultivator, we would assume the garden is hugh. Do you have the basic cultivator, shanks and some sweeps already?
What types of plants are planned? As an example with corn, once it has achieved a certain height you throw soil at the stalk so it gets support to help prevent it from blowing over in high winds. Care must be taken to stay away from the plant so the root system doesn't get sheared. Likewise, you hill up potatoes. Exposed potatoes turn green! Different plants require different row spacings because of their spread. Also depends if you wish to cram allot of stuff in the garden or space it out for growth. ....
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| sumbob
Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 2 Long Branch, in East Texas
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2007-03-22 140635
Don't know if I'd call it huge, but it's much larger than what I could manage with a roto-tiller. It's about a half an acre under plow. I am using my brother-in-laws Kubota tractor, discs, and cultivator. We do have two different sets of sweeps. He hardly uses his cultivator at all, but I prefer discrete, well spaced, delineated rows, planting in hills and I'd like to use the cultivator to achieve that.
I will be planting sweet corn, zipper cream peas, pinto beans, and lady cream peas. ....
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 | kthompson
Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 5275 South Carolina 
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2007-03-22 140647
Sumbob, glad you are here. Have fun in the garden.
There is at least two styles of cultivators. There are those designed for and used by farmers with many adjustments and those sold by such as Tractor Supply with spring shanks on them and little if any adjustment. Which do you have?
If you have the ones used by farmers you MAY find your county agent has brochure on their set up. ALso do a search at the Agriculture Schools on that. I would stongly encourge you to find a width (will be set by the tractor's wheel base) and use it for everything. It you find it too wide you might can set your cultivators for two rows under the tractor but I would expect you to find it too narrow if anything. Very simple fix, skip a row. Still plow it so it does not have weeds, just don't plant it. Normally the widest sweep runs directly in line with your tractor tires. You normally would not plow wider than that as you would be in the next row's rome. This also is used as a guide for the next row when making rows or laying them off as some call it. Adjusting takes time and gets old from row to row. Normally the cultivator is not the low point as many will watch there and the tractor is doing the damage.
If you do have the farm style cultivators often you will find you use smaller sweeps closer to the crop with larger ones as you move from the crop and also normally set a little deeper. Also the inside sweeps are the front one, as you move out they move back. Will make sense when you see the dirt's movement. You will need to use sweeps of size and set up so you do not skip any part where you are trying to kill weeds. Normally you don't plow very deep when cultivating, maybe one or two inches. If you are using your cultivators to bed up rows you will need either hiller blades or plow wings (here they are called buzzard wings, probably not the industry name) to move large amounts of dirt to form the bed. If you are able to make your beds a couple of weeks in advance of when you will be planting and just before you plant, rip them open and bed right back the dirt is softer for seeds and the weeds will not have a head start. The bedding set up works good for potatoes and corn to put the dirt to them each needs.
If you have the one you can adjust, when you find a set up you like take picture and record the settings. It can help you next year. Also the results of cultivators can vary with same set up and different speeds and soils. The faster throws dirt, while slower may not hardly move the dirt. If cultivating small plants, normally very slow. With good loose soil it will almost roll around each plant. Fun to watch.
Again, have fun and glad you are here. kt
PS: to help you plant staight, set a very narrow sweep in the very center and use it to run down the top of your bed just deep enough for your seed. It is hard to plant by hand and keep it straight for tractor. ....
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| yooperpete
Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 1413 Northern Michigan
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2007-03-22 140651
KT covered it pretty good. You can use half-wings near the crops which stop the soil from undercutting roots and rolling soil over smothering them. You go deeper as you approach the center of the row. Do you have two or three rows of shank connections?
As the crops mature, adjust further away from the crops. Be carefull to drive straight and start straight so you don't run over the crop.
You don't want to work the ground when it is too wet. Your soil will get lumpy if you have any clay. ....
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