Disc harrows versus tiller?

[ebinmaine 67,329]

Could you fine folks that use a garden tractor for gardening please tell me in layman's terms that a kindergarten person can understand what the usage and outcome difference is between a disc harrow and a rototiller?

 

Do you own both? Do they each have a specific task?

 

For some reason I'm under the impression that a disc harrows leaves a smoother surface but I'm not even sure why I think that. True? False? Variable answer?

 

Is one better than the other for..

Soil type?

Depth?

Moist or dry areas?

Rocks smaller than a baseball?

 

 

What other types of information can you throw at me?

[Achto 27,516]

A disc harrow will break the soil up finer after plowing. I like to follow the disc with a drag harrow to get a real nice smooth finish.

 

If your tiller is set up right it should be a one & done deal. No plowing, no discing, no drag needed. Just a nice smooth loose finish after one pass.

Edited October 12, 2022 by Achto

[squonk 41,040]

A lot depends on the dirt. Before we went to raised bed garden we had a Troy Bilt tiller that really did a nice job. The ground took a lot of work at first but after the first year it was easy peasy.

[pfrederi 17,685]

If you have rocky soil the disc will probably just skip along on the surface. Can't beat a TroyBilt Horse Tiller...Much easier to maneuver in a confined garden.  Discs have a turning radius issue

[Skwerl58 702]

I have a tiller for my 414-8 and also a disc harrow. The disc does a good job of breaking up the clods or mounds left from using a moldboard plow and smoothing out rough soft soil. After discing I use the tiller to further smooth and turn the soil for planting. I also till to remove some stubborn weeds between rows. I also have a 1976 Troy bilt Horse and it does a great job for preparing for planting. I also have a 1980 or so Montgomery Ward by Gilson gear drive that also does a fine job. One problem with tilling is to much makes the soil erode faster so be careful.

[8ntruck 6,993]

When we were living in Ky. we had a garden big enough that I used an 8N with a single bottom plow followed up with a cultivator, followed with a Tory Built Pony.  A couple years, I just used the cultivator, then followed with the Tory Built.

 

The soil was heavy red almost clay.  Every fall of the 9 years we lived there, I'd turn leaves and mulch into the soil.  Looked more like proper garden dirt by the time we moved.

[Handy Don 12,177]

2 hours ago, 8ntruck said:

by the time we moved

And the next owners planted it to grass, right?

[8ntruck 6,993]

Not sure.  Can't really see that part of the yard just driving by.

 

Just looked it up on Google in the aerial photo view.  It shows as grass at the time the aerial photo was taken.

Edited October 13, 2022 by 8ntruck

[pfrederi 17,685]

An additional thought. if you have rocky soil you can get Pick Tines for Troybilts. The do not do well turning under grass or winter cover but do better on rocky soil than the standard bolo tines. As a kid we had pick tines for a few years then after we had gotten rid of most the rocks Father got bolo tines.

[Handy Don 12,177]

13 hours ago, 8ntruck said:

Not sure.  Can't really see that part of the yard just driving by.

 

Just looked it up on Google in the aerial photo view.  It shows as grass at the time the aerial photo was taken.

Just irony after all your work, right?

At our first home, we created a nice flower bed/garden and had built up a nice hedge of raspberries. New owner removed it all and planted grass.

A neighbor we remained friends with commented later how he missed picking the raspberries on his side of the hedge!

[ebinmaine 67,329]

6 hours ago, pfrederi said:

Pick Tines

For the first few years. Maybe every year who knows. We're going to be using the single Ripper Spike at the very least.

Trina and I have talked about attaching two or maybe even three spikes to a mechanism that would work off of the backhoe arm.

That would permit us to get down 10? 12? Inches deep to fetch rocks.

 

We worked hard to put a decent base there and we'd like to keep it that way.

[Goldnboy 910]

@ebinmaine are preparing for you fall rock harvest then? I suppose you will be giving out rocks for Halloween?

[ebinmaine 67,329]

25 minutes ago, Goldnboy said:

@ebinmaine are preparing for you fall rock harvest then? I suppose you will be giving out rocks for Halloween?

We don't celebrate Halloween but I don't let that restrict me.

I'm very open-minded and more than willing to give them out ALL YEAR.

We have PLENTY of rocks.

 

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[Sailman 1,291]

I found an effective way for my garden spot this year. Pulled the moldboard plow with the C-160, followed up with the C-120 and snow blade to level the furrows and finished with the 416-8 and tiller. Did an awesome job.....and no changing implements!

Completed the project with my 1970's Troy Bilt Horse......only because I could!

Gave me a great bed to work with.

[doc724 925]

Go with the tiller.  When I bought my first WH in 1978 I bought a Brinley moldboard plow and a disc harrow.  The plow was great, albeit slow.  If the soil was sandy the disc harrow was adequate but it did not weigh enough and was too small.  I tolerated it until my garden shrank in size to where it could be turned with a pitch fork.  Then I got old and in 2014 I bought a WH tiller.  Other than a bit of a challenge mounting it on the tractor (first time took me 45 minutes, but after that I could get it on in 10 minutes or less), it did an unbelievable job on tilling the soil.  Leaves, compost, grass clippings handled all of them with ease.  I had the best garden in the neighborhood.  By the way, when you are buying a used tiller, the blades should not look like shark teeth.  That tiller is worn out.  Tiller blades are supposed to be square on the end.

[rick 233]

And the tines for a WH tiller are $$$!

[c-series don 8,676]

@doc724@ebinmaineExactly what Don said, the tines should be square on the ends. Tines that come to a point are worn out and will not bite in. I bought new tines for mine over 25 years ago and I think I paid over $300 back then. At the time I was tilling gardens spring and fall for customers so it was part of doing business.