Wheel Horse vs Ford Tractor for Garden Plowing

[Ed729 57]

I’m wanting to start a small-medium sized garden and looking for some advice. My soil is clay and I think it would be very hard to rototill without breaking it up with a moldboard plow first. I have a WH 312-8, and a Ford 2000 (35ish hp) tractor that I’m trying to decide between for purchasing a used plow setup. I think price will be similar or slightly cheaper to go with a 3 point plow. I can find workable 2-bottom 3-point plows for about $300 and be ready to plow….for the Wheel Horse I’m looking at about $150 for a Brinley plow plus another couple hundred for the sleeve hitch, cable, etc. 

 

Has anybody used both a garden tractor and a “real” tractor on gardens for plowing? Did one setup work better than the other?
 

Obviously the Ford would have more power and probably do the job quicker, but with an FEL it won’t be very maneuverable and it’s much heavier. Maybe another advantage is I can adjust from the seat. It seems like overkill for a garden but being similar or less cost has me leaning that direction. Thanks in advance for any input.

 

 

[slim67 2,743]

I’ve never plowed with anything other than a garden tractor myself but with wheel weights and traction , I've never had a problem. I used an 8 inch Sears bottom plow on my folks 16/6 with 105 lb wheel weights. Their gardens werent super huge but enough. The bigger it is, the more work.

[Lagersolut 698]

If it were me I'd go with the Ford 35hp 3 point - I started plowing with a C-101 years ago ( my garden is 50 x 80 ) - I started with sod and a lot of clay too- not an easy task for a smaller tractor - took me years of amending the soil and tilling in crops until it plowed decent - I'm now using a 416-8 to plow with bigger tires more weight and power . My patch has buildings around it so its not really possible room wise to get in with a bigger tractor . Your ford also has the down pressure to sink the plow - with the brinley you're relying on the weight of the plow - if it's dry here forget it - I'll never get the plow sunk - my plow shear should probably be replaced but I freeze when I see how proud Brinley is of it .