Plowing the land: step-by-step instructions. Is it possible to plow virgin soil with a walk-behind tractor?
In the fall, after harvesting, the soil in the garden needs to be dug up or plowed. During this operation, the soil is filled with oxygen, the roots of weeds fall to the surface and dry out, in the spring the plowed soil is easier to cultivate, and snow lies on the arable land longer, filling it with moisture.
After 3-5 years, it is advisable to add fertilizers to the soil in your dacha garden, the most affordable of which is regular cow manure. In the fall, it is scattered around the area and plowed under so that the substance does not dry out on the surface. Otherwise, it will lose all its properties and will not bring any benefit.
If the area is small, you can dig it up with a shovel. But if it is the size of a football field, it is better to use machinery, hire a tractor driver or plow the ground with a walk-behind tractor.
To do this, you need to purchase additional equipment: lugs, a plow and a hitch. There are two types of iron wheels for walk-behind tractors: large in diameter, for, and smaller, for other work. To plow the soil, you need lugs with a small diameter.
So, before work, we’ll attach a plow and iron wheels to the machine. We will adjust the plowing depth experimentally by tightening or unscrewing a special lever on the hitch.
We will carry the manure around the entire site using a garden cart,
Then we spread it on the ground with a pitchfork so that it covers the entire area.
It is better to plow in rubber boots, as manure sticks to the sole and stains the shoes.
PLOWING A GARDEN WITH A MOTOR-BLOCK
There are two ways to plow a garden with a cultivator. The first is called trench plowing. Work begins from the center of the site. Having reached the opposite side of the field, the vehicle turns around, the right wheel is placed in the furrow and the equipment goes back. The result is a large ridge. Thus, furrow by furrow, the entire garden is plowed. This method is good because in the spring snow, falling between the furrows, does not melt longer, and the ground becomes wetter.
The second method is ploughing. The movement starts from the right edge of the site. Having reached the end, we drive the walk-behind tractor to the other edge and also plow. Then we again move to the opposite edge and so, strip by strip, we plow the entire garden. In this way, you can plow in a circle without moving the walk-behind tractor from edge to edge. But the closer the device moves to the center of the site, the more inconvenience there will be in the work.
In our garden, we plowed using the waddle method, since with this approach the plow turns the soil over, covering it with fertilizer.
In the spring, we will cultivate the garden using cutters, chopping large pieces of soil and manure. We hope that after these operations our potato yield will increase significantly.
Surely every villager, summer resident or farmer acquires gardening equipment over time. After all, there is a lot of work on the site, and it takes a lot of effort and time to complete it. This is when cultivators come to the rescue. Naturally, each unit comes with an instruction manual, but it is more technical in nature than practical. Therefore, many owners of cultivators are faced with problems of how to plow a garden with a motorized cultivator. Let's try to figure this out now.
Plowing the soil with a motor cultivator is a very simple process and does not require much effort. Yes, additional practical skills would not hurt, but still it is not difficult to cope with such equipment.
How to plow with a cultivator
- We place the cultivator at the edge of the plot.
- We turn on the higher gear.
- We hold the unit and follow it.
That's basically the whole plowing process. But I would like to draw your attention to a few more features. The equipment is dug into the ground by about one and a half shovels, and in order to achieve such a depth, you can slightly rock the unit from side to side. With this swing, the knives will dig into the ground one by one, and the result of the work will be more effective.
What to do if the equipment gets stuck in the ground?
In this case, you need to swing the equipment in different directions, which will gradually release it from the soil. It is worth noting that there are a number of motorized cultivators that will perform excellently on hard virgin soil. Usually, of course, during the initial plowing of stubborn virgin soil, a plow is used. But if the cultivator has good power, then it can also cope with such soil using conventional cutters. And in this case, many owners may encounter a problem with such soil cultivation: the unit begins to bounce due to the hardness of the earth. To hold the equipment in place and give it greater stability, you can use additional weight.
Technical progress and innovative technologies have brought farmers a large amount of the latest equipment, which not only makes it easier to work with the land, but also, importantly, preserves human health. One of them is a modern walk-behind tractor with a plow. These are unique agricultural machines that can cope with any task - plowing the ground, planting plants, mowing grass, harvesting, removing snow.
In this review article we will talk about how plowing occurs with a Neva walk-behind tractor (plow). You will receive not only comprehensive information about the operation of the device, but also technically master the technique of plowing with a plow on a Neva walk-behind tractor.
Preparing the Neva walk-behind tractor for plowing
Purchasing walk-behind equipment greatly facilitates the work of the owner of a personal plot. But, as practice shows, most summer residents have no idea how to properly plow with a walk-behind tractor.
Plowing a plot of land begins with preliminary adjustment of agricultural technology to perform certain work. First of all, you need to assemble the plow. Using the instructions, this will be easy to do.
Further necessary actions:
- Installation of agricultural equipment on bars. Plowing with a Neva walk-behind tractor involves the use of a lug - this unit helps reduce the load on agricultural machinery. As a rule, walk-behind tractors are equipped with lugs. In any case, if desired, you can always purchase them separately.
- Connecting the lug. The hubs and wheels on the walk-behind tractor are removed, and other hubs, special for lugs, are installed on the axle. They are longer, therefore, the distance between the wheels increases, and the walk-behind tractor itself acquires the stability necessary for plowing. The hubs are placed on the axle and connected with special pins to the shaft drive. After this, the lug itself is connected.
- Coupling the plow with the main agricultural machinery. To do this, the adjusting screw is removed from the hitch and the plow is installed.
- Adjustment of the depth of the cultivated land using holes on the stand. Plowing with a Neva walk-behind tractor is most often carried out when the plow is installed in the middle hole.
- Plow adjustment. The “heel” of the plow is placed parallel to the ground, fixed with locknuts and a bolt-regulator. Proper plowing of the Neva with a walk-behind tractor is only possible if the steering wheel of the walk-behind tractor is located in the middle of the adjuster screw.
First plowing
Before you start plowing the land, you need to decide on the strip. The middle of the first strip is visually “calculated”. Plowing the land with a Neva walk-behind tractor with a plow (test series) is carried out at minimum speed. How to plow correctly with a Neva walk-behind tractor? The plow should be positioned perpendicular to the ground. If it has moved, it needs to be adjusted.
Plowing should be carried out at a depth of fifteen to twenty centimeters. If it turns out less, the plow canopy needs to be moved down one hole for adjustment.
To figure out how to plow a Neva walk-behind tractor with a plow, you need to plow the first strip, deploy the agricultural equipment and place it opposite the strip with the right wheel. Now you need to plow the right furrow from the edge - only then will the Neva walk-behind tractor plow the plow correctly, and the soil will fold evenly when plowing. In the language of agricultural technicians, such plowing is called “in the dump.”
During plowing, agricultural machinery does not need to be pushed - the walk-behind tractor must be held at an angle to the plow (inclination - ten degrees).
To figure out how to plow with a Neva walk-behind tractor, you need to look at the plowed strip of land. If it turns out smooth, you can increase the speed a little. This will enhance the soil dump and make plowing more even.
Recommendations for plowing with a walk-behind tractor
- When turning and turning, you need to pull the agricultural equipment out of the soil at low speed.
- It is necessary to take breaks during plowing - every half hour or hour. This will help avoid overheating of the equipment.
- If the agricultural tiller constantly “slides” to the side and you can’t plow deeply, it’s worth rechecking the ground. To do this, you need to stick iron reinforcement with a diameter of one centimeter into the soil. The reinforcement should go about forty centimeters into the soil layer. If it goes into the ground no more than twenty centimeters, then trying to plow deeper will not work.
- During plowing, it is necessary to prevent collapse furrows and fall ridges. To do this, you need to clearly highlight the first stripe.
Conclusion
Now you know how to plow with a Neva walk-behind tractor and a plow. In order for Neva walk-behind tractors with mounted agricultural equipment to work perfectly, it is important not only to understand how to plow on a Neva walk-behind tractor. The equipment must be properly looked after - you must not subject it to excessive loads, in general, overload the equipment. It is important to correct any problems in a timely manner to avoid serious damage. If agricultural machinery malfunctions, you need to understand the cause of the malfunction and try to eliminate it as quickly as possible.
If you value your agricultural equipment and want to figure out how to plow with a walk-behind tractor, be sure to follow the rules for operating and storing the equipment. Clean it from dirt and fumes after each work in the ground. In this case, the agricultural device in excellent condition will serve you for many years.
Ensuring a high level of productivity largely depends on the quality of the work carried out on plowing the land. In previous times, this procedure was extremely labor-intensive and took more than one week. Now the work of business executives has been greatly simplified, since with the help of a walk-behind tractor or a motor-cultivator, you can plow a large area in just a few hours. Working with this technique has its own rules and features.
Plowing a large area with a motor cultivator
Many novice farmers wonder what is the difference between? According to knowledgeable people, there are no fundamental differences between these two agricultural devices. However, some features can be highlighted. A cultivator is a mechanism for cultivating land for subsequent crops, improving the soil structure and ensuring an optimal level of mixing of soil with fertilizers applied to it. In addition to soil cultivation, walk-behind tractors can perform a number of additional tasks such as mowing grass, planting, hilling a vegetable garden, harvesting crops, or clearing an area of dried leaves.
Thus, the walk-behind tractor is characterized by wider functionality compared to a motor-cultivator, and it also has more power, which is important when developing virgin lands, for example. But the weight of the cultivator is much less than that of a walk-behind tractor, and working with this type of equipment is much easier and requires less physical effort. This device also costs much less. Therefore, if we are talking about carrying out exclusively arable work on a relatively small area, then many business owners, choosing between two types of equipment, give preference to a motor cultivator.
The method of mechanical tillage has a number of undeniable advantages compared to traditional manual tillage. First of all, plowing with a walk-behind tractor or cultivator requires significantly less physical and time expenditure, which increases the productivity of agricultural workers tens of times. Also, thanks to this technique, it becomes possible to carry out a number of additional works in parallel with plowing. For example, you can simultaneously loosen the soil and also add the necessary fertilizers to the soil. In addition, tillage with a walk-behind tractor or a walk-behind cultivator ensures more uniform and deep plowing of the land, improves its condition and structural quality.
The soil is saturated with a sufficient amount of oxygen and reaches the optimal degree of moisture. In addition, the soil is cultivated, which slows down the growth and development of weeds. According to statistical data, when plowing is carried out mechanically, the yield indicators in the cultivated area almost double. You can also plow the land using a tractor. However, this is not available to everyone due to the high cost of this type of equipment. In addition, arable work with a tractor can only be carried out on large and open plots of land, near which there are no trees, bushes or buildings.
Plowing land with a tractor
Despite all the advantages of walk-behind tractors and walk-behind cultivators, these mechanisms also have certain disadvantages. For example, mechanical tillage is contraindicated in areas filled with weeds with a deep root system. This is due to the fact that during arable work using walk-behind tractors, the surface soil layer falls off to the side, and this contributes to the proliferation of weeds.
In addition, the soil plowed with a walk-behind tractor requires additional treatment - clogging. This problem is especially relevant when working on hard soils. Also, with regular mechanical tillage, damage to the fertile soil layer may occur. The situation can be improved by parallel application of mineral and organic fertilizers to the soil.
To get the most favorable results when carrying out arable work using a walk-behind tractor, it is recommended to follow. First of all, it is necessary to correctly configure the mechanism by adjusting the width and depth of plowing. These indicators largely depend on the area of the cultivated area and the quality characteristics of the soil. However, according to knowledgeable people, there are adjustments that are considered optimal in most cases.
Carrying out arable work using a walk-behind tractor
The width of the plowed furrow should be no more than 50–60 cm. As for the plowing depth, its ideal indicators are 10–15 cm.
When cultivating hard soils, the depth of the furrow can be increased to 20–25 cm. To do this, you need to achieve such a position of the apparatus so that the plow rests on the ground with its entire base. Otherwise, it will either go too deep into the soil or, on the contrary, be pushed out of it. To attach the plow itself to the mechanism, it must be raised approximately 15 cm above ground level. Usually special stands are used for these purposes. It should be emphasized that the quality of subsequent arable work largely depends on the correct settings of the walk-behind tractor or cultivator before its operation!
First of all, the site must be properly prepared by clearing it of weeds, stones and various types of debris. After this, stretch the so-called orientation cord along the first row of the site. This manipulation is necessary in order to make the arable row as even as possible. Then prepare the device. To check how correctly the adjustments have been made, it is recommended to plow a test plot of a minimum area. Moving to the main area, place the walk-behind tractor or cultivator at the beginning of the furrow.
Cultivator treatment of a trial plot of minimal area
When starting arable work, slightly deepen the device into the soil, lightly pressing it downwards. Next, follow the walk-behind tractor along the guide cord, holding the handles of the walk-behind tractor. Make sure that the mechanism runs in a straight line and do not allow it to sink excessively into the soil. When the length of the furrow comes to an end, you need to make a U-turn and continue plowing in the opposite direction. To cultivate the land as uniformly as possible, it is necessary to ensure that the speed of movement of the mechanism is low, and the rotation speed of its cutters, on the contrary, is quite high.
When carrying out arable work, you can move both in a circle and in a zigzag manner. We can say that it all depends on your personal preferences; only experienced specialists advise taking into account the shape of the treated area. If the site has a rectangular shape, then circular plowing would be the ideal option. Owners of a square plot are recommended to give preference to zigzag digging. When cultivating a vegetable garden, it is best to create beds along the perimeter of the plot and place them parallel to each other. This will facilitate the process of plowing and subsequent planting work.
In addition, many business owners are faced with the problem of excessively hard soil, which cannot be processed even with the help of special equipment; this is often typical for virgin soil. What can be done in this case? Knowledgeable people advise adhering to a system of stage-by-stage tillage. The soil also becomes softer and more pliable when wet. Therefore, carry out arable work either after heavy rainfall, or after preliminary intensive watering. In addition, you can try to develop a virgin soil layer using a walk-behind mill. To do this, you should walk along the same strip several times in a row, gradually deepening the device into the soil.
When the work is completed, take care to clear the mechanism of soil, grass and other debris. Then rinse it with water and dry thoroughly. This is necessary to ensure the longest and most reliable operation of the walk-behind tractor or cultivator!
Many beginners do not know how to plow a house plot with a motor cultivator. In fact, there is nothing complicated in the soil treatment procedure, but studying some of the nuances will still be useful.
Let's look at the features of plowing the soil and the safety rules that must be followed when working.
Types of cultivators for tillage
In the modern world, most areas of human activity have been automated. Agriculture was not spared these processes either.
Today on the market there are a large number of motor cultivators that help cultivate the soil in the garden, in flower beds or in greenhouses. Despite the fact that the equipment has appeared on the domestic market for quite some time, not everyone has managed to buy it yet. And even many of those farmers who purchased the unit still do not know how to properly plow a garden with a motorized cultivator.
Modern models of units are divided into 2 types:
- – do not have high power. Plowing depth, as a rule, does not exceed 15 cm. These models are used for working in small areas. Among the advantages are the modest dimensions, which allow the equipment to be used in flower beds and small beds;
- models are designed for processing larger areas. They are equipped with 2- or 4-stroke engines with relatively high power. These units have a more complex design, and therefore working with them is slightly different from plowing with cultivators with electric motors.
The features of working with it on the site depend on what kind of motor your unit is equipped with. Below we will consider the general rules for operating equipment in the local area.
Before plowing with a cultivator, you should prepare the area to be treated.
To do this, you will need to remove debris, clear the area of large stones and anything unnecessary that could damage the cutters. After this, the plowing algorithm looks like this:
- Check the unit for damage, screw in all fasteners securely, fill with gasoline and oil;
- To reduce the width of the covered strip, you need to remove the side knives;
- Start the engine and begin to slowly dig the cutters into the soil;
- Start a smooth movement without jerking;
- When processing, do not use the forward and reverse handles at the same time, as this may damage the transmission;
- Take short breaks if the weather is hot;
- After plowing, slowly pull the cutters out;
- At the end of the work, clean the unit from dirt and the cutters from wound weeds;
- If necessary, apply oil to the transmission device using a syringe.
- Rectangular plots should be cultivated in a circle, and square gardens are best plowed in a zigzag direction;
- There is no need to plow the entire area if it is not necessary. It is best to cultivate the land in parts as you plant;
- Experienced farmers recommend making beds along the long side of the plot, placing them parallel to each other;
- If the garden is located on hills, then it is best to make beds along the rise;
- When preparing beds, leave a small strip of soil untouched so that at the right time you can leave the rows and move on to tilling the soil in another bed.
