disk hillers for Super A

[DLJ in NC]

I may feel dumb when I get the answer, but I have seen something in the manual and in a picture of a Super A that I just cannot figure out. Most people put their disk hillers facing inward at the back of the blade to make a planting ridge (hill), but I have seen some with the blades together at the front side to throw the dirt to the outside of the tractor. What is this used for?

 

[Hugh MacKay]

DLJ: Someone may have been using it to split a drill to drop seed potatoes, bulbs, etc. I do this, then reverse the disks to cover the seed. For dropping my seed potatoes, I use a basket full of seed tied to my waste, and a 4" sewer tube made up like a walking stick to drop the potato seed down so thay don't bounce out of place. I once had 4 guys helping me, 3 with baskets and sewer tubes, the 4th guy was supplying the others with seed from truck. They kept me busy opening drills, then switching my disks to cover the seed. We planted 3 acres of potatoes in 3 hours. With bulbs like gladoli, my good better half insists we place those by hand, no sewer tubes allowed.

I also have single disk, grain drill disks made up to use as rolling crop shields on the first cultivation of small vegetables. I have those set about 4" apart at front and 8" at back, thus they throw soil away from small plants. I find cultivator shanks would bury small plants. I have 3 sets of these thus I can do 3, 16" rows of small crops at once. My 140 cultivators are not original, I have a tool bar from side to side for narrow rows of small vegetables. With the potatoes and bulbs, I use the conventional SA one row cultivator, doing 48" rows. I use the tool bar at planting time in potatoes when I don't need crop clearence.

 

[Daniel H.]

Hugh,

How did you incorporate your fertilizer? Did you use the hopper on the Super A or an alternate method?

 

[Anonymous-0]

Years ago when we had a wet spring and the crops got grassey the old timers would turn there hillers around and plow out the crop then go back and plow it again with regular sweeps. They called it bar'n off.

 

[Anonymous-0]

When the corn was about 3 inches high my grandfather would turn the hillers to throw the soil away from the corn plants and then another plow would throw the dirt back into the furrow cut by the hillers. The hillers could be set in as close as one could control the tractor to keep from cutting up the corn stalks. Whenever the corn got about 18 inches high he would turn the hillers to throw the soil around the base of the corn stalks to cover any grass growing around the plants. Overall, it seemed to be pretty effective without hoeing or using herbicides.

 

[Hugh MacKay]

Daniel: I broadcast about 70% and disked it in, then put the balance down the side dresser.