I want to start off by saying thank you to the Bowhunting.com community! You guys are awesome and I learn so much from you all as well the show. I also know i am beating a dead horse here with this topic. I have spent countless hours looking and doing research and each time end up with the same result "If you want to do it save your money and buy a Tractor with a 3-point and PTO." I get it they are awesome and if i had the resources or another use case than just a few 1/2 - 1 acre plots I would've already jumped all over it. I saying this because I don't want that to be where this thread to go. I want to be able to have a open conversation between guys that have ATV/UTV's and are doing it right now. I want to know what worked for you what didn't work. What product it is and how did you use it. I know there are tons of options and also tons of use cases for those options. I am going from a lawnmower and a 18" rear tine tiller that i am walking behind. I used the lawnmower with a prayer tank with a nozzle mounted directly to it. I sprayed all my plots with it. Then i had a OLD lawnmower i used to scalp it. I would then burn it all off then walk behind that tiller for 3-4 hours per 1/4 acre tilling it up. I then made a harrow that i pulled behind the lawnmower to cover it all up after walking with a hand spreader. This year i bought a Polaris Ranger 1000 xp. I will convert over my sprayer to hook up to a small boom that goes in the receiver hitch so i am good there. It only is 15 gallons but i can take more in 5 gallon buckets with lids until i get a bigger workhorse 40 gallon tank and boom system. I also picked up a swisher 52" pull behind powered rough cut mower. So this is where i am at now in my adventure that never ends..... Where i am stuck at is now breaking ground. I have looked and did tons of research. I love the thought of the DR Pull behind Power Tiller Link (https://www.drpower.com/power-equip...0-ft-lbs-pro-roto-hog-power-tiller-es-new.axd) I think it will be heavy enough to break fresh ground but will have to be taken at very slow speeds. This is where i really want to go problem is all the videos of these things are on gardens that have been worked over year after year or right before they shot the video. But really like this option because its how i did it before the UTV. Next option i have my eye on is the Koplin 3-point hitch system. Link ( https://www.kolpin.com/hd-3-point-hitch-system) With this i can run the cultivator and then disk plow on it Link( https://www.kolpin.com/products/dirtworks-system). The thought with this is it would be easy to lift and lower to get into plots that are tucked back in the woods and didnt have to pull something with wheels back in there. It also not only has lifting power but downward power to help push the disk into the ground and use the UTV as weight to hold it down and not bounce around like others that pull behind. Then the pull behind: The last would be something like Iron Baltic's pull behind tandem disk or something along those lines where its heavy with tires but the tires can be raised by push of a button. This would be heavy and enough surface volume to add more weight.. I just dont know if they work especially on new ground. So this gives you guys a idea of what i am trying to do.. Best answer i know is get a tractor but i know there are other people out there like me that all they have and can afford or justify is a UTV/ATV. I just want to get a good open ended discussion and see if more than just myself can get something out of it. Thank you to everyone in advance that contributes.
I know you said you didn't want this to go here and sorry it's only the first reply, but for what you are spending why didn't you buy an older tractor for a few grand, and old disc for less than a grand, and a cultipacker for even less?
You have to also consider the logistics of moving the equipment around. This means upgrading your trailer and potentially your vehicle depending on the size of your tractor. That can more than double that price depending on what you do.
For the past 5 years I have been trying to figure out what works the best. I have tried pull behind motorized tillers like this: https://www.amazon.com/Agri-Fab-45-0308-Multi-Fit-Univeral-Behind/dp/B000OHCPQ6 Worst investigate I have ever made. The tiller works fine on ground that has already been broken but for new ground it will take hours up on hours. It keep throwing the belt, hopping around and getting clogged with dead vegetation. For new ground this worked best for me. https://www.amazon.com/Field-Tuff-ATV-470-Tow-Behind-Cultivator/dp/B004HL5TQ8 I have a Yamaha 550 Grizzly and it work fine with out over heating so your 1000 should be ok. I start by mowing the vegetation with an old mower. Then spray it with glyphosate 41% mixed at 3oz per gallon of water. Today I have a 25 gallon ATV sprayer but used to do it with a 4 gallon backpack sprayer. I let it set for about 2 weeks then come back with cultivator to break the ground up. Be warned that even though the negation is dead or may look flat it may not be. My new plots take longer because the cultivator gets clogged up with vines. It was better to make one pass stop and clear the vines some where off to the side then continue, else they get compacted and tight and take a bit to remove. Wear gloves and a long sleeve shirt as the vines are usually a poison oak or ivy mixed in with honey suckle. If you are comfortable doing a controlled burn prior to breaking ground that would alleviate most of that but with me by myself Im not comfortable doing so. Once the ground is all opened up with the cultivator I run over it with the GroundHog Max to break it up even more. This will cut up any clogs or root balls. If you have the time I let this sit for 2 weeks as well and then come back disk it up slightly, broadcast seed, line and fertilizer and then cover it with a drag. The drag started out as an old wire fence door but is now a landscape leveler. Then I spray it once more to kill off any weeds that might have emerged. Glyphosate should not bather the need seed, only stuff that emerged and has leaves. This is optional of course. After that I pray for rain. The first time I opened a new plot takes a couple of hours to be honest depending on the amount of vines. If no vines then it goes a lot quicker. For example the last plot I started too 4 hours for a 1/4 plot to open the ground the following year it was a hour invested from start to finish. Good luck.
To add another point to this. Once you're burned ( 41% and at least 2 weeks) a weighted disc and a child with a atv pulling it will get you 3-4 inches down which will work for first few years. After that you really should plow so you don't get a hard pan.
Watch growingdeertv on YouTube and look at the buffalo method. I'm in a very similar situation to you and am considering buying a pull behind crimped. Only issue is a drill. It all depends on how much you want to spend. For the past few years I have gotten by w a groundhog disc, a prayer, tooth harrow and a rear mounted spreader. Not impressed w the groundhog although I know many people love it. Turning up the soil seems to make the weeds MUCH worse. That's why my next purchase will probably be some form of crimper. Good luck! Tons of options out there. Let us know what you decide to go with and how it works for you...tractors are ideal but honestly not needed for this application. Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
I used a fourwheeler for years and then bought a small compact kubota 4 wheel drive diesel tractor. I use a Kingkutter 48 inch disc and a kunz 543 disc/chisel plow combo. Both work great
I'm fortunate enough to have picked up a tractor this year with all the supporting implements. Before that though I did my plots for years with an ATV and the type of tools you're asking about. Here is a list of what tools I used. If you look in episode 11 last year, I talk through in pretty good detail how I'm using these tools. Moose 25 gallon boom sprayer Solo portable spreader Groundhog Max ATV Disc Homemade chainlink fence drag Episode is -->here<--
I have made a moldboard plow, a corn planter, and a cultivator attachment that all go on a common axel and are lifted w/ a winch. The 1 bottom plow is a game changer for breaking virgin ground, but that’s sandy soil. My friend used it in heavier soils w/ lots of roots and he has a lot of hours into planting that plot but it did work... w/ atv food plots u have to accept it’s going to take time, more than likely won’t b perfect, just a matter of doing enough to break ground but not over whelmimg the quad. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
We have small rental stores around here that rent everything from little tractors to backhoes and skidsteers. A day or twos rent is a lot cheaper than buying or ruining an atv.
