love how that handle on the BCS sweeps over so you are not walking on and compacting the soil you just loosened =)

At my grandparents farm we have a very old rusted rotovator but still works well.its well over 50 years old and as long as I remember it's sat outside all of the time I've been alive.its just been covered with old compost bags. Great video once again!

I hired somebody with a BCS machine and he came in and demolished all the existing weeds growth that was at least shin high if not almost knee high. Those things are impressive.

I'm mulling this over myself. I'll be making a small flower farm on what was previously pasture. I think initially you need to break it up so you can form the beds. Just once though - after that, just put compost on top. Twist the old plants out, leaving the roots to decompose...

I #love #watching you #work and give #great #explanations to your #process. I look forward to #visiting you for a #class when all this #covid19 stuff is #over.

Really enjoyed the video. Thanks again

Very helpful video! 👍😁

thanks for all ya share

When I broke ground with our BCS tiller, the bolt snapped inside. We have a lot of rocks, but loamy soil. I should have raised the depth setting on the tiller probably.

Thanks

So in South Texas with large rocks right under the soil surface, do you bring in a large machine, and then refill with outside soil after the rocks are gone? Is this feasible in a smaller urban plot if so?

the link is for a PTO thing only, what tiller did you put it on , was like a upgrade for any tiller?

Do u plant horizontal to the wind?

Another method in those areas are to cover the fields with woodchips and water it down. The soil beneath will soften up because it is the heat and drought that makes the soil into brick. If you heat your house with wood or grains you can take the ashes too and increase the alkalinity in the soil. Good for growing garlic especially. Then you can clear paths and replace the woodchips with compost. You will now have raised your beds, but it will be level with the walkways made up out of woodchips.

To break ground, it would seem that that a powered broadfork (plunge in and pull up and crack the ground) - variant on lawn aerator - could be a precursor step.

So can I get away with NOT buying a BCS for now? I would really like to put off that purchase until I work out the kinks in my systems. I can have the land tilled with a tractor and rent a 30" tiller from the local equipment rental.

While I am not on a scale to do this, and should re-read.... it would useful to have a process within this to screen out junk (roots, rocks, etc) from the mix. If the soil were tossed by the machine onto a rough screener with the holes/gaps sized to the need. And to also haul behind the bcs a wagon to drop amendments.

Question: Wouldn't you want to check for rocks/roots after your 2nd or 3rd pass, and then form the beds? Why or why not? Thank you for any answers.

@offgridcurtisstone

6 жыл бұрын

Yes for sure. Good point.

If you were adding soil amendments, would you put them on and till them in on your last pass or on earlier passes to get it worked in more thoroughly ?

@offgridcurtisstone

6 жыл бұрын

Yes. I've got lots of videos on that. Use the search function in my channel.

Do you have any concerns about creating a hard pan in the heavier soils by tilling at the same depth many times? We have areas that need a subsoiler pulled through it occasionally to break it up.

@offgridcurtisstone

6 жыл бұрын

Sure, that’s why we fork the beds.

Does anyone have some tips on dealing with roots in the ground while tilling? Especially roots that spawn new trees?

@dusshan1

3 жыл бұрын

Hi Force! we had the same problem in our garden and while i cant give you the universal advice, we tried to dig them up to some point, but it is long term fight.. the good advice would be - dont plant trees next to yout beds :) i suppose that advice i would give to my grandpa.. and maybe he would laugh.. but other than that it is just hard work. of course you wont dig them all unless extremely patient. i decided to dig the easiest and hope for the best. once they pop up i will dig again.. of course i got rid of all trees in proximity of my beds. If you hope for some advice on how to manage it using BCS or other small 1 axis tractor i am not too sure. i think some heavier machinery/larger tractor could eventually pull the whole tree out if small enough. whatever approach you decide i wish you good luck on your efforts!

How much space do you need at the end of the bed to turn the BCS? Eliot Coleman mentioned 10 ft in one of his books, is that still the case? I’m setting up fencing to keep out deer and I don’t want to make the turn area too tight. Thanks for another great video.

@oscarchavez5220

5 жыл бұрын

I know it may depend on the implement, so let’s say I was using the four main ones, ( flail, tiller, harrow and rotary plow). Thanks again!

So Curtis, on plots where I could tell there is a lot of rocks and rubble, I used a digging fork to tease those rocks and debris out, especially since my rototiller is always a rental. Is this good enough or is it okay to go ahead and run that rototiller over that stuff? I want to confirm because I always thought it was a bit dangerous if I know there is a lot of rocks.

@offgridcurtisstone

6 жыл бұрын

I till over rocks all the time. In fact, that makes them easier to get out.

@MicroUrb

6 жыл бұрын

Good to know. Thanks Curtis.

Do you recommend using ear protective devices? The machine is very noisy

@offgridcurtisstone

2 жыл бұрын

Whatever blows your hair back brother.

Single blade plow on a small tractor here, to many rocks and red clay, breaking ground with a tiller here is an exercise in chaos at best, you better have some upper body mass ha ha cause your gonna be holding on for your life

My soil is hard pack red clay and rock. I use an old troybuilt tiller for initial groung breaking and tilling in compost ans soil amendments. Then i form beds. No real need to till after that. Broad fork bed and use plow feature every two years to raise beds and clear walking paths. Hope to get a bcs one day and a power harrow. Love the videos. Keep them coming.

Thanks for the video. I will try the "two week with water tarp" idea. This year I did not have a budget for a Ripping Box for my tractor, so I cannot de-rock my 3 acres. I am doing compost raised beds by hand. To late in the season. I thought maybe weld some harbor freight crow bars to my 3 point blade. My tractor is 1944 Ford 2N and 1964 Ford 4000 category 3 PTO and I got a heavy duty tiller for $400 on craigslist that will not be used until I derock.

A tiller is the way to go, but if you are indeed contemplating an area large enough to require lines, a tiller is not the right tool.

Hey I am new to gardening and really trying to stay organic just came across this new product called pure protein dry made by organic AG products, its OMRI listed just wanted to know if you knew much about the product??

@Ruben00021

6 жыл бұрын

Try organic soy protein bruh. It's the best.

@theblankman5036

6 жыл бұрын

Ruben00021 ok I will look into it thank you

Your camera guy is in love with your face, can you ask him to keep his eyes on the technique instead of your beautiful face? We're trying to learn here! 😊

@steflondon88

4 жыл бұрын

hahahahahhaa

I haven't used a tiller in years. I have an old long tractors that I've used. But it's just too hard on the soil. And the implements are heavier. I plan to get a BCS. Man would that make life easier

I had a rototiller at least this size, would make 10 passes hardly touched soil.

that machine is beautiful. way better than my tiny little husqvarna.

@ABlueDahlia

6 жыл бұрын

I agree! I wish I had seen that type of tiller before I bought my tiller, as well. That one looks like that one would have saved me many a backache and make my garden beds look WAY better. Oh well!

@ABlueDahlia

6 жыл бұрын

I just looked up the pricing of the BCS and that is completely out of the price range though, so definitely not going that route.. the ones I saw were between $3-5k. That's rough!

@littlewhitedory1

6 жыл бұрын

Kenny S If you're from Canada the doctors bills don't count, so all the money saved on doctors can be spent on a BCS!

@ABlueDahlia

6 жыл бұрын

lol, I'm not! :) Good thinking though. :P

Very effective at destroying your soil. No till is the future. Just rotary plough walkways to built beds and power harrow on top. Healthy soil = easy life