How to adjust and use cultivators

[joel914]

I have a 1954 Super A that I have just finished rebuilding. I work with a non-profit group for handicapped adults and I plan to use the Super A to do the cultivation on about 1 acre of sunflowers for the cut flower market.

Where can I find an article or instructions telling me how to use cultivators and how to adjust them?

I have numerous parts manuals and pictures showing how to assemble them and mount them, but I need to know how to adjust them and how to use them.

I am planting groups of 3 rows 20” apart. I will set the wheels at 60” so I will straddle all three rows in one pass.

I have never used mechanical cultivators on a tractor before. A few questions that come to mind are:
1. Should sweeps be level and sit flat on the ground or is the point aimed down?
2. How close to the plants do I need to get the sweeps?
3. Between a row do I use one wide sweep to clean between a 20” row or multiple small sweeps
4. Do I have to have plant shields?
5. How deep should the sweeps dig?
6. Should the mounting bar be level along the ground when lowered?
7. How wide should sweeps be?

I would appreciate any help.

Joel
Pearland, Texas

[Matt Kirsch]

The answer is: It depends.

The style of sweep you use, how many you use, and where you run them depends on the plants and the ground. Run too close to the plants or throw too much dirt, and you're likely to knock the plants over, bury them, or uproot them. Wide sweeps fling dirt sideways. Narrow straight sweeps just disturb the dirt.

A robust plant like knee-high corn, you can cultivate deep and close. Newly-sprouted carrots, not so much.

[SONNY]

Not sure if you got enough extra parts to make a 3 row cultivator or not.---A/SU A is for 1 row use WITHOUT a lot of modifications.
as far as how deep,--1 or 2 inches MAX. depth
Distance from plants : at least 6" on each side of row to prevent tearing off vital feeder roots
Speed : super A/cubs all too fast to cultivate with UNLESS crop is at least 6" tall and by this time the weeds have already taken over.
Still cant picture 3 rows UNDER tractor---WHY????? ----------- go with STANDARD with rows and do 1 at a time.

don't know what kind of sunflowers you intend to plant but the ones I have grow 8 to 12 feet tall and have a 2 foot head on them.---I'm sure that there are smaller kinds out there, but smaller plants equals harder to cultivate too. thanks; sonny

[havoc1482]

I'm also unsure how you will do 3 rows. The Super A is a single row cultivator. I suppose you could stretch it to two if the spacing was tight enough to allow for extra shanks\points.

Regardless, a properly adjusted cultivator system on a Super A is a very efficient and effective beast, even if it only does 1 row, much better than the Cub IMO unless your plot of land is the size of a postage stamp.

[Boss Hog]

I have a 1954 Super A that I have just finished rebuilding. I work with a non-profit group for handicapped adults and I plan to use the Super A to do the cultivation on about 1 acre of sunflowers for the cut flower market.

Where can I find an article or instructions telling me how to use cultivators and how to adjust them?

I have numerous parts manuals and pictures showing how to assemble them and mount them, but I need to know how to adjust them and how to use them.

I am planting groups of 3 rows 20” apart. I will set the wheels at 60” so I will straddle all three rows in one pass.

I have never used mechanical cultivators on a tractor before. A few questions that come to mind are:
1. Should sweeps be level and sit flat on the ground or is the point aimed down?
2. How close to the plants do I need to get the sweeps?
3. Between a row do I use one wide sweep to clean between a 20” row or multiple small sweeps
4. Do I have to have plant shields?
5. How deep should the sweeps dig?
6. Should the mounting bar be level along the ground when lowered?
7. How wide should sweeps be?

I would appreciate any help.

Joel
Pearland, Texas

Unless you plant 3 rows at a time , it will be impossible to cultivate 3 rows at once. for the simple reason you will plow up some plants, If you are only doing 1 acre you can cultivate it one row at a time in about 2 hours depending on the length of the rpws, longer rows take less time than short rows in account of turn around time
Boss

[Jim Becker]

We have had some recent discussion of cultivating narrow row vegetables. The comments in those threads will be useful in trying to configure your Super A to do 3 narrow rows at one time. For one thing, you will need to use a tool bar to tie the left and right sides of your cultivator together to keep the spacing rigid. Here is a pointer to the most recent discussion. Also follow the 2 links in my first post there.
http://www.farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=91113
Answers to type of earth working tools, depth, angle, and closeness to the row depend on your crop and your soil. Sweeps normally run flat to slice weeds with little soil disturbance. Shovels run deeper to loosen/stir the soil. Selection depends on your soil, weeds and crop.

I assume cut flower sunflowers will be BIG. Twenty inch rows seems narrow for them. Shouldn't they be at least 30 inches? What size tires are on the rear of your tractor? Typically the smallest on a Super A are 9.5s, they are about 10 inches wide. Run them down a 20-inch row and even with perfect alignment they will be 5 inches from the center of each plant. I would consider setting the wheels to 64 inches and using a 24 inch space between each set of 3 rows. That will give you 2 extra inches from the tire to the row. My real feeling on this is to maybe try two 30-inch rows rather than three 20s. As previously mentioned, you need to plant in one pass the same you will cultivate in one pass. You will only need a 2 row planter rather than a 3. That is much easier to find or less expensive to build.