Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Using the Grillo 110 and the Berta Rotary Plow

We have been working at getting some of the land ready for a fall garden and to plant peppers into. The Berta Two Direction Rotary Plow is the implement we chose for heavy land work instead of a roto tiller.


 Berta Two Direction Rotary Plow [The handle you see on the back flips the plow over]


Single Direction Berta Rotary Plow



It will break sod with one pass although it is not as wide a a tiller attachment. We have been very pleased with the results. You can flip the plow at each end of the row, this makes better use of the tractor with less walking around the field.

Berta Rotary Plow mounted on a Grillo 110 Two wheel tractor.

Here is a short video of Ralph coming back along a plowed row. You can see the Plow throws the dirt over top the previously turned earth. [my video skills do need work!]


Ralph making a return pass along a new row.

We are plowing rows with a trench along one side and sod left between the rows. We hope this will hold a bit more moisture along the plant root area. It is an experiment until we get used to how this soil handles moisture.

 The land is loose and the sod is well worked into the soil, the Rotary Plow does an excellent job.


 Over all it looks like the Berta was a very good choice. Ralph is getting better at using this new Equipment as well. It is much bigger and more powerful than the old Troybilt Roto Tiller.

The Kohler Diesel engine is quite interesting. It may be small compared to what we commonly think of diesel engines but it has all the same personality so to speak!

The Kohler 440 Diesel

It will make that horrible piston out the sidewall noise that diesels make when you start it, once you get it going it does not like to shut off. It will [as they say] Roll Coal! However it is powerful and steady and extremely easy on fuel.

Time will tell but this initial use of the Grillo 110 and Berta plow has made us very optimistic. Now we just have to get the land seeded. Oh yes, there are some rocks...very few though and the plow has no trouble flipping them out of the way!

More to follow as we learn this new land and new equiptment to work it.

Take care everyone and happy late summer!

10 comments:

  1. It will be very interesting to see how your crops do this late in the season. I'll be watching for more reports.

    Fern

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    1. It is late but we have talked to some of the Amish farmers in the area, they say we should have until late October....of course we know we could also have early frost. It has been a challenging year for gardening in so many ways! Your challenges with rain and pests for an example.

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  2. That looks to be a nice piece of machinery. And like Fern said, it will be interesting to see how your crops do this late in the season.

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    1. We do feel a bit like an experimental farm! This "tractor" is an investment and we are so thankful it works. I have to admit not all machinery lives up to its billed status.

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  3. Ralph looks like he's been doing this all his life! Looks like research paid off - quite a useful tool.

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    1. He does look like he was born to farm....I have a vision of him behind a mule!
      I was so pleased when the Grillo and plow worked the sod, Ralph had spent so much time to get it right.

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  4. It looks to me like you two have a real grip on things, and that all is progressing well. I enjoy following your progress.

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    1. Thank you for following along. Ralph is both organized and adaptable....perhaps his Marine training. He has done an amazing job of putting the best assortment of equipment together. Research and planning are so important!

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  5. Hi!

    Nice blog! Do you need a special attachment to use the rotary plough on the Grillo?

    :)

    Thank you!

    Anastasie

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    Replies
    1. It mounts to the Grillo’s powertake off with bolts. We chose a quick coupler upgrade that allows us to use multiple implements. The quick coupler has two fittings. The one on the tractor and one that gets mounted on whichever implements you choose. These couplers slide into each other and lock. It’s the best way if your doing more than one thing with the tractor.
      We till, plow, mow, rake and cultivate with our Grillo. There are good videos online aboutthe quick coupler. Go to Earthtools link on the upper right edge of the blog under interesting links. That’s where we got our tractor.

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