Hilling potatoes with a walk-behind tractor and a cultivator: how to do it right with video

Every gardener and gardener wants to get the maximum yield from growing potatoes. To do this, it is recommended to familiarize yourself with the features of hilling potatoes with a walk-behind tractor. Proper hilling of bushes will improve their growth and increase yields several times.

Basic rules

Before starting work, you should familiarize yourself with the basic rules for hilling. First, determine why this procedure is carried out when growing potatoes. Cultivated plants need hilling, because thanks to this treatment:

The tubers have a lot more space that they will need for further development and growth. Thanks to this, the root crops become larger and ripen faster.
Spudded bushes are better protected from possible night frosts.
The soil is more saturated with oxygen, which potato root crops need. If hilling is not carried out, there will be insufficient oxygen in the soil, due to which the roots will stop developing and die.
The land is completely cleared of dangerous weeds that actively absorb useful components from the soil.

Having de alt with the main goals of hilling potatoes with a cultivator, determine how many times to carry out the procedure. Each grower independently determines the optimal amount of the procedure.

However, experienced gardeners advise doing this at least three times per season:

first time - after the appearance of the first shoots on the site;
second time - when the height of the bushes reaches 25 cm;
third time - 2-3 weeks after previous weeding.

Sometimes it is not necessary to loosen the soil three times. For example, on hot summer days, you can refuse the second hilling. In this case, it is enough just to loosen the soil between the rows.

Types of hillers

Loosening the soil is considered a long and laborious process, which some vegetable growers spend the whole day on. Most often, so much time is spent processing the site with an ordinary chopper. To speed up the process of hilling potatoes, use a walk-behind tractor. With it, it will take 2-3 hours to process the garden.

Before you start choosing a suitable loosening device, you should familiarize yourself with their varieties in more detail. There are two main types of hillers that vegetable growers use most often when processing a plot.

Disk

Often, when hilling a walk-behind tractor, they use disk-type models, since they are the most affordable. Externally, such devices look like a small frame to which two disks and two wheels are connected. In addition, the device includes:

T-shaped leash;
racks;
two lanyards.

The racks from which the disc models are made are used to change the distance between the discs. This helps to independently adjust the width of the hiller. Turnbuckles are responsible for the angle of inclination and rotation of the disks, which allows you to adjust the depth of loosening the soil.

Plow-shaped

The second most popular hiller is considered to be a plow-like model, which is often used to loosen areas with potatoes. Before hilling potatoes with a walk-behind tractor, you should familiarize yourself with the main types of plow-shaped hillers:

Double row. This variety allows you to immediately process the soil in two rows at once. When using a two-row model, pay attention to the plow, as it should enter the soil halfway.
Single row. The device practically does not differ from the two-row model. The main difference is that this model only processes one row.

Some try to make a plow-like hiller for hilling potatoes with their own hands. However, a home-made product does not always loosen the soil well and therefore it is better to use ready-made devices.

How to spud?

Before hilling potatoes with a walk-behind tractor, you should understand the peculiarities of working with each hiller. Of course, the general principle of operation of each of them is very similar and almost no different. However, all the same, when hilling potatoes with a cultivator with various devices, there are some nuances that you need to familiarize yourself with in advance.

Disk

To use a disk-type hiller, it is attached to the back of the walk-behind tractor. To do this, the device is attached to the coupling brackets and bolts. While loosening the soil with a walk-behind tractor, the forward speed is reduced to increase traction. Therefore, experienced gardeners advise loosening the site only in first gear.

Before carrying out the first and second hilling of potatoes with a walk-behind tractor, attention is paid to its location on the beds. The walk-behind tractor is placed so that its wheels are between the rows and do not touch the potato bushes.

Double row plow

Double row models are much more difficult to use as they are difficult to manage. Before treating the area with a two-row hiller, the lugs connected to the walk-behind tractor are placed on special extension cords. In this case, it is recommended to use lugs with a large diameter, as they are better suited for two-row hillers.

During the first and second hilling, a walk-behind tractor with a hiller is placed so that potato bushes are located under them, and adjacent rows are located on both sides. Using a two-row model, the row under the walk-behind tractor will be completely hilled. Neighboring rows are processed half way.

Single row plow

If potatoes are spudded with a walk-behind tractor with a single-row hiller, it is not necessary to use lugs. Many use small rubber wheels instead. Before using rubber wheels, you will have to set a small distance between them yourself. When adjusting the distance, take into account the width of the row so that the wheels do not touch the bushes when hilling.

When using a plow-like single-row hiller, you will have to go through each row-spacing in order to carefully sprinkle the bushes with earth.

Benefits

Hilling is popular among many gardeners and this is not surprising, as this procedure has many advantages. The main advantages of hilling potato beds with a walk-behind tractor include:

quick cleaning of the garden from weeds that impair the growth and development of potato bushes;
ease of procedure, so you do not need to spend a lot of energy;
improving the growth of potato bushes and its root crops;
enrichment of the soil with moisture and nutrients;
protection of young tubers from dangerous parasites;
Reducing the likelihood of sun damage to mature tubers.

Familiarizing with the main advantages of loosening the soil, we can conclude that potatoes should be spudded with a walk-behind tractor regularly during the season.

Conclusion

Almost every gardener who likes to grow vegetables in his garden is engaged in growing potatoes. Before planting potatoes, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the features of hilling the soil. Properly performed loosening of the soil will not only enrich it with useful components, but also improve yields.