Manual potato hiller: how to do it yourself with video

It takes a lot of time and energy to grow a quality potato crop. In order for potato tubers to be strong, you will have to regularly loosen the soil when growing potatoes. This will improve the flow of oxygen and moisture into the soil. To do this, it is better to use a manual potato hiller, which makes loosening the earth several times easier.

Why spud potatoes?

It is known that during the active growth of potato bushes it is necessary to loosen the earth. However, not everyone knows what exactly the soil is loosened for and the hiller for potatoes is used.

Loosening the soil with the help of special equipment is carried out to supply oxygen to the ground and accelerate the growth of the plant.If fresh air regularly enters the soil, the formation of new root crops is doubled. This will increase your total harvest by 50%.

When to hill potatoes?

After familiarizing yourself with the purpose of loosening the soil, you need to decide when it is best to do this.

Hilling is recommended to be carried out at the most suitable time. The first time the procedure is carried out after the appearance of the first shoots. At the same time, their height should be at least 5-7 cm, so that the seedlings can be clearly seen above the ground.

It is necessary to loosen the earth with a hiller for potatoes 2-3 times per season. The procedure is repeated when the bushes grow up to twenty centimeters. At the same time, it is recommended to do this in the evening or in cloudy weather so that there is no sun. Hot sunny days are not suitable for this procedure, as in large unshaded areas, the hilled parts of plants above the ground can burn out.

It is also necessary to loosen the soil after rains and prolonged downpours. After precipitation, the surface of the soil is covered with a crust, which prevents the penetration of oxygen into the soil. If you do not get rid of it in a timely manner, the plants will develop worse.

Design and purpose of the manual hiller

There are two main types of homemade potato hillers.

Disk

The disc-type design looks like a small frame, on which several metal discs are hung. Such models are made of the following elements:

• two screw lanyards that are responsible for adjusting the speed of rotation of the disks;
• T-Leash;
• two disc blades;
• two metal racks.

The main advantage of a home-made disk manual hiller for potatoes is the ability to adjust the racks located between the disks. This allows you to independently set the most suitable row spacing. When adjusting, it is necessary to ensure that the racks are at the same distance from the discs. If the distance is different, one of them will pull the hiller to the side.

In the form of a plow

The model, made in the form of a plow, is also often used for cultivating the land when growing potatoes. Such a product is much more convenient than a disk model and allows you to quickly hill up and even plow areas with a large area. For ease of hilling, experienced gardeners recommend using the device together with a walk-behind tractor. This will allow you to loosen the garden much faster.

Handmade potato hiller

Some vegetable growers do not want to spend money to purchase such a device and therefore try to make their own hand hiller.

Before you start work, you need to prepare all the materials and necessary tools. To create a structure, you will need the following:

• sheet traction 2-3 mm thick, with which blades will be made;
• one hollow pipe at least a meter long for the manufacture of rear and front traction;
• meter water pipe, which will be needed when creating a vertical rack;
• steel plate or lanyard to connect upright to front link;
• gas burner for heating metal products at their folds;
• grinder for working with joints;
• welding machine.

Also, to create your own hiller, you need a drawing that will show the correct location of all components. Of course, you can make a product without the help of a drawing. However, rather such a hiller will be of poor quality and will quickly break.

Making a vertical stand

It is necessary to make a potato hiller from a vertical stand, which is considered the basis of the whole structure. For this, a pipe about a meter long is being prepared.

To create a high-quality rack, the pipe will have to be bent 10-20 degrees forward at a distance of 300-400 mm from the beginning of the structure. To bend metal pipes, a special device is used - a pipe bender. However, not everyone has the opportunity to use it and you have to do everything yourself. To bend a metal pipe yourself, you will have to:

• pour river sand into the pipe cavity;
• on the edges of the structure, install plugs that will hold the sand;
• heat the place where the pipe should be bent with a soldering iron;
• gently bend the pipe at the heating point.

Some try to repeat the above steps, but without the use of sand. However, without sand between the walls of a vertical pipe, its shape is deformed due to heating and therefore it will not be able to maintain its original section.

Manufacturing front and rear traction

You will need a ¾ inch diameter pipe to make the rear and front traction. It will have to be bent in the same way as the pipe when creating a vertical rack. When the product is bent, several holes are made in it at the top and bottom, where the fork will be installed.The holes created will be needed in the future to change the height of the stand.

When making the front fork, one must take into account the height of the person who will work with the hand-made disk potato hiller made by oneself. Therefore, the front link is created so that its forks are at least 60 cm long. Holes for large screws are drilled to connect the fork to the vertical rack.

Double-shaft plow

Making a manual plow for hilling potatoes is quite simple. For this, two metal plates with a thickness of at least 3-4 mm are prepared. They should have small semicircular bends to make it easier to loosen the ground. A self-made plow is attached to a vertical stand. For a more reliable fastening of the structure, a welding machine is used.

Cutting knife

At the very end, a cutting knife is created for a manual disk hiller for potatoes. This part of the structure is made of carbon steel, from which a knife of the desired length and diameter is cut. Having cut the product, it will have to be sharpened exactly at an angle of 40-45 degrees to create a sharp blade. When the knife is ready, it is welded to the upper half of the vertical rack and the welding seams are ground with a grinder.

Hilling technology

Before using the hiller for potatoes, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of loosening the earth.

First you need to break through the weeds in the area where potatoes are grown. At the same time, the cut grass can be left on the site to protect the potato bushes from the rays of the sun.

When all the weeds are plucked, you can start loosening the soil with a do-it-yourself potato hiller. This is done in the evening or on cloudy days. When loosening the soil, the hiller is pulled twice between rows with potatoes. If, after using a manual device, a crust remains in some areas under the bushes, you will have to get rid of it manually with an ordinary hoe.

Conclusion

When growing potatoes, you need to carefully care for potato bushes. To get a good harvest, it is recommended to loosen the soil regularly. To do this, use a manual hiller, which will quickly get rid of the crust on the ground.

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