# hilling disc setting



## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

Hi this is my first post ever here.
I have a question.
I am going to build a disc potato hiller.
how far apart should the discs be ?
I am thinking of using a 3pt receiver hitch.
the 2x2 tool bar is about 24" wide.
will that give me enough space between the discs ?
thank you...........jiminwisc........


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

Could you make them adjustable so that you could make it wider or narrower as the need dictates?


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

I don't think so. I have mine mounted to a Merry Tiller and it is about 3'. Most disk ripper shanks are on the outside when hilling in. I would use a bar just a little wider than the tractor tires and use for a lot of tools. S-tine cultivator, row cultivator, ditcher, potato digger. The attachments are easy to remove and set up, 1 toolbar can do everything....James

https://www.google.com/search?q=dis...Q7AkIlgE&biw=911&bih=420#imgrc=GFvLSuV6qhOdeM:


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

Bellyman said:


> Could you make them adjustable so that you could make it wider or narrower as the need dictates?


yes, but with the 3pt receiver I am limited to about
24" wide.
I think that will be narrow enough to make it work.
I checked on utube for some width setting ideas, but
found nothing .
If the 24" is too narrow, I can make an auxiliary 
tool bar that I can mount into the 2" receiver if I 
must.

........jiminwisc......


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

I am new to this site. 
still trying to figure out the messaging system.
I guess I was supposed to write here instead of adding on to the last post.

I can go as wide as 24 inches with the 3pt receiver hitch, or any where narrower..
If the 24 Inch tool bar is not wide enough, I can make an auxillary tool bar and mount it into the hitch receiver.
something I might make anyhow to make a one row cultivator.

I am going to be using 16" discs.

thanks for answering my post.

.......jiminwisc........


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

You'll need to take into account your tractor width and height, so as to straddle the row and not smash the other rows as you hill. Also, I would suggest you make a tool bar so you can add cultivator sweeps to eliminate wheel tracks and hardpan. Remember that the spread of a potato plant is 18 inches in diameter, too. You may want to make two passes--one wide, another more narrow, but higher, so as not to shear the roots. Maybe even add depth wheels to control downward depth. Just some suggestions.

geo


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## bobp (Mar 4, 2014)

Look up Hiller Hipper


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

geo in mi said:


> You'll need to take into account your tractor width and height, so as to straddle the row and not smash the other rows as you hill. Also, I would suggest you make a tool bar so you can add cultivator sweeps to eliminate wheel tracks and hardpan. Remember that the spread of a potato plant is 18 inches in diameter, too. You may want to make two passes--one wide, another more narrow, but higher, so as not to shear the roots. Maybe even add depth wheels to control downward depth. Just some suggestions.
> 
> geo


thanks Geo ,
It looks like I will be making a wider tool bar.
I have an Oliver Super 55. It is about the same size of a Ford 9n .
plenty of height, 
I am making only one loooong row of potatoes.
only one hill to mess with.
I am going to make the hill and then poke the potato seeds into it. 
I got this idea from u tube.
later on I might slightly hill the corn. I have never needed to do that, but it is something I often wanted to do. 
that is where the row spacing will be critical.
I have more than enough space for the garden so I can make the rows as wide as necessary.

I am also toying with the idea of some hydroponics. 
my DD#1 steered me to C L and Larry Hall.
look it up for some interesting information.

.......jiminwisc.....


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

Check the Grainger catalog( or some other catalog that has specs) to make sure of the size match between the round hiller shank fittings and the square tubing they attach to. I think you may want to stay with one implement company style, such as IHC or Oliver, to match up fittings. I'm doing the same thing as you with a Cub setup for a rear toolbar. Checking the wheel spacing, frame pieces, shank shafts, etc, etc. ...if I ever get a round tuit....

geo


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

Hi Geo.
I am going to make my own
round shank-to-square tubing fittings.

One of my high school buddies owns a steel yard about 2 miles from me. I can pick up what I need for scrap prices and if he is there, for free..

I have a 3pt spring tooth 2 row cultivator.
right now I don't use it as such. I have the teeth evenly spaced and use it like a chisel plow for my garden,.

I can "plow" the garden in about 15 minutes.

when I am ready to plant, I take my Troy Bilt roto tiller through and smooth everything out.

I had a Farmal A for a few years. I used it for sawing firewood and planting corn with an antique horse drawn 2 row corn planter.
After I quit burning wood,
It sat idle for most of the year, so I sold it.

I don't use the corn planter anymore either.
I loan it out occasionally .

I framed up a 12 x 25 foot green house a few years ago. I never put a roof on it. so it is just more like a fenced in garden. I plant tomatoes and peppers in there. it keeps the chickens from pecking the tomatoes.

........jiminwisc.......


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

good sunday morning,
update on what I have decided to do with the disc hiller.
I am going to purchase a 3 point receiver hitch.
I am going to purchase a pair of 16"discs from Agri .
My friend is going to weld up a pair of plates with round tubing to hold the disc shafts.
I have a two 3 pt 2 row cultivator. so I won't
have to make a new tool bar.
with the new receiver hitch, I can make a buster plow for digging the potatoes.
I will post pictures when I get this all done.
........jiminwisc........


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## bobp (Mar 4, 2014)

Have you search Agrisupply?


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

yup, I searched many many places on the net.

I called Agri supply on the phone.

I will be ordering two 16" discs from them as soon as I get clearance from the boss.
probably sometime this week.

the 3pt receiver hitch will be coming from Titan.

.......jiminwisc........


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## CircleC (Feb 22, 2017)

geo in mi said:


> ...if I ever get a round tuit....
> 
> geo


If you get one lemme know. Ive been trying for a while myself


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

somebody gave me a round tuit once, but I misplaced it. I'll go look for it when I get a round tuit.

In the meantime I joined a procrastinator's club. we are going to have our first meeting someday..


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

good tuesday after easter,

I received my two 16" discs today.
I tore my 3pt cultivator all apart and am going to make it into a multi-tool bar.
I have cultivator tines lined up right behind the rear tractor tires.
when it stops raining, I am going to mount the discs. I can't find any specs on how wide to space them , so I guess it will be trial and error.
I have the whole garden dragged for the first time. I will do it once or twice more before I plant.

......jiminwisc........


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

here we are, in May already.

update : I have the discs mounted and did a few trial runs through the garden.

when the garden was too wet, the discs still made hills, but the dirt was too clumpy.

I waited until the monsoon season got over and tried it again. the dirt was much drier, but not loose. this time the hills were well formed.
but still too clumpy for my liking.
so I took the drag and loosened up the whole garden and knocked down the sample hills.
we have about 3 nice drying days coming up.
I will drag once more and then try the hilling discs again.

I settled on 26 inches apart , shaft to shaft.
the discs are turned in about 40 degrees. they are 16" discs

I lucked out and the shafts fit the mounting brackets from the quack digger.

......jiminwisc........


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

here it is, May 12. 
I have done a lot with the quack digger/disc hiller/chisel plow/cultivator...

I am no good with getting around here on HT.
I just stumbled across this thread by accident.
today.

the garden is nice and dry. I dragged it smooth, and made a couple more sample hills.
I got two real nice ones , but I dragged all the rest of them smooth again.

I am ready to plant potatoes and peas.
I was going to go get a yard of garden compost to make a couple of raised beds for onions and beets, but I blew a front brakeline on the pu truck. mechanic can't get to it until tomorrow.

as of right now, I have replaced every bolt on every tool mount with identical new bolts and nuts. 9 mounts times 3 bolts = 27 sets.
then I loosened both 1 1/16" nuts on the 
U-bolts that hold the shafts to the mounts.
that was a tough job.. those nuts are fine thread and haven't been loosened for at least 50 years. l got them all loose until the last one. I put the 5 foot "extension handle" on my 
1/2" drive breaker bar. got a half turn out of it and snapped the breaker bar off.. 

I switched to my 3/4" drive breaker bar and finished the job. I am not man enough to break that bar.

........jiminwisc.......


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

help, somebody stop me.
I am having so much fun with my quack digger and hiller I made the garden a little bit bigger.
just for the halibut, I went out and measured it today. 24 feet wide and 180 feet long.
That's it !! no more !!

I planted one looong row of potatoes. yep, one 180 foot long row. no wonder I used up about 50 pounds of seed potatoes..

anybody else losing your mind like I am ??

........jiminwisc.......


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## stacho[email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

It has been so cold and wet here . my potatoes have still not sprouted. I am afraid they might rot.
but the next week is scheduled to be warmer and much drier.
Yesterday I dragged up the whole garden,,again..
today I will rototill and see if I can get some sweet corn planted..
gotta take a chance sooner of later. can't wait all summer ..

.......jiminwisc.......


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

What's the soil temperature? 60 degrees or better, it should do fine, even the supersweets. The standard OP corn should be okay. Under 60, dunno, maybe if it's treated with a fungicide.


It took my potatoes about three weeks to show, then one row shot up, will hill it Monday--rest, sometime next week.

geo


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

I just planted 10 rows of Serendipity sweet corn.
used up all but about 100 seeds of a 1000 seed pack..
almost 80F here today. rain forecast for tonight and the rest of the weekend. night time lows in the high 50's. corn should do good.
peas finally showed their little faces.
no potatoes yet. Sunday will be 3 weeks since I planted them,. dug one up, not rotted..
anxiously waiting for the day I can hill them with the new hilling discs..


geo in mi said:


> What's the soil temperature? 60 degrees or better, it should do fine, even the supersweets. The standard OP corn should be okay. Under 60, dunno, maybe if it's treated with a fungicide.
> 
> 
> It took my potatoes about three weeks to show, then one row shot up, will hill it Monday--rest, sometime next week.
> ...


.....jiminwisc.......


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

well, it rained here early this morning,
that should be good for the newly planted corn.

Geo, I didn't stick a thermometer into the ground, but I dragged the garden the day before I planted and the dirt dried out to about 4 inches deep. I figured that was warm enough..

I broke down and bought 2 yards of compost garden mix. really good stuff , from a local garden supply company. double composted.
I am going to build a couple of raised beds for my onion plants and beets. I figure there will be way less weeds in the compost compared to my garden soil. and the weeding, if any, will be easier to do sitting on a chair.

On the news last night they showed a woman who had a yard full of bathtubs for her raised gardens.. must have had a dozen of them..

......jiminwisc....

I just finished setting 263 assorted chicken and duck eggs in the incubator. these are for a friend.
things should be popping around here on the 
4th of July..

........jiminwisc.....


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

after 22 days, my potatoes have finally emerged .
soon I can try out my new potato hiller.

didn't do much all day. then late this afternoon
I took Ollie, my tractor, and dug out a few rotted poplar stumps. they all came out nicely , except there always has to be one stinker.
I dug down deep all around it and rammed it from all angles. got it busted off well below grade and put all the dirt back into the hole and leveled it out.

I have one birch stump to go after yet. 

......jiminwisc....


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

got the corn planted , the potatoes are finally coming up.
today I built two cedar planters. going to put beets into one and onions into the other.

yesterday I dug out a huge tree stump.
I dug all round it with the tractor and loader.
then I pushed it from every angle until I knocked it loose..
no more mowing around that monstrosity any more..

...jiminwisc.......


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

got my onions and beets planted, finally.
lawn needs mowing again, already..

...jiminwisc........


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

I gave up waiting for the garden to dry up so I could plant my tomatoes.
DD #1 came and helped me.
I dug holes in the wet dirt, filled them in with
lots of really good compost and planted ..
we did 75 tomatoes and 50 peppers..
onions are growing, beets, beans and corn are up. potatoes need weeding and hilling soon.

I have 263 assorted chicken and duck eggs in the incubator. chickens due in about a week
ducks due on July 4th ish..

Our Maremme LGD gave birth to 10 healthy purebred puppies yesterday..
..........jiminwisc...........


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

we finally got two consecutive days without rain. yesterday and today.
today I took the rototiller and ran up and down the potato row twice.
then I did the bean row. each of these rows are 190 feet long.

then I tilled all 9 of the corn rows.

ate supper and took two wrenched out and removed all the spring teeth from the quack digger/cultivator.. 
put the hilling discs on.. spaced them extra wide on purpose until I get the hang of using them. made a pass up and back on the potato row. they worked like a charm.
in a few days when I hill the potatoes. I will have to angle the discs more severely.. shoot for about 45 degree angles. then move them closer together and see if I can get the job done without ripping out too many potato plants......

.......jiminwisc....


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

[email protected] said:


> we finally got two consecutive days without rain. yesterday and today.
> today I took the rototiller and ran up and down the potato row twice.
> then I did the bean row. each of these rows are 190 feet long.
> 
> ...


 What diameter are the hiller discs? Would a larger size move the soil better without doing damage?
geo


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

good morning geo,
the discs are 16"
I was just out looking at the hilling job I did at dusk last night. It looks very nice.
however, I checked the angle with my square and it is about 35 degrees.
I have the shafts 36 inches apart.
for my next run I am going to leave the shafts where they are and just turn the discs to 45 degrees.
the discs are not too small. they deposit the dirt very nicely up the potato stems..
rain today so any work outside will be delayed again. 
I bought a 3 point Titan trailer hitch for the tractor. I am going to make a tool bar for it and make a buster plow for digging the potatoes. 
I am planning on making mounting brackets for the discs, too. that will free up the present tool bar for the spring tooth cultivators.

I am incubating eggs for a guy who will do any welding I need for this project..

........jiminwisc.......


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

good morning,
update on the potato hilling project.

I turned the discs to 45 degrees. left the shafts spaces at 36". made a pass through the potatoes.
It worked very fine. but the spacing was 
too wide. I moved the shafts together to about 28" apart.
that made the distance between the discs at their closest point, 15".
made another pass at the potatoes.
the tip of the dirt ended up right in line with the plants. couldn't ask for any better.
It started to rain before I got out of the garden. how's that for good timing ??

I will be taking pictures today. 
I will try posting them here..

......jiminwisc......


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)




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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

*well, there ya go. my first attempt at sending pictures.. I have no idea why they repeated themselves..*
*anyhow. the one picture is of the 190 feet of potato row.*
* one is of a close up how the hill turned out.*
*one is of the discs on the tool bar.*
* 32" between the shafts,, *
*15" between the closest points on the discs*
*the discs are at 45 degrees..*


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

I had forgotten about this thread.
as long as I am here I will do some updating.
I decided to go with the cultivator tool bar.
I am going to make beds with it and the discs.
the distance between my rear tires is 48".
I am spacing the disc shafts at 48" and turning the discs at 45 degrees. between the discs and on the rear tool bar I am mounting two cultivator teeth spaced at 30" apart. these will be my row markers for planting the corn.. I will plant the corn with my hand push planter.. 
later on I will remove the discs and mount cultivator teeth between the 30" spacing and a couple behind the tires . in effect I will have a two row cultivator set up..
anyway, that is my plan..


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