What gear to use for cultivator...?

I really enjoy the row cultivator stories - relate to some of them. :) However, JT, I don't think you quite said it right - cultivators don't have 'bottoms', they have 'shanks' if they are a field cultivator that stirs up all the soil, or 'rows' if they are a row crop cultivator to weed between rows of a growing crop. (Plows have 'bottoms'.)

I suspect you meant you have a small field cultivator with 6 shanks on it - you really can't have a 6 row cultivator only 6.5' wide. :)

So, for this implement, you might as well start out slow as well. eventually you want to go about 3-5 mph. This will depend on how good your tractor handles it, what type of soil you have, how many/ how big the rocks are, and how rough the ground is under you.

Basically you want to get done as quick as you can, without shaking you or the tractor & implement apart, or tearing it up on rocks/ potholes.

If your tractor is diesel, you want to run close to full throttle most of the time & adjust speed with the gears. (Best for engine & ecconomy.) If your tractor is gas, you want to be about 3/4 throttle when that works, or near full for pto work.

--->Paul

The cultivator is a bit more difficult. Generally, set engine speed for best fuel economy (say about mid-throttle) and pick a gear that is appropriate. Things to consider when picking the right gear include how tall the crop is (newly emerged corn or beans will require VERY slow ground speed to avoid covering up the plants) how dry/hard/compacted the soil is, what types of shovels you have on the cultivator, how well you can keep it on the row, and other things I've no doubt forgotten in the 30+ years since I last ran a cultivator. Experience is the best teacher, and again, slower is better for a beginner.

If it's a multi row cultivator, there is another consideration: Cultivating with a 4 row cultivator in a field planted with a 4 row planter requires that you be on the 'right' set of rows. The distance between rows is constant, except between the last row of one pass and the first row of the next. Even the best driver varies a little, and if you get off a row and have three rows from one pass of the planter and one row from the next, you're gonna wind up cultivating out part of the crop where the planter wandered a little here and there. Don't ask me how I know this..... .

Not a good combination ":^( Fortunately, the rough ride as I was going across the rows at a 45^o angle woke me up...

After learning at his knee for 18 years, I was teaching the Chiefs some new words when I joined the Navy!

When the crop is little - 1st time through - you'll have to go slow. Slow down until you don't harm/ cover up your crop.

After that, go as fast as you want - basically you are controlled by the crop, not the tractor.

--->Paul