Practical Farm Ideas
Member
- Location
- Ross
Self propelled hoe is ideal for organic crops
Dumper truck is converted in accurate six row steerage hoe
Culling weeds from five or six rows of plants while sitting in a driving seat makes a lot more sense than doing the job by hand. Mechanical weeding is vital when growing organic crops, and is sometimes the best answer in conventional crops as well. The era of the hoe is far from over - and as plants become increasingly resistant to chemicals, and at the same time new chemicals become harder to devise and even harder to get approved - hoes and hoeing remain of considerable interest. This is why Garford, for example, was awarded a Silver Award from the RASE in 2007, for their weeder which actually senses the weeds and steers itself so the hoe misses the plants.
Their technology is, however, expensive. The hoe we feature here is the exact opposite. Being based on a small used dumper truck, it is inexpensive. It has technology which is entirely suitable for the third world. It's also far easier to drive and more effective than a standard how fitted to a tractor.
One of the major problems with hoeing is that tractors were never designed for the job. The visibility is poor, even when the hoe is on the front linkage, and driver comfort becomes a real issue when it's mounted on the back as you're turned around all day long.
Lincolnshire farmer David Tonge had the idea of making a self propelled machine which would be a simple tool carrier which has the same function as the Fendt 395, but is a fraction of the £11,000 price they command second hand, and is actually even better to use.
The tool carrier he made uses the back end of a Bomford dumper truck which is attached to a long high frame at the front of which is the dumper front axle. Behind the axle are brackets for mounting implements, using a 3-pt arrangement but lifted by an external ram that is powered by a the Bomford pump.
The dumper conversion is a first class tool that is easier to use than any other hoeing machine. The driver is close to the hoe, and can see any bungs that are coming up. It's easy to hop off and clear debris, and there's never rubbish carried along the row, as it's so easy to see. The wheels are narrow - no wider than row crops at the rear and even less on the front - so it's easy to place between the rows.
David has a Nicholson six row hoe mounted, and he can drive faster and more accurately than with any other machine. Steering is done with a bar rather than a wheel - push right and she goes right...
The idea has much practical potential, not only on British organic farms but also in the developing world. The machine is lightweight and does minimal damage to the soil.
The pictures show how close to the plants you can hoe. With 3 F and 1 R gears there's a sufficient range of speed to do the job properly.
David intends making and selling drawings and a full parts list, and provide builders with technical help.
You can see the machine in action on:
Followup: David Tonge, Chapel Farm, Woodhall Spa, Lincs
The Pictures
You can see just how easy it is to run down 6 rows at a time, looking forward, no neck craning, and a novel steering system as well.
The steering bar moves the link arm - no steering box to add play
The tool bar frame is bolted to the front of the chopped off dumper frame
With the hoe directly in front of the driver, and the steering controlled by a direct link tiller bar, you can hoe really close to a row of plants
The 6 row hoe makes quick work in conditions like these
Copyright: All articles are copyright Practical Farm Idea Magazine and published on The Farming Forum under licence from the magazine and in agreement with The Farming Forum. Please do not reproduce without permission.
Note From Practical Farm Ideas
If you don't already subscribe to PFI, then you can Subscribe here for £16.50 a year. However, if you have a specific problem and you wonder if this has already been covered in PFI then you can read a list of all the project covered over the past 20 years in our Index document.
And finally if you have a project you have done, that you would like featured in PFI, then please email Mike Donovan at [email protected]
Dumper truck is converted in accurate six row steerage hoe
Culling weeds from five or six rows of plants while sitting in a driving seat makes a lot more sense than doing the job by hand. Mechanical weeding is vital when growing organic crops, and is sometimes the best answer in conventional crops as well. The era of the hoe is far from over - and as plants become increasingly resistant to chemicals, and at the same time new chemicals become harder to devise and even harder to get approved - hoes and hoeing remain of considerable interest. This is why Garford, for example, was awarded a Silver Award from the RASE in 2007, for their weeder which actually senses the weeds and steers itself so the hoe misses the plants.
Their technology is, however, expensive. The hoe we feature here is the exact opposite. Being based on a small used dumper truck, it is inexpensive. It has technology which is entirely suitable for the third world. It's also far easier to drive and more effective than a standard how fitted to a tractor.
One of the major problems with hoeing is that tractors were never designed for the job. The visibility is poor, even when the hoe is on the front linkage, and driver comfort becomes a real issue when it's mounted on the back as you're turned around all day long.
Lincolnshire farmer David Tonge had the idea of making a self propelled machine which would be a simple tool carrier which has the same function as the Fendt 395, but is a fraction of the £11,000 price they command second hand, and is actually even better to use.
The tool carrier he made uses the back end of a Bomford dumper truck which is attached to a long high frame at the front of which is the dumper front axle. Behind the axle are brackets for mounting implements, using a 3-pt arrangement but lifted by an external ram that is powered by a the Bomford pump.
The dumper conversion is a first class tool that is easier to use than any other hoeing machine. The driver is close to the hoe, and can see any bungs that are coming up. It's easy to hop off and clear debris, and there's never rubbish carried along the row, as it's so easy to see. The wheels are narrow - no wider than row crops at the rear and even less on the front - so it's easy to place between the rows.
David has a Nicholson six row hoe mounted, and he can drive faster and more accurately than with any other machine. Steering is done with a bar rather than a wheel - push right and she goes right...
The idea has much practical potential, not only on British organic farms but also in the developing world. The machine is lightweight and does minimal damage to the soil.
The pictures show how close to the plants you can hoe. With 3 F and 1 R gears there's a sufficient range of speed to do the job properly.
David intends making and selling drawings and a full parts list, and provide builders with technical help.
You can see the machine in action on:
Followup: David Tonge, Chapel Farm, Woodhall Spa, Lincs
The Pictures
You can see just how easy it is to run down 6 rows at a time, looking forward, no neck craning, and a novel steering system as well.
The steering bar moves the link arm - no steering box to add play
The tool bar frame is bolted to the front of the chopped off dumper frame
With the hoe directly in front of the driver, and the steering controlled by a direct link tiller bar, you can hoe really close to a row of plants
The 6 row hoe makes quick work in conditions like these
Copyright: All articles are copyright Practical Farm Idea Magazine and published on The Farming Forum under licence from the magazine and in agreement with The Farming Forum. Please do not reproduce without permission.
Note From Practical Farm Ideas
If you don't already subscribe to PFI, then you can Subscribe here for £16.50 a year. However, if you have a specific problem and you wonder if this has already been covered in PFI then you can read a list of all the project covered over the past 20 years in our Index document.
And finally if you have a project you have done, that you would like featured in PFI, then please email Mike Donovan at [email protected]
