Power broadfork or horizontal harrow?

Posts: 69

Location: Burnet County TX zone 8a

posted 3 years ago

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We have thousands of square feet of chicken coops that need to be worked every couple of years. Else we get excessive compaction. It's too much to do with a manual broadfork.

Has anyone tried a non-turning power harrow? Here's one I found. I found no power broadforks. Maybe I have to invent one.

Power harrow attachment

Bolar clay loam ph 7.4 lightened with mulch, sand and sulfur. Caliche limestone 4-12" under that, so we build up deeper with retaining walls.
Agorist, Texas Master Gardener, 0-3 zone permaculture = from slippers to cattle.
https://soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/B/BOLAR.html

R Scott

pollinator

Posts: 4025

Location: Kansas Zone 6a

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posted 3 years ago

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There IS a power broadfork, small Australian company that I can't remember the name.

Power harrow would be great to break up the surface, but I doubt it would get deep enough for what you want.

A BIG power harrow like big veggie farmers use will go deep enough, but that is more than would fit in a chicken run
.

Could you use a subsoiler / keyline plow? The surface gets broken up more than the fork, but it can be done with a small tractor. Waiting for the right moisture conditions is a must if you want to go deep
.

"You must be the change you want to see in the world." "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." --Mahatma Gandhi
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Megan Palmer

gardener

Posts: 1242

Location: Zone 9A, 45S 168E, 329m Queenstown, NZ

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posted 3 years ago

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Do you have access to a good supply of woodchips? We use a deep layer of woodchips in out domestic chicken run and the chickens scratch around constantly keeping it aerated. There’s lots of insects, worms and fungi amongst the decomposing chips. It doesn’t compact down if it’s a deep layer and makes a wonderful mulch that can easily be scraped off when it’s time to replenish the chips.

Joylynn Hardesty

master pollinator

Posts: 4992

Location: Due to winter mortality, I stubbornly state, zone 7a Tennessee

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