[AT] Actual antique tractor vegetable discussion

Sat Apr 23 06:07:14 PDT 2011

John, there was/is very little irrigation done here.  I expect if you were going to, you would make the truck middle a little wider, or even go cross-ways.  Most irrigation here is hog waste on pasture.

Al

-----Original Message-----
>From: john hall <jtchall at nc.rr.com>
>Sent: Apr 23, 2011 7:39 AM
>To: Antique tractor email discussion group <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>Subject: Re: [AT] Actual antique tractor vegetable discussion
>
>Al, are the irrigation reel guns made so they can straddle the plants? How 
>do they get it pulled out, I thought you had to tow those out with a tractor 
>before you started to irrigate? We had the old school pipe that you had to 
>manually lay out. What fun to go in the mud and take it out when it was 95 
>deg.
>
>John
>
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "Al Jones" <farmallsupera at earthlink.net>
>To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>Sent: Friday, April 22, 2011 11:00 PM
>Subject: Re: [AT] Actual antique tractor vegetable discussion
>
>
>> When I was growing up in the '80s, everybody laid out tobacco patches with 
>> truck/fifth middles--usually the field started with two rows, then a truck 
>> middle (in other words they didn't plant that row as John mentions) then 
>> four rows, then a truck middle, etc.  The last rows are a truck middle and 
>> a set of two rows again.  With high clearance sprayers and larger 
>> equipment a lot of tobacco farmers (what few are left) are planting the 
>> tobacco solid with no skips--or they are planting as many as 8 rows 
>> between truck middles.
>>
>> Al
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>>>From: john hall <jtchall at nc.rr.com>
>>>Sent: Apr 22, 2011 7:21 PM
>>>To: Antique tractor email discussion group <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>>>Subject: Re: [AT] Actual antique tractor vegetable discussion
>>>
>>>Grant, do any of the vegetable crops use "sled rows"? Basically for 
>>>tobacco
>>>you don't plant the fifth, seventh, or ninth row---usually determined by 
>>>the
>>>width of your sprayer. The reason behind this is tobacco is too tall to
>>>straddle the rows. With the equipment. The harvest trailers, sprayers and
>>>irrigation equipment all use the sled row.
>>>
>>>Now that I think of it, self propelled sprayers should be able to fit down
>>>the crop rows. I've never been around a harvester to know what they do 
>>>with
>>>the crop trailer. Some of the old ones used to carry the trailer I think,
>>>the new ones may hold the crop and dump at the end of the row. I think all
>>>irrigation would still require a sled row--either for the trailer or for 
>>>the
>>>gun on a reel system.
>>>
>>>By the way, do you guys have any ride-on harvesters? We used to have a 
>>>four
>>>row model for tobacco. Everything was hand harvested and when the storage
>>>racks were full we packed them onto a trailer.
>>>
>>>John
>>>
>>>
>>>----- Original Message ----- 
>>>From: "Grant Brians" <sales at heirloom-organic.com>
>>>To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" 
>>><at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>>>Sent: Friday, April 22, 2011 4:01 PM
>>>Subject: Re: [AT] Actual antique tractor vegetable discussion
>>>
>>>
>>>> We use tractors for harvest two ways. Either with a three point hitch
>>>> mounted box or with a welded platform mounted to the tractor on all four
>>>> sides. The 100's have the platform mounted and the other tractors have 
>>>> the
>>>> three point hitch boxes. The platforms are an item that is pretty much a
>>>> California vegetable area exclusive as they actually were designed for
>>>> carrying the 30' long portable aluminum sprinkler pipe on either side of
>>>> the
>>>> operator. I have four tractors set up with what are locally referred to 
>>>> as
>>>> "pipe racks". While many different types of tractors were converted for
>>>> pipe
>>>> racks, the preferred models are ones like the Farmall 100 or 240, AC 
>>>> model
>>>> C
>>>> and JD2010. The reason for these being preferred is that they are two
>>>> wheel
>>>> drive (less weight and cheaper), narrow wheels, wide front end to match
>>>> 60"
>>>> to 80" wheel spacing and straddle the vegetable or strawberry beds and 
>>>> low
>>>> height wheels to make it easier to place the pipe on the tractor and
>>>> remove
>>>> it. Typically the weight is balanced on the rear wheels with just enough
>>>> weight on the front wheels to make for easy control of the tractor - no
>>>> power steering needed.
>>>>     For the harvest boxes, then you need a heavy enough front end of the
>>>> tractor to counter-balance the box, either with weights or inherent
>>>> construction.
>>>>          Grant Brians
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
>>>> [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com]On Behalf Of john hall
>>>> Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2011 3:09 PM
>>>> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
>>>> Subject: Re: [AT] Actual antique tractor vegetable discussion
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I can't stand the larger steering wheels on the number series. Not 
>>>> certain
>>>> when they changed it, may have been with the 100. We've always had Super
>>>> A's
>>>> and they are pretty easy to off and on.
>>>>
>>>> What exactly do you mean by "harvest configuration". Is this something
>>>> like
>>>> the Asparagus A's I read about one time?
>>>>
>>>> John
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "Grant Brians" <sales at heirloom-organic.com>
>>>> To: "Antique tractor email discussion group"
>>>> <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>>>> Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2011 7:30 AM
>>>> Subject: Re: [AT] Actual antique tractor vegetable discussion
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> John, I actually have a 240 with cultivating bars. The issue with the 
>>>>> 100
>>>>> and 200 series tractors is that they were made for a light amount of
>>>>> weight.
>>>>> They have small wheels and the wide front ends wear out the kingpins 
>>>>> and
>>>>> wheel bearings when loaded down in a harvest tractor configuration. The
>>>>> parts are appropriately sized to the rest of the tractor, but are not
>>>>> made
>>>>> to haul rutabagas, turnips, watermelons etc.... There is one other 100
>>>>> issue
>>>>> that I mentioned before - I am 6'6" tall and cannot fit into the seat
>>>>> area!
>>>>> It would be even worse for my son, he is almost 6'8" tall and has quite 
>>>>> a
>>>>> bit longer legs.
>>>>>     The harvest tractor issues are becoming exacerbated as we will have
>>>>> well over 300 acres planted of vegetables this year on the current 185
>>>>> acres
>>>>> I am farming and if the new 100 acres gets added as planned to my
>>>>> operation
>>>>> this season then it will be even more of an issue clearly.
>>>>>          Grant Brians
>>>>>          Hollister,California Vegetable, Nuts and Fruit farmer
>>>>>
>>>> at
>>>>
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