In Row Spacing/ Measurement

[kzorn]

Greetings,

I am a recent graduate of Pam and Paul’s Draft Horse Husbandry class at Blue Star Equiculture and I am planting corn, beans, potatoes, and other vegetables on the farm very soon. I am very new at using horses for farm work, and I was wondering what the spacing between crops and rows so, in time, I can drive a horse and cultivator through the rows without destroying anything. It was always Paul who knew all of these little details, and now without him to turn to I was told to seek out the wisdom of DAPnet.

Also, if there is anything else besides row and crop spacing that I should be considering when planning out a horse powered field please do not hesitate to include that in your answer – I am a very curious amateur and all ears!

Thank you folks very much, any of your answers will benefit Blue Star’s crop success during these trying times.

-Keith Zorn

[dominiquer60]

Keith Welcome to DAPNet,

There are several things to consider before setting up your garden. Head lands harvest lanes, row spacing, etc. What kind of equipment will you be using? single horse cultivator, a riding straddle row cultivator, a section of harrow? What kind of equipment are you still looking for, will it fit into the system that you develop now? Will you be using a tractor at all, and how does it fit into the system?

Without knowing what you have to work with it is hard to recommend specific details, so I can share with you how I developed the spacial arrangement of my garden. Hopefully this will shed some light on the possibilities when developing your own system. Each farm is different, so hopefully others will chime in too.

I have a few different shaped fields, but for the most part I have left a 20′ head land at the ends of them all (running perpendicular to the rows). I use 20′ to swing a team around and for the tractor that takes all of 20′ to do a multi-point turn. I use horses for most of my work, but rely on a Rain Flo water wheel transplanter that I have to use with the tractor. I don’t irrigate so using a water wheel is extremely helpful to give the transplants a fighting chance at surviving. All plots have at least a 10′ grass harvest lane surrounding them for easy access with equipment, these run parallel to the rows.

Tighter row spacing allows for more crops in a given area but becomes more difficult to cultivate without horses stepping on crops, wider row spacing allows for more error, but also allows more space for weeds to develop. I chose 36″ for a multitude of reasons. I use a Water transplanter and the widest width that 2 wheels will go so that I can plant 2 rows at a time, is 36″. My McCormick Deering riding 2 horse 1 row cultivator is adjustable to various row spacing. With wheels adjusted at 36″ there is more of a limit to the range of movement (of various levers and adjustments) than I care to accept from my cultivator. So I set my wheels 38″ apart, my horses 36″ apart and still have a good range of adjustment while I am cultivating. The wheel width is not noticed when rear sweeps are set at 36″ apart, then I have a good mark to go off of if I am making beds or marking rows. I also like 36″ because frankly the math is easier when calculating various needs like fertilizer, and plants needed for so many feet of garden space. Since 36″ met many of my needs, when I ordered new equipment like my sprayer, I was able to custom order it to meet my spacing. I plant my hot crops (tomatoes, cucs, squash, pumpkins) at 6′ between rows, they need the extra space and we need the room to maintain the crops and harvest them, so thankfully 6’=72″ which is 2×36″, the 6′ rows fit nicely into the garden in reality and on paper.

I would ideally like to have all my rows the same length 150′. 1.75 acres are set up this way, but in order to maximize production the other 1 acre, I have to deal with 160′ to 200′ lengths as well. I like 150′ because 24 rows makes a nearly quarter acre section, this makes planning rotations, calculating cover crop seed and soil amendments all easier. Some of the row cover that I like to use comes in 50′ increments and 150′ of it is easier for me to handle alone. When hand weeding or thinning 150′ is less daunting. I do a lot of succession cropping and I like to plant and seed crops in full or half rows, often times 200+’ of Broccoli Raab is just way more than I need at once, so 150 works well for my crop planning. As the farm (owned by Sam’s parents) transitions from dairy to what ever the future brings, I hope to have more room for my garden for more cover cropping and to whittle my long rows down to a consistent 150′ across all garden plots.

Let us know what you have to work with and what your future equipment plans may be so that we can help where we can.

I look forward to helping one of Pam’s and Paul’s students as much as I can from a far,

Erika

[kzorn]

Erika –

Thank you very much for all of this information! The guidance is invaluable, and everyone at Blue Star thanks you for it!! It will help us bring our fields to production for sure. Personally, I have only worked in human powered and small machine operated farms on the small acreage side, so horse powered agriculture is daunting yet extremely exciting!

On the farm we have a smallish tractor, horse drawn disc harrows, a single horse cultivator, moldboards for horses, and a few retired and broken pieces. This year with everything going on we really just want to plant any crop we can with what we have. So far we have potatoes, corn, green beans, and a bunch of smaller kitchen gardens that aren’t laid out for horse work. In upcoming weeks other workers will be planting pumpkin, flower, and other fields. Personally, I have dedicated myself to a farm elsewhere for the rest of summer (I have relayed all of this information you provided me to the remaining workers at Blue Star), but plan on working Blue Star’s fields all of next season. We are in the beginning stages of planning and figuring out what we really need to bring the fields to full production next year with as much emphasis on strictly horse power as possible. This is what inspired me to create this post because I wanted to begin to seriously start to plan and understand what it will take to make this dream happen.

Just so I understand correctly, are you recommending each single row of crops be 36″ from center to center from each other? Which would mean at 24 rows of that crop spacing, at 150′ long, will total an area equivalent of about a 1/4 acre field?

What other pieces of equipment are we missing that you think are crucial for horse powered fields?

So many thanks again for your advice and guidance!
Keith Zorn

[dominiquer60]

“Just so I understand correctly, are you recommending each single row of crops be 36″ from center to center from each other? Which would mean at 24 rows of that crop spacing, at 150′ long, will total an area equivalent of about a 1/4 acre field?”

Correct Keith, at 36 inches center to center, with rows 150′ long, 24 rows will give you near a 1/4 acre. I like 1/4 acres as they are a manageable size. You can plow it and harrow it the same day if needed, with help you can plant/seed it all in a day if needed, and like I said before, for planning the math is fairly easy.

You can make do with a good single horse cultivator. Mine is rusted up and not adjustable, so I have to go down between each row twice, but it gets the job done. Using a good 2 horse straddle row cultivator takes a little getting used to, but once the horses understand the job it becomes fun, for me it is a wonderful Zen task that I enjoy immensely. So if you folks come across a good McCormick Deering cultivator, don’t pass it by. It may also be good to have some kind of leveling devise, even something like a planker (http://flofarm.org/dap/forums/topic/planker-for-secondary-tillage/) would be cheap and easy for now. Leveling and smoothing the ground makes for more even/easier seeding and cultivating. Even dragging a heavy post behind the disk harrow will help, you will want it on an angle and slightly wider than the disk harrow, we use chain to attach ours.

I was in your shoes not too long ago, I had 10 years of working vegetables with tractors, and more years working with horses, but I never married my 2 passions together until I moved to CT. You folks are always more than welcome here, you can always ask more questions here and search for subjects, that is how I found the planker link to a previous discussion. Best of luck to you and Blue Star, do what you can even if it is just planting cover crops until you can devote more time next season. Keep the questions coming 🙂

[Mike Rock]

Keith,
Check out the Nordell’s, Anne and Eric. They have published numerous articles over the years in the Small Farmer’s Journal. A Google search brings up many links. They have a CD and a booklet containing reprints of all or at least most of their articles. Well worth the effort.

Norm Macknair in PA has lots of used equipment at reasonable prices. There are many others as well, many serving the Amish communities. They are definitely worth looking into as well.

Good luck and success in your farming.

[Stone Horse Farm]

Hi Keith,

I wanted to share what we do here on Stone Horse Farm, just north of San Francisco. I have been farming with a team of big Percherons for 17 years. I set up our fields, like Erika, in 1/4 acre chunks. It fits the farm well, and is relatively easy in the rotation I have developed. We too leave about a 20′ grassed headland, and our rows are about 100 feet long. A square quarter acre is 104 by 104. I drip irrigate as much as possible, for water conservation and much reduced weed pressure. Since my drip tubing is my irrigation system I need to make the size of my fields the same, another reason for the quarter acre increments.

My row spacings are at 42″, mostly because I need to fit my horses down the rows easily without stepping on plants. The straddle row cultivators are adjustable to that width, and the one horse walking cultivators also work well to that width when plant height gets too tall for the straddle row. I double that width to 84″ or 7 feet for things like tomatoes, melons and winter squash, those crops that like to sprawl. Once these deeper rooted crops are established, they are on their own for moisture, and I must say they are delicious for it.

My horses are probably too big to be efficient in my small fields, but I also use them in the woods where their size is very handy. And for the wagon and carriage work in public, their size has the wow factor.

Fit your field layout to the tools you have. Once your rows are established they will act as a guide for the horses, too.

Stu

[daniel grover]

This year we’re growing about 10 acres of vegetables, mostly at 36″ spacing, single row. We double up some things like arugula, two rows per bed. In order to cultivate these, we drop an inner shank from either side of our straddle row cultivator. Between the two rows we do by hand or with hoes. With these fast growing greens, it’s usually not too much hand work.

Like Stu, we plant tomatoes and winter squash every other bed, making the spacing 72″. Sometimes we’ll transplant or direct seed greens between these rows, sometimes not, depending on our timing and space needs.

[kzorn]

To everyone who has responded –

Thank you all very much for the guidance in the planning stage. Even though I have been growing vegetables and herbs for several seasons, using horses adds such an unique element that has really made me have to reconsider almost all stages of growth. It’s agriculture in a whole new vision, a beautiful vision! With all of this information, personal stories of how each of you do it, and direction to other resources, I am extremely grateful. I really cannot thank each of you enough. I have taken down notes of all of this and cannot wait to put it into practice!

If anyone has anything else to add or anything that you think could benefit a beginner, I am an empty vessel with ears and eyes opened – I would love to hear about your system of seasonal growth. It is all inspiration.

For now I get to ruminate on all of this and come up with all new questions as the season progresses. You folks are great, thanks again, and I hope the beginning of summer is treating you all well.

Keith

[Richard Williams]

Hi folks,
I have a question along the same lines, and figured I could add it on to this thread to keep them together.
We have about 4 acres in production each year, with about 2.5 acres being vegetables and the rest cover crop. We’ve been working with the tractor so far, but last year we bought a team of fjords and did all of our fall discing with them. This year we intend to use them for cultivation as well, but transitioning away from the tractor makes row spacing a bit of a puzzle. Currently we work on 60″ centre-to-centre, meaning crops are either one row at 60″ apart, two rows at 30″ or 3 at 15″, with 30″ for paths. Is it feasible to use a single-horse cultivator with 30″ between the rows? I figure if an 18hh belgian can fit down a 36″ row, that Bart and Buck at 14.2-14.4hh and with equivalently small hooves should be able to cultivate 30″.

I have my eye out for a mccormick straddle-row cultivator, with the plan being to widen the rows to 36″ when one shows up. Possibly moving the tractor tires out to 72″ for certain implements, like what Erika described above. I am particularly pleased with our Williams tool system tine weeder (lely tines with sweeps for the paths) and would need a bit of time to assemble a horse-drawn replacement. Due to the limited acreage suited to vegetables at our farm, I’m starting to think of a separate rotation for high-value, quick-turnover greens, which we would manage as intensively-planted 60″ centre-to-centre beds using our BCS walking tractor and hand tools. I think this would allow us to reduce the density in the rest of the field without sacrificing income.
Changing the spacing is tough! Row cover, arches, irrigation, machinery, yield data and so on all need to be adjusted. Even our caterpillar tunnels, which we dismantle and relocate each May, are based on 60″ centres.

Any more first-hand experience with the process would be appreciated. I welcome your thoughts!

One more related thought – can any of the new riding cultivator frames (homesteader, I&J) be adjusted to fit 36″ or thereabouts? They all seem pretty wide.

Richard

[Crabapple Farm]

A couple years ago we had a teamster working with us with her team of Belgians. We didn’t do much of it, but we did cultivate 32″ rows with one of her Belgians and a walking cultivator. It was definitely feasible. I think 30″ with a fjord would not be a problem. I know folks doing 30″ rows with Suffolks. We now have a fairly small pony that we used a little last year for cultivation and hope to use more this year, on 30″ rows.

[ethalernull]

hey richard,

our row spacing for most crops is 36″, and we use a straddle 2-horse cultivator. however, to save space and conserve soil exposure, we grow our onions, leeks, and celeriac with 24″ spacing. i cultivate these crops with a walk behind cultivator and my most reliable belgian (16H, 1700#). I use a walk behind cultivator with the outside tines removed and narrow evener and short hitch to keep hardware farther from the crops. I am planning on replacing the tines with lely-style wire weeders rather than the C-tines that are original to it, to reduce ‘throwing’ soil and be able to cultivate closer to the crop.

david fisher at natural roots farm uses a 32″ bed system with an older mcormick straddle row cultivator. though I recall he believes any tighter with a two-horse cultivator might be tricky for his belgians, but I would think you’d be fine with fjords, and practice!

best,
evan

[dominiquer60]

I agree with the others that a single horse working 30″ rows is a good fit. We worked a couple acres of 30″ row corn with straddle row cultivator a couple years back, it was tight, but we made it work. A McCormick New 4 will adjust down to ~36″, but you sacrifice your ability to steer the rig as well as if it were wider. Having it this narrow may even sacrifice the ability to widen the individual tool frames as well. My compromise was to set the wheels at 40″ on center so that I could still make full use of widening the tool frames and have a good steering range with the foot pedals. When I use the cultivator to mark rows I just set over a wheel width to keep my 36″ rows, what make this easier is if you set your rear sweeps at 36″ on center. These will leave a shallow mark that is easy for you and the horses to follow.

With the 30″ corn rows we set the rear sweeps narrower so that there was less chance of wiping out the adjacent rows. The one ton horses would occasionally take out a plant, but a well seasoned farmer once told me that it is common to kill 5% of a crop while cultivating (especially with that Willams tool system).

Speaking of the Williams tool system, that is a hard one to beat, but I will say that I don’t miss it too much and having lines in my hands seems to negate any small differences from the Williams and my McCormick Deering. For blind cultivation we use and old rod weeder on the back of a JD cultivator, it works fairly well, but if you could figure out how to mount lely/einbock type tines to horse drawn equipment I think you would be better off. the original McCormick had a little tine attachment that blind weeds what the sweeps don’t get, we like this option even better as we can do a better job with weeds between the rows while blind weeding the crop. I will attach pictures below.

[hardpan99]

I use a McD New 4 cultivator with 1700-1800lb horses. My standard row spacing is 36″ and I skip a row for squash and tomatoes. 42″ rows are a little less stressful to cultivate but the yield/acre increases greatly going to 36″ rows. So what if they stomp on a plant here and there? They stomped on plants when I used 42″ rows too. I think the most important thing to prevent the animals from stepping on plants (other than being a good teamster) is to mark your rows absolutely straight. I mark rows with a tractor. 42″ rows also allowed me to leave row covers on and cultivate the next row. With 36″ I need to remove the row covers to cultivate the adjacent rows. My rig has the 6-shovel gangs (as opposed to the more common 8) and I use 6″ sweeps all the time. I think shields are a must for cultivating young vegetables and that’s why I never end up using my walking cultivator. I think you just need to start somewhere and make changes as you find what works for you.

[Richard Williams]

Such great information here, thanks. Our crop plan has always included a healthy safety margin, even up to 30% depending on the crop, not that I ever plan on destroying a third of the row due to poor aim or hastily-adjusted machinery (or bugs, disease, drought, poor germination or whatever else) but this way when it does happen to something essential we still have enough to put in the CSA baskets and fill the table at market.
Looking forward to a lot fewer hours behind the wheel and a lot more with hands on the lines this year.

[Billy Anderson]

Hi all

I wondered if i might ask a question. I am short on land when it comes to our vegetable production and have kept it low key due to other commitments causing a time constraint but this year i plan to up prodution. Due to the lack of available land, i intend to use 30″ or 36″ raised beds. I was wondering what width the double tree and neck yoke would be best suited for the team to work each side of the bed?

Also, I know Erica, you use a Shipshe cultimulcher, as i have had questions about it answered by yourself some time ago. I have been in touch with Maynard and i am looking to order the 3′ cultimulcher. I wonder how this would fair on the raised bed scenario and how would it do to work in mowed cover crop in the same beds.

I know this system is different from the bed systems above. I am trying to replicate the systems that some farmers are using on small parcels of land, quite successfully using two wheeled tractors for all the cultivation needs. I am obviously keen to use my horses and would prefer to invest in horse drawn tools.

Many thanks

[Author]

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