Step Up Your Gardening Game with John Deere | Belkorp Ag
12/17/2021
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Do you have a substantial garden, growing your own food? We know that growing the perfect vegetables can be a time-consuming and frustrating venture. That’s why we’ve built a guide to using your John Deere Compact Tractor to help increase your gardening efficiency and overall productivity–large garden or small farm. We’ve split this guide into a few parts–the garden, the crop and the tractor. Scroll on down to whichever part of your garden needs work, and we’ll have some advice for you.
The Garden
The layout of your garden is important. You’ll need to ensure that it’s on flat ground, with access to sun and water, while inaccessible to pests and critters.
Digging Post Holes
Fencing in your garden has never been easier than with the John Deere PDH0 Series post hole digger. A proper and sturdy fence surrounding your garden is essential in keeping your crops safe from critters.
Cleaning and Clearing Property
If you’re just starting out your gardening endeavor, finding the right plot of land is an important step. Once you’ve mapped out your garden’s placement, get to clearing the property with a basic John Deere Front End Loader.
Planing and Tilling Land
Once your land is clear, you can begin planing, leveling and tilling the grounds. This is essential in loosening and turning your soil for aeration and overall crop growth. Check out useful implements like the Frontier Rear Blade and the Rotary Tiller. For weeding your large garden, the Frontier One-Row Cultivator will save you hours of hard hand labor.
The Crop
Now that your garden is safe, let’s look at the quality of your crop. John Deere has several implements which will help to ensure the quality and efficiency of your garden’s output.
Fertilizing and Spreading Seed
Growing efficient crops means growing healthy crops. Efficiently spread fertilizer, lime and seed in an area up to 49 ft. wide with the Frontier Broadcast Spreader. On larger-area gardens, a Frontier End-Wheel Grain Drill might be the best option for seeding into conventional tillage.
Aerating Soil
Turning and aerating your soil is one of the best methods to open your soil up to accept fertilizers and maximize growth. The Frontier Core Aerator or Soil Pulverizer is a great option for maximizing garden growth by promoting air, water and nutrient circulation.
The Tractor
So, what tractor is best for your gardening needs? Most of the implements listed above are Category 1-compliant, and will work with any John Deere Compact Tractor, ranging from the 1 Series to the 4 Series. If you’re already driving a 5 Series, its Category 2 hitch is convertible and can be switched to a Category 1. Picking the right tractor for your garden is mostly dependent on implements you’ll need, the size of your garden and your storage space.
Standard-Sized Garden
In most gardens–even a relatively large one–a John Deere 1 Series tractor will be plenty big enough to provide the services you need. The 1 Series is Category 1-compliant and has enough horsepower to effectively utilize many of the implements listed above. The John Deere 1025R is a popular and versatile 1 Series tractor.
Large Garden, or Multiple-Use Scenarios
If you’re planting a very large garden, or need your tractor for multiple uses, you might benefit from a larger compact tractor. With higher horsepower and still a small wheelbase, John Deere’s 3 Series might be a great addition to your property. Ranging from 24.7-45.3 horsepower, the 3 Series is sure to have a tractor that will help knock items off of your chore list.
Row Cropping
In the scenario that you’re running a row cropping operation, we’d recommend a larger tractor paired with larger implements than suggested above. The John Deere 4 Series ranges from 44-66 engine horsepower and is sufficient for many heavier-duty tasks around your property. Many large-scale farmers enjoy the 4 Series for its versatility, power and small body.
Reach Out to Belkorp Ag
If you’re still not sure how to utilize a tractor on your property, or unsure if your garden would benefit from a compact tractor, contact one of our professionals today. We’re happy to help, and want to help maximize your garden’s efficiency.