Vintage Collection Of "Push Plows"

Vintage Collection Of "Push Plows" AG WORLD 34-1-21 Mark Jenkins, Nevada, Mo., recently sent FARM SHOW photos of his unusual collection of vintage "push plows". "I like to garden and use powered rototillers, but I still like to run a push plow through the garden to kill emerging weeds. It's fun and the exercise is good for me," says Jenkins. The push plows ride on steel wheels, with the shears positioned behind the wheel. Most have metal handles but one has wooden handles. "Most push plows were built from the early 1900's through to the 1960's," says Jenkins. "The ones shown in the photos have shears that throw dirt up against the row of plants, but they made many different styles of shears. Quite often when the soil is too wet to use a modern rototiller, I can use a push plow. If the ground is a little moist underneath, I can scratch it lightly to let air in so the ground dries out faster." One push plow has two wheels side by side, with a pair of plow shears behind the wheels. It was designed to straddle the row and the shears would throw dirt from each side into the plants. Another model has a big wheel in front and a smaller wheel in line behind it, with a shear between the two wheels. It was designed to go down one side of the row and back up the other side. Jenkins also has a one-wheel self-propelled cultivator called a Choremaster that was manufactured in 1948 by the Lodge Shipley Co. It rides on a 12-in. high rubber tire, which is belt-driven by a gas engine. A V-shaped series of curved tines are located behind the tire. The machine was originally equipped with a Clinton 2 hp engine that was no longer in working condition, so Jenkins replaced it with a 2 1/2 hp Briggs & Stratton engine. "I still use this machine. It's a real time saver and I love operating it," says Jenkins. "Most gas-powered push plows had two wheels, but this one has only one. I use it to kill weeds that are just starting to sprout. I can cover a lot of ground fast between the rows of all my many gardens and make a nice-looking bed. The 2 1/2 hp engine gives it plenty of power, even at idle. "I like operating the machine because I can just lean it in and out among larger plants which isn't possible with a modern rototiller. It's also a lot faster and will work wet ground." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mark Jenkins, 12723 E. Panama Road, Nevada, Mo. 64772 (ph 417 667-8432; kyud8@yahoo.com).

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