Pull-Type Rod Weeder Converted To 2-Pt. Model

Pull-Type Rod Weeder Converted To 2-Pt Model CROPS Weed Control Darry Markle Claresholm Alberta recently sent FARM SHOW photos of an old 10-ft wide Deere pull-type rod weeder he converted to an 8-ft wide 2-pt hitch model “I use it to control weeds and grass between rows of trees in my farm’s shelter belt I want to make sure any rain we get goes to the trees and not the weeds ” says Markle “Weeds really don’t like this machine I use a 30 hp 4-WD tractor to pull it ” He got the 1960’s ground-driven rod weeder from a neighbor It was equipped with a drawbar hitch and a pair of big lugged wheels on front with a pair of caster wheels on back He removed the hitch and had a local machine shop cut the rig’s front shaft axle down to 8 ft and also cut new keyways into the axle Then he welded a pair of steel brackets fitted with pins on front of the machine’s frame which hook up to the lift arms on his tractor’s 3-pt hitch He also gave the machine a new coat of paint “The rod weeder is equipped with a hand-operated depth control lever on back The operator had to get off the tractor in order to lift the machine out of the ground ” says Markle “By converting the rig to a 2-pt hitch model I can just set the depth control lever to the proper working depth and leave it there and then at the end of the row use the 2-pt hitch to lift the machine out of the ground As I turn the rod weeder pivots on the caster wheels to follow the tractor I didn’t convert the machine to a 3-pt model because it would have been too heavy for a small tractor like mine “I had been using an 8-ft wide 3-pt mounted field cultivator to control weeds in the shelterbelt but it killed only about 70 percent of the weeds My rod weeder pulls weeds completely out of the ground and then lays them back down so they haven’t got a chance to grow back again It results in close to a 100 percent kill I still use the cultivator occasionally to loosen the soil and keep it from getting packed down too hard ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Darry Markle P O Box 2199 Claresholm Alberta Canada T0L 0T0 ph 403 489-1956; darrymarkle@gmail com

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