Cultivator Spacing

Rookie question here. The only time I’ve cultivated row crops was with my G, and with the way the tractor was designed, I could scratch the surface to within a couple inches on either side of the one row it cultivated, and it had my full attention at all times.
Now I’ve got a 6-30” cultivator on the rear of my 7080, and I’m wondering how close most people set the inner shovels to the row? Never used a rear mount before, so there may be some “iron root worm” loss until I get the hang of it. Luckily most all the rows are very straight.

I’m cultivating cotton, and it’s currently about 1 true leaf. There aren’t a bunch of weeds everywhere, just in pockets. I won’t get started quite yet (muddy) but once it gets a few more leaves I’ll probably have to. I do have rolling fenders so hopefully those help. I’ll start at about 12”.

Edited by CrestonM - 08 Jun 2022 at 3:01pm

Creston, congrats on getting your 7080 running this season. Give your cultivator a trial run the way it’s been initially set. Operate it (cultivate 50-100’) then stop & raise up cultivator. Inspect its front shovels for any crop roots hanging from them.
More cultivator info please(ie.. Brand/model?
Front shovel width4”,6”,etc?
Front shovel full size or row-side wing trimmed flush to shank side? Front shovel condition(+-1/2used or new?)
Coil spring danish tine shanks?
Or-flat steel spring shank?
Or-fixed cast shank with knew kickout springs?

If the cultivator’s front shovels have their row-side wings trimmed off, you’ll probably want them adjusted closer to side of rolling fender(4-6”??).
If shovels are new, give them 2” more from fenders.
If shovel shank is flexible(danish time/AC vibra-shank), allow an 1” more for their movement for turns & ditches.

Carry a pair of 3/4”, 15/16” box/open end wrenches in tractor for in-field adjustments?
Set tractor’s 3pt sway blocks to their “in” position if you want to allow cultivator to float side-to-side.
If small crop size demands slow 1st gear travel speeds, don’t forget your favorite cab music (fm radio, cd, mp3, smartphone speaker???).

1st question, did you plant with 6 row? This don't work well if ya cultivate 6 and planted with 8...now if ya gots one of them new fangled guidance things,this may be a non-issue...

You'll learn to drive good,, hope yacan get that 7080 tires in enough to get down them 30" rows

I concur on the don't look back from my time cultivating vineyard.  Keep the front end of tractor where it belongs tool on 3pt follows.  I like Paul's idea of a mirror.

12 to 6 will work great. My dad could turn and look back, if I tried that,I seemed to always make a mess....I have since got to where I could look,but takes LOTSA acres covered..we always had a rear mount, so I haven't had the opportunity to run a front mount. Really,cultivating is pretty much a thing of the past around here,with all the new chemicals. But a crop sure looks good after a cultivator pass, I think it actually would grow some within a few minutes after

Those whoops are (or were) called lightning strikes around here.

When I was a teenager we would cultivate corn twice. I started with a wd and a 2 row front mounted cultivator when my brother went into the service. I was 12. Dad used the wd45 with a 4 row front mount. We would work till almost sundown in June, and then we would go home to milk the cows and feed the hogs. I milked. Dad didn't milk. Suppertime was 10 pm usually, at least during the month of June. Later, we bought a couple of rear mount cultivators, and we used 7 inch sweeps with the ones along the rows being half sweeps. We moldboard plowed everything in those days, the ground was loose, and i think we had those row spaces at 7 to 9 inches depending on how big the crop and the weeds were. First time thru was low gear, and the second time we could go in second gear. Cultivation with a row crop cultivator does not work as well as it used to for me, and I think it is because we do not use the moldboard plow anymore. The sweeps throw slabs and cover the crop, even if it has a little size to it. Our soil is not super loose anymore and even using shields that second sweep back will throw slabs of dirt up and over the top of them. At least that is what happened the last time I tried it. I sure don't miss it either, but it was an economical way to beat the weeds.

Ok not to steel the thread but how would one choose the sweep size or use of shovel

Edited by Mikez - 12 Jun 2022 at 6:59am

bigal121892 wrote: plummerscarin wrote: You mean precision planting? That would probably fit it better.

I was being facetious.
My apologies