Teaching Organic Farming & Gardening

Tillage & Cultivation

Part 1 – 94 | Unit 1.2

Appendix 7: Tillage Pattern for O!set Wheel Disc

Appendix 7: Tillage Pattern for O!set Wheel Disc

Illustrations by José Miguel Mayo

On your tight turns you can leave the disc lowered.

On the broader turns you can lift the disc on the avenue

so that you can avoid making a mess of the avenue. The

disc will actually lift out of the ground when turning.

Discs were designed to be used behind draft animals.

(The pattern is exaggerated on paper).

When you are discing, all of your entry
points will be in line with the "eld
edge and your travel on the ends
will be in the avenues. It is a good
idea to spade the ends since
the disc is not e!ectively
cutting and mixing close
to the "eld edge.

With an “o!-set” disc
you only ever turn
to the left when
in the "eld.
Each new pass (to the right of
your last pass) should e!ectively
"ll the dead furrow, leaving the
"eld relatively level.

Typical discing pattern for a half-acre "eld. If done properly you will have only one

“dead” furrow in the middle of the "eld. Each edge will also have a “dead furrow.”

Dirt goes

this way

Dead

furrow