Cultiridger

Cultiridger Basic Data Category: Cultivators URL (first publication): https://www.latelierpaysan.org/Cultiridger Keywords: cultivation, crop, harvest, farm, ridger, cultiridger License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Organization: L'Atelier Paysan Project status: Active Technical documentation Maturity of the project: prototype Contains PDF-drawings: Yes Assembly instructions are published: No Bill of materials is published: Yes no yes yes

Description

The Cultiridger’s main components are a set of spring tines and a pair of discs. The tool was designed to create and maintain ridges, but it can also be used on permanent beds for secondary cultivation or for cultivation work following crop harvest.

The tines cannot incorporate crop residue into the ground. It needs to be shredded with a rotovator before using the Cultridger. Once the crop residue has been incorporated into the soil, the well aerated and free draining conditions in the ridges help speed up its breakdown. The tool works up to a depth of 30 cms from the level of the wheelings. The depth can easily be adjusted by changing the height of the depth wheels. At the Jardins du Temple (a market garden in the Isère region), the Cultiridger is set to work at a maximum depth of 10 cms. Deep tillage of permanent beds is not necessary. As well as preserving soil structure, shallow tillage reduces wear of the blades, saves energy and, by allowing a faster tractor driving speed during cultivation work, also saves time. Furthermore, the structure of the soil is not artificially disturbed and thus reduces the likelihood of soil erosion, capping and compaction. With appropriate blades, the Cultiridger can also be adjusted for weeding, breaking down stubble and loosening up compacted soil. Thanks to the adjustable frame, the Cultiridger can cultivate the soil very lightly without destroying the ridges. As the blades are detachable, larger goosefoot hoe blades can be mounted onto the Cultiridger to eliminate more effectively young green manures or extensive weed seed emergence.

This work is licensed by L'Atelier Paysan under Licence - CC-BY-NC-SA