Bed ridger

Bed ridger Basic Data Category: Cultivators URL (first publication): https://www.latelierpaysan.org/Butteuse-a-planche-1389 Keywords: ridger, crops, cultivation, manures, soil, organic matter 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: Yes no yes yes

Description

The bed ridger can be used instead of a plough to incorporate crop residue and green manures into the soil. The ridger can also be used to reshape a bed if it has been flattened following cultivation work.

This model of ridger with three discs was chosen because it produces raised beds at least 40 cms high without working the soil too deeply. The spacing of the discs allow the whole surface of a bed to be lightly cultivated. Rather than burying organic matter deep into the soil by ploughing, the organic matter is buried into the ridge, where it can quickly decompose, although dry conditions can hinder the breakdown of organic material. However, there are solutions! We have adapted the traditional asparagus ridger for cultivation work on permanent beds, incorporating into our design double coil goosefoot hoes for weeding paths, depth wheels to adjust the height of the implement, a central ridger to rework pre-existing beds and a quick hitch triangle system so that the tool can be easily mounted to a tractor.

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