Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
HARROW
Harrows break up and smooth plowed or clumped soil in preparation for creating a seedbed
or a smooth working surface. Harrows are useful for smoothing an arena after discing,
breaking up and spreading manure in pastures, and aerating compacted soil.
There are basically five types of harrows, or drags, as they are sometimes called: the
chain (or English), the spike tooth, the spring tooth, the rotary, and the combination drag.
English harrows
are made of heavy rods that crisscross each other in a diamond-shaped
configuration and have protrusions called teeth on the bottom side. They are very heavy
and expensive but do a wonderful job of smoothing rough spots. They are good for level-
ing manure in a pasture as well as for aerating the soil without ripping it up. Homemade
drags, simulating the English style, have been made with chain-link fence, but the lack of
teeth and their light weight make them bounce on top of the soil and result in little smooth-
ing and leveling. Like pull-type discs, English harrows are difficult to load, and when you
move them by dragging them behind the tractor, they harrow everything in their path.
The teeth of the
spike-tooth harrow
look something like old railroad spikes but are ad-
justable for work or transport. You can use them in a full upright position to rip up pastures
in the spring or you can set the teeth in a flat position so you can use the harrow more as
a leveler and smoother. After long or hard use, the teeth will become rounded and/or short,
but most spike-tooth harrows have replaceable teeth.
A rotary harrow smooths and levels the arena footing as it rotates behind the tractor.
