Our final implement in field preparation after the plow, disc and harrow is the cultimulcher. This is a small, unique tool manufactured by Marvin Briske of Halfway, OR and purchased last year at the auction. It features two, three-foot wide rollers on the front and the back, and some adjustable spring tooth shovels below the platform. It breaks the last of any clods on the surface and makes a fine enough seedbed to run a seeder through (well, almost….we have some grass clumps left over from our less-than-perfect plowing job, but that’s another story). We hitch up Dandy, and although he’s working hard, it is okay for a single horse as we’re only using it for a short period of time.
We made a few adjustments to the set up from last year, namely getting Dandy closer to the front roller by dropping links in between the single tree and the shaft cross bar and dropping a few chain links on the tugs. It comes close to his heels, but it doesn’t touch him. We can’t figure out why the cultimulcher was paired with such short shafts. If they are too short, they poke Dandy in the shoulders on the turns. The ideal spot for the ends of the shafts, as told by Mr. Erskine, is in line with the front of his chest. Some other adjustments we made were adding billet straps dropped from the D-ring behind each shoulder, so that the shafts had a better place to rest rather than through the harness. We also tightened up the holdback strap, which is a little buckle that attaches a ring on the shaft to the D-ring on the brichen. It needs to be tight, as it prevents the implement from continuing forward when the horse stops.
One of the problems with the implement is that its center of gravity is high off the ground and the front of the platform rests on a ball joint above the front roller. If the teamster is not working flat ground or if he or she is turning, the platform is too unstable. That being said, it is extremely fun to ride it standing up–the balance required brings back physical memories of balancing on a surf board. We take strong precautions to avoid any problems and at the end of the row, we disengage the harrow, dismount and walk it around the turn. It might take a little longer, but it is obviously worth avoiding a potential wreck.
Once we run the cultimulcher over the bed, it feels pretty nice and ready for planting, but it could be a little deeper, especially for transplanting. Today we ran it over the beds two times, the second time on a deeper harrow setting. Because it is hard for Dandy, we start it on the lightest setting, giving us about 2″ of a seed bed. When we ran it over again on a deeper setting, achieved an nicer seed bed with less clumps, and another inch or two deeper of soft soil. Overall, it is a great tool but could use some tweaking. I’d be interested in seeing a wider spread on a team hitch, which could give it better balance and make it less likely to tip.
Leave a comment