October 5, 2014

Comparison of Two Plows

Turn plow

Pig plow

And we humans think our technology makes us so superior. :p

20 comments:

Sandy Livesay said...

Leigh,

Pigs seem to do a better job....your thoughts?

Maybe we all should invest in pigs......

Dawn said...

Our pigs are doing a great job of turning the ground that is becoming a vegetable garden, and the other thing that the pigs do that humans ploughing is they eat the weeds and roots as they go :-)

Frugal in Derbyshire said...

While fertilizing the ground and being more fun that TV to watch!

Dani said...

Does the pig eat the weeds whilst it's turning the soil?

Leigh said...

Sandy, I think pigs are definitely a best way to go. As Dawn and Gill said, they eat weeds, roots, and insects while fertilizing as well! They're pretty indiscriminate and will turn over perfectly good pasture as well as weeds. Since they tend to plow in a willy-nilly fashion, they key will be directing it to where we want it. That will mean hog panels, electric fencing, and a portable pig house eventually.

Dawn, that's an excellent point. Being omnivorous, I think they'll eat bugs or larvae too. I'll have to research that.

Gill, infinitely more fun than TV!

Dani, they eat quite a bit but not everything. This breed is a grazing pig, so they love various grasses, clover, and other plants. I've found that what they don't eat, is very easily removed, since they get under the root system. Definitely a work smarter not harder approach to working the soil!

Farmer Barb said...

I am THE person to like a side by side comparison. A pig is a misunderstood beast. I guess the name Brush Hog was not made up lightly. The consumption of the weeds makes them a superior garden tool, hands down. I guess it is the reason old farms had a few of everything. Each animal does different things in the farm ecosystem.

I absolutely LOVE it!

Frank and Fern said...

Great comparison, Leigh. Another plus is the pigs taste better!

Fern

Mama Pea said...

AH-MAZE-ING!! A picture is worth a thousand words. (Or in this case, two pictures are worth two thousand words?)

Renee Nefe said...

It sure looks as if your pigs are happy!
Does this mean you might sell the plow for pig power?

Harry Flashman said...

The pigs have a lot more personality than a machine.

Leigh said...

Barb, I so agree. I am definitely not anti-technology, but the problem seems to be that folks are overly enamored with it, to the point where the best of knowledge and skills are on the verge of being lost!

Fern, LOL. Excellent point!

Mama Pea, too true. If I had tried to explain it without pictures, I wonder how many folks wouldn't have believed me?!?!

Renee, I doubt we'll ever do away with the plow completely, but we are moving in that direction. Once we can get a decent pasture established, I can see simply reseeding annually in pig plowed spots.

Harry, another simple but profound truth!

Woolly Bits said...

can I borrow yours for a week or two? looks like they're living a perfect veggie patch - just a bit of raking and the work could start:) and they don't need costly petrol either - assuming they make less of a racket than the machine plow as well... the smell, well, I always think that natural is never as bad as chemical:)

Unknown said...

Good little worker pigs :)

Ed said...

So how many pigs per acre per day? Just trying to figure out a larger scale operation.

Leigh said...

Bettina, just make sure the humans have gotten all the veggies they want out of that patch!

Nancy, it's a delight to watch them work. Then when they see me, they come running up with their dirty little snouts, wanting a scratch on the cheek.

Ed, very good question! I think it would take two quite awhile, plus they'd have to be contained to focus on one section at a time. They do tend to be a bit sporadic in their efforts. :)

Anonymous said...

That looks fabulous Leigh! I can't wait to get my pigs next spring :) I actually met someone local the other day who had American Guinea's. Going to have to find out where she got hers.

http://caffeinatedhomestead.weebly.com/blog

Izzy said...

Our pigs have done a much better job of turning over the dirt. We actually cleaned out our chicken run (it's been sitting for a year now) and placed it in the garden in piles. We currently have our little piglets in the area until they get bigger and they've done a spectacular job of flattening out the piles and rooting out the remaining weeds and tall grasses. They are great little machines, and besides they like to stay busy.

Unknown said...

So funny! : )

Leigh said...

Stephanie, that's great news about a n AGH source! I know all the weeds you've had to face getting your place established, and agree pigs would be perfect helpers!

Izzy, great ideas. I'm seeing that we need to do some rearranging of the barnyard and garden to accommodate the pigs like that! And it's so true that they like to stay busy. All animals do. We'll except perhaps goats, who would much prefer to lounge around and be served hay and grain all day. :)

Rebecca, it is so much fun to watch them. The get their entire bodies into it. And they do such a fantastic job. We just need the means to direct the pig tilling, something we're working on.

Leah said...

I seem to think that animals can do many things way better then we mere humans think we can manage. After all animals have been doing their thing for longer then we have!