THIS IMPLEMENT IS NOW BEING BUILT BY TWO BAD CATS, LLC IN VERMONT. Two Bad Cats, LLC offers bed lifters as DIY kits as well as finished implements and has added some useful inovations to the tool. Contact them through their website: www.twobadcatsllc.com about halfway down this page: https://www.twobadcatsllc.com/index_files/store.htm
The Bed Lifter (also referred to as an Undercutter Bar) is remarkably effective. It dramatically loosens up the soil above it as the blade passes below. For example, to harvest carrots after running the lifter down a bed, simply pull gently on the carrot tops and lay the carrots on the bed; Carrots just lift out of the soil. It can be used with carrots, parsnips, onions, garlic, sweet potatoes (need to clear the vines), etc. It is not recommended for potatoes since lifting the plant tops will not usually lift the potatoes from the ground.
Mounted on 3 point hitch
Carrots pulled after single pass
"The bed lifter worked fantastic for us. We not only used it in the carrots, but in the parsnips and sweet potatoes as well. …. We had some parsnips that were probably 18 inches and we didn't have any issues with the undercutter damaging the root. The cutter also allowed us to harvest and get our sweet potatoes put into storage in record time. Never have we flown through the sweet potatoes like that. …. Thanks for the great product!" -LF
"The Huckins bed lifter has become an essential tool on my farm. It has greatly increased the speed of harvest on our carrot, parsnip, leek, celeriac and sweet potato crops. The bed lifter is easy to attach and use, and is designed to undercut the soil at whatever depth is needed. I highly recommend it!" -GA
"I loved using the bed lifter you made. Having never used one before, I was amazed at how rapidly we could harvest root crops. I found it quite easy to set up and adjust as well. … Overall, I could not be more pleased with the tool. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone. Simple, rugged, and very easy to use. I cannot imagine growing roots in any quantity without it." -EB
"Brian’s bed lifter is a solidly built implement. We use it primarily for carrots, garlic, and parsnips. It makes harvesting these crops much more efficient than using garden forks." -ZP
These are custom built to width. The width of the frame is the width of the outer-most planted rows plus about 12 inches. 3-foot-width is made to category I three point hitch, all larger are made to category II. The bed lifter is very sturdy and has extra reinforcement at high stress points. It also includes an accessory to allow the tool to be set for deep running while still being able to pick it up high enough for travel. A rule of thumb for determining if a tractor will pull the tool is to figure 10 HP per foot of width and a 4 wheel drive tractor (recommended). This will vary with soil type; heavy rocky soil might take more. A 2 wheel drive tractor requires more than 10 HP per foot, simply because the weight of the larger tractor is needed; it's really about traction more than horsepower.
Thanks to Waltham Fields Community Farms for requesting this device and for supporting experimentation needed to get this working.