- Home
- Companies
- Earth & Turf Products, LLC
- Products
- Model 320 - Vineyard Special
Model 320 -Vineyard Special
The Earth & Turf Model 320 Vineyard Special mulch spreader features a compact size with “slimmed down” frame and axle assembly. Making it the perfect package for vineyards, orchards, and row crops with narrow rows. Measuring only 42 in. from wheel-to-wheel and 45 in. at the widest point of the light material sides, the Vineyard Special mulch spreader will fit perfectly between narrow rows. With its standard light material side it will carry an impressive capacity of 2 cubic yards of topdressing (maximum load weight 3,000 lbs.). You will be able to spend less time loading and more time spreading with one of our 320 mulch spreaders. The Model 320 Vineyard Special features a specially designed side-to-side spread beater, to distribute material only to the left and right as the unit is pulled between rows. Maximum spread width is 72 inches. An optional beater attachment assures an even spread of material across the rows.
Beater and apron belt are driven by tractor hydraulics for maximum spreading flexibility.
Materials commonly spread by the Vineyard Special include: compost, topdressing materials, mulch, and wood chips.
The Vineyard Special is built on the platform of the MultiSpread™ 320 with the ground-drive upgraded to the hydraulic drive.
The Vineyard Special mulch spreader is used mainly by vineyards, orchards, and Christmas Tree Farms to spread compost along rows.
Our patented “Widespread Beater” is designed to spread a variety of wet or dry materials up to 60″ wide.
A 23-inch wide belt PVC belt delivers material evenly and smoothly to the “widespread beater.”
The rear shroud is adjustable in four different positions to maximize or control the spread pattern.
The belt is easily adjustable by loosening four nuts on the conveyor roller slide on each side and then adjusted by using a single bolt and nut system on each side.
The Earth & Turf Model 320 Vineyard Special is especially useful in spreading compost in vineyards, the benefits of which are explained in detail in an article entitled “Compost and Mulch – Investing in vineyard health” by Christy Porter, California Integrated Waste Management Board, Sacramento, CA, that appeared in WINEGROWING magazine, November/December, 1998.
A few brief excerpts from that article will explain:
“Will Bakx, a soil scientist for Sonoma Compost in Petaluma, CA, produces high-quality compost from urban yard trimmings. Many vineyard managers who apply compost and mulch after harvest are finding these products to be useful components of their vineyard floor management program. While some vineyard managers purchase these soil amendments, others make their own compost from grape pomace. Either way compost and mulch are products that result from recycling materials that might otherwise be wasted. As many communities collect yard trimmings at the curb to reduce organic materials going to landfills, these materials are being transformed into valuable soil amendments by producers such as Bakx. Growers and researchers alike are discovering the benefits of these recycled soil amendments.”
“After three consecutive years, the study at Robert Mondavi Winery’s Tokolon Z block found that blocks with compost applied had increased yields of up to 0.9 tons per acre, while the fruit quality remained the same. Application rates for the study ranged from two to eight tons per acre with the 0.9 tons per acre increase in yield occurring in the eight-tons-per-acre treatment. Cost of the compost at $24 per ton applied at Tokolon was recovered by an increased yield valued at $1,350 per acre. Since the trial ended in 1995, about four tons per acre of compost has been applied annually to 20 acres.”