Best implement for 1/2 acre plot (2025)

rg006, I have some thoughts that I feel may be useful to you, because you are in the exact same boat I was in a year ago. I also use the exact same tractor, an L2501. I also now own both a disc harrow and a rototiller and have had experience using both in my garden, and in my initial application - wooded areas that had been cleared to plant grass seed. I used my tractor to essentially expand my yard by an acre or so. This required me to cut down a lot of trees, move all the logs, push all the tree tops into piles and burn, and then come back and grind all the stumps, harrow up the ground, and finally get grass seed planted. I did all of these tasks with the tractor, even the stump grinding with a PTO driven stump grinder. I am in Florida so I do not have the problem you do with big rocks in the ground, but in these wooded areas I was dealing with a lot of big roots, and of course once stumps were ground below the surface, I had to be aware because the rototiller could still catch them if going deep enough. Looking at your pictures there, with all those rocks, I would say a rototiller is not going to work well. Those are some big rocks in your pictures. You would beat a rototiller up trying to till in that if the rocks are that bad. I think a disc harrow is indeed the best option for you given the obstacles.

Given I knew id be dealing with rots and stuff I went first with a disc harrow. A coworker had one he sold me for little of nothing and it was nearly brand new. It was a Frontier DH1176. I had looked at the exact same tractor supply disc harrow you looked at. The Frontier harrow is a john deere brand, so it is green, but it is a much heavier duty disc harrow than the tractor supply option. Tractor supply disc harrows use angle iron framing, where more heavy duty options will be square tubular steel frame, which is much more rigid. This is the one consideration to make on a disc. The angle Iron may be a little flimsy, and its also not as heavy. The DH1176 I have is over 700lbs, and is 76 inches wide, so just over 6 feet. It is at the upper limit of what you would want to put on an L2501. Several on the forums here told me it was too big for the tractor, that I would struggle to pull it. Ive had no problems pulling it, though when it is fully berried and in its most aggressive angles it is a good load for the tractor. Running over roots or rocks with a disc is no big deal. It works great is these wooded areas to break the ground so I can get grass seed started.

So, if the disc works so well why did I go and also end up getting a rototiller? The disc will break ground just fine. You can 100% use it for gardening, and I have done so. You may have to take multiple passes but it will work. Where it falters for me was in my sandy soil, running a disc through it creates a lot of "trenches" and mounds, so its annoying sometimes to plant into it without first smoothing it back out. After dealing with this I just said I want a rototiller, so I went and got one. I got a 5 foot one, forward rotating, gear driven. This thing works beautifully in a garden, as expected. It leaves a nice level, fluffy bed. Nothing beats a rototiller for garden prep. My garden spot however is just straight sandy soil. No roots, no rocks. The rototiller also is a lot less strain on the tractor than pulling that big harrow. The choice in which tool I use now is 100% down to the ground I'm working in. If its rocks, roots, stumps, etc. you do not want to put a rototiller on it. It will just beat and bang and the slip clutch will just be slipping constantly.

Here is my little wood clearing setup, with the DH1176 Disc Harrow on the back: