What Is the Difference Between a Cultipacker & a Crowsfoot?

Crowsfoot

• The small hand-held gardening tool called a crowsfoot is usually constructed from a wooden handle attached to a metallic claw, which looks very much like the foot of a crow. Gardeners use these to turn up soil in preparation for planting.

Cultipacker

• A cultipacker is a large tool for farming, not home gardening. The central piece is a long metal rod with metallic wheels arranged along its length, able to roll along the ground. It's attached to another piece of metal that can be hitched to a tractor or other vehicle. The wheels are free to turn as the cultipacker is dragged over the ground. As the wheels turn, metallic teeth break up the soil.

Crowfoot Cultipacker

• The wheels on a crowfoot cultipacker leave crow-foot shaped impressions on the soil as they are dragged over it. This is suitable for preparing the soil for a number of crops, including wheat and alfalfa. The use of a cultipacker can prepare a large area for planting in a short period of time.

V-Cog

• Farmers might also use a cultipacker for other purposes than creating seed holes. In that case they wouldn't want to use a crowfoot cultipacker. A V-cog cultipacker looks similar, but instead of leaving small holes in the ground into which seeds are to be planted, this is used to flatten and settle the ground.