are you speaking of a regular sized 42" lawn tractor? I woudl be interest in something like that too but I think they only make them for the large tractors. How about rigging a back pack sprayer and use a pony tank of compressed air. Then rig a spray system with misters and pvc. I think that might be the route.

This is something I'm really trying to get my Dad into, since he has a 3 or so acre field on this high point of his mostly wooded property which he hasn't figured out what to do with. Right now he's more concerned about building his house, but next year he'll be more entusiastic about the great things he can do with this plot and his JD 265. There are a lot of uncommon attachments still available fairly reasonable on eBay. My purchases which have arrived at Dad's doorstep over the past two months include a NOS Deere sleeve hitch for $75, a Brinly used-once disc harrow for $100, and a NOS Brinly furrower for $35, and a Brinly back blade for $100 (for landscaping around the house). I lost two auctions for bottom plows, one I bid $155 and the other $170. I think they cost around $300 new. Both went for about $5 more than I bid. I think it's getting a little late in the year for planting anyway, so I guess I'll put off the bargain hunt until the fall when I should get some better deals. As far as I can tell from the minimal sources I've found on the Internet, I'd imagine the process should go something like this: 1) cut the brush down. A bush hog is best but I would think a belly-mower fully raised would cut if it's not thick, woody growth. 2) till up the soil I'd expect a bottom plow would use less gas, and probably be quicker than a tractor-mounted tiller, although the tiller would fluff the soil more and decrease the need for discing. 3) disc the soil My inexperienced guess would be to use two disc harrows in tandem, one facing in and one facing out, weighted down with cinder blocks 4) furrow the soil Either use a set of furrowers (I think the Brinly furrowers use the same frame as the cultivator tines). 5) sow the seeds I guess for some crops like alfalfa you'd just use a broadcast spreader, but corn, peppers, or most others would require the use of a planter, which I've seen selling for $250+ and don't seem to be available from Brinly or Agri-fab anymore. 6) use the furrower or disc harrow to cover the seed If using tandem discs, I'd have both turned inward. 7) sip some lemonade and watch the crop grow 8) after a few months, cultivate between the rows to eliminate weeds and aerate the soil I guess you can use the disc cultivator or tine cultivator, driving directly over the plants. Once the plants are more than 6" I guess you'd use your Troy-bilt walk-behind tiller unless you left a space between rows wide enough for your tractor. 9) cultivate again a few months later 10) harvest the crop I don't know of any garden tractor attachments (other than a Haban sickle bar--no longer in production) which would facilitate harvesting. I haven't found ANYTHING that really goes step-by-step regarding what you need to do to use your tractor to increase garden productivity. So for davidandkasie and windcatcher, if you could offer any details, timelines, or corrections to my conception above, it would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry, ducati996 for delay in responding : Parts of the lawns are not perfectly smooth and have rocks scattered thru out...part of the CT landscape look. Others are very smooth and manicured looking. Some are sloped and a bit hilly. It's definitely lawn, not a pasture with an irrigation system thru out. I have a John Deere 955 (diesel) with a 70a Bucket loader... I also have a 413 Rotary Cutter for it. I was told this was mainly a brush cutter for mowing down a field or pasture and in the 7 years I've been here, it's never been used. I don't think the John Deere would be good due to it's size and manueverablity...bronze sculptures, trees, rocks, slopes, and slightly rolling lawns. The Gravely 50" Promaster has been a great machine but I wanted to investigate other options. I know I'm looking at a $10-15k investment so I want to make sure I make the right choice. When I talk to the tractor salesmen, they of course want to sell me their machine whether it's the best or not :P Thanks so much for all your input :)

Thanks for all the follow up guys. I read all your comments, 3 & 4 times, and then went ahead and ordered the Craftsman anyway. I couldn't overlook the 9 good years I remembered with it and couldn't get past the $2K extra for the Simplicity. Well I ordered the tractor on a Thursday and it couldn't be delivered until the following Monday as Sears was out of stock, On Monday I got a call from them that there was a delay and I couldn't get it until Wednesday. On Wednesday I got a call that it wouldn't be delivered until Friday. As I had taken the afternoon off from work that day to accept the delivery, I had some time to reflect on some of the tractor's past issues like its problem with leaves in the fall. Every year, because of its design, leaves would get caught in the frame and would come into contact with the muffler and catch fire. I started blowing the leaves separately each year to avoid that, but eventually the tractor caught fire at some point anyway. Usually I could just clear it out with a stick, but last year, the fire was so big, I had to run to the house to get a fire extinguisher before the fuel lines ruptured. Strangely enough, although scarred, the damn thing kept running. Then there was the time that a delivery truck pulled into the driveway while I was mowing and surprised me. I shut the engine off too quickly and was rewarded with the loudest backfire I'd ever heard. About 20 minutes later I tried to restart it, but it just turned over without catching. After a couple of hours I tried again and it fired up. From that point on, it would start only when cool, but as soon as it heated up, the engine would die and not restart until it cooled off sufficiently. So I called out the trusty Sears repairman who, after much headscratching, told me I needed a new carburator for only $350. I'm fairly handy and the facts and diagnosis just didn't match up, so I put him off while I thought about it. After much research and a talk with a great guy from a Massachusetts Koehler distributor, I finally determined that it was the ignition module that had gone bad and the backfire was probably unrelated and coincidental. I changed out the module and the tractor was back to normal. Had I allowed the Sears service guy to replace the carburator, I would have been out $350 and still scratching my head along with him. There are other stories, but life is short. By the time Sears called me the next day and rescheduled again for the following Monday, despite not being able to understand a single word the woman on the other end of the phone was saying, I had utterly changed my mind and cancelled the Craftsman. I called up a Simplicity dealer I had spoken to earlier and made a good deal with him and the Conquest 23/50 was delivered two days later, fresh out of the crate, prepped, primed, and ready to go. The delivery guy was also a repairmen and went through the whole tractor with me and even gave me some advise on the leaf blower I was having trouble with, which proved to correct the problem. I mowed the lawn that day with the new Conquest and it sliced through the 5 weeks of growth like a hot knife through butter. It didn't even hesitate and didn't leave one ragged spot on the lawn. It was great. I still don't know if it's worth an additional $2K. I guess only time will tell. But it's shiny and new and works like a charm. I have a great dealer to help me when I need it and I'm a very happy guy. As for the Craftsman, I'm not putting any money into it except to buy a used snow/dozer blade if I can find a cheap one. And since it won't seem to die, I'll plow snow with it until it does. Thanks for all your help. It's been an experience.