Patent ID: 7753133

Claim:
A method of converting a row crop cultivator into an apparatus for fracturing a crust on a field planted in rows, the method comprising: providing a row crop cultivator having a main beam having a plurality of gangs attached thereto and wherein the gangs comprise a plurality of spring shanks and a plurality of disc openers attached to the cultivator and having a tilling shovel attached to each spring shank and comprising a tool bar attached to the main beam; removing the plurality of disc openers and the plurality of spring shanks with the tilling shovels from each gang; attaching a plurality of crust penetrating units to the tool bar wherein each of the crust penetrating units comprises a plurality of discs non-rotatably attached to an axle that is supported by a support of the crust penetrating unit and wherein each disc comprises a plurality of spaced apart teeth about a perimeter of each disc and wherein the teeth comprise convex surfaces and concave surfaces that converge to distal ends and wherein as the plurality of discs rotate the distal ends and the convex surfaces of the teeth and penetrate the crust to fracture the crust between the rows of the planted crops; and attaching a coil spring to the support wherein the coil spring urges the support downward.