Starting a new garden plot from scratch

[bp fick]

So at what size do people switch from raised bed gardening to row? I started out my garden with a tractor and plow, but after a few years I switched to raised beds and can't see ever wanting to go back. I found I could grow significantly more in just 40% of the row gardening area. My garden is only about 50X50 now. I'm sure there must be a point where if I wanted to go bigger, I'd have to abandon beds though. Anyone do raised beds in over an acre graden? Do it depend of the crops you want to grow?

You can accomplish much of the same benefits that one gets from raised beds by using a hipper to raise a bed, out in the field, but without the timbers and such. You can also plant intensively, which might mean planting onions, for example, 4 or 6 wide, cabbages double wide, instead of planting them in a single file row.

Since I have over 5 acres, I don't worry about concentrating or being overly intensive. One still needs room to walk through to weed, hoe, pick, etc. But, if I were trying to produce as much as possible in a limited amount of space, I'd be very intensive.

 

[bp fick]

Gardening is a life long passion and endeavor. One is always interviewing and exchanging ideas with others who are successful, reading, experimenting, observing, noting, and researching. One will never know it all.

 

[charlz]

So at what size do people switch from raised bed gardening to row? I started out my garden with a tractor and plow, but after a few years I switched to raised beds and can't see ever wanting to go back. I found I could grow significantly more in just 40% of the row gardening area. My garden is only about 50X50 now. I'm sure there must be a point where if I wanted to go bigger, I'd have to abandon beds though. Anyone do raised beds in over an acre graden? Do it depend of the crops you want to grow?

I don't think you would have to abandon raised beds. For my raised bed area I use 'drive on' raised beds which are just permanent built-up beds. In between is grass that I mow. I have a buried header pipe from my irrigation system that has a stub to each bed. I connect drip to the stub and run lines down the beds. I just drive right down them and till them with my 4ft tiller when it is time to till. Over the years they have spread out some so I use a hipper of sorts to pull the dirt back in. This seems pretty effective if I do it in the fall and then come planting time I run the tiller down them which puts them right back into a bed. This helps keep the grass between the rows from growing into the beds.

I started all this when I had a walk-behind tiller to cut down on the sqft that I needed to till. Now that I have a tractor tiller it may not be as much of a benefit as I could till between the rows. One advantage though is when pumpkins etc grow off the beds into the grass I can't mow and the grass gets tall. If I was tilling between rows this space would grow weeds and weed seeds once I was unable to till it.

If you got real large then weeding would be a huge problem. Some switch to raised beds with plastic mulch that is put down by a tractor attachment. I have tried some plastic mulch and it is real nice to not have to weed those beds all season.

 

[NorTracNY]

Interesting. bp_fick is right that you learn different things along the way. I never plow because of the compaction. I also don't have hard sides to my beds. I just go through in the spring when the ground is still wet with a flat shovel to quickly reform them. What I'm finding though is that I need to get a broad fork. Even though they are now walked on, and they are loaded with worms, I still need to help relieve some of the natural compaction that is occurring.

Since switching to the raised beds, I have considered some of what charlz mentioned. If I spaced out my beds to put my mower between them, I wouldn't have to put down the paper/straw in the paths. The one drawback is that the garden is fenced to keep the deer out and it probably would be a bigger pain to move the fence and put in the required additional space. I have rows of raspberries in that 60% of the space of the original row garden and find the weedeater is easier than opening the fence for the mower.

 

[Davee]

So at what size do people switch from raised bed gardening to row? I started out my garden with a tractor and plow, but after a few years I switched to raised beds and can't see ever wanting to go back. I found I could grow significantly more in just 40% of the row gardening area. My garden is only about 50X50 now. I'm sure there must be a point where if I wanted to go bigger, I'd have to abandon beds though. Anyone do raised beds in over an acre graden? Do it depend of the crops you want to grow?

I don't think you ever have to give up raised beds as they offer so many benefits. However, going with a hybrid approach using the raised beds for some crops plus open fields for land intensive items such as corn, wheat, etc. I am up to six raised beds each about 4 x 20 feet.

 

[Triguy1]

Sometimes those things are "dual" purpose. You just change out the tip. Mine is that way. Use it with a narrow blade and it is a sub soiler, put the wide spade on it and it's a middle buster.

I'm just guessing, but I"ll bet you could put more of a spade on it.

I was able to find a sweep on eBay that looks like it will fit the sub soiled. I was also finally able to find a 38in used till that was not beat to pulp, actually saved me money over new and was not 5 hours away (only 1 1/2 hrs). That was way more difficult than I thought it would be.

Thanks for the help,

Jon

 

[Taylortractornut]

I have an old 1400 Yanmar tiller for my 3000 yanmar I love it. I made a few attachments fir it to. It had gauge wheels on the back, They were bad and I dont use them so on there mount I made a small 1 1/4 inch reciever hitch to the mount the wheels attached to in the center. I had an old Merry fronttine tiller footh that looks like a small middle buster. I mount this in the back to lay off rows for potatos or make a deep forrow for late corn.


I also have a bar that bolts on the smoothing flap that has a few different 1x1 angle irons that make a few tiny furrows for lettuce seed, and other small crops that I use a wide row method on.

On our market crops of squash and zuccini we didnt even have to cultivate any this year. It was pretty dry at first. We ran the planter deep on a 30 inch row with a six hole plate. THat put the seeds at about 8 inches apart. We ran the water truck past the garden and watered them in. The moisture stayed in the furrow and left the plants come up and thrive off the water during the dry. The weeds came up and the dry weather let them go slowly. By that time the squash pants were shading them out. and touched row to row. THey held the better to this way.

If you can get wheatstraw pretty reasonable get a few bales and spread out around the cucumber vines to and that saves the moisture and weeding and also keeps the fruits clean.

 

[TigerfaninAR]

. The one drawback is that the garden is fenced to keep the deer out and it probably would be a bigger pain to move the fence and put in the required additional space. .

Any info you have on your deer fence, pics? I have to get one built and have seen many ways to go.

 

[edmartin]

I've been thinking of getting a one row cultivator, like at TSC or others, to use with the tractor. Anyone have experience with these and the job they do at weed control? This will be the third year and I'm still fighting weeds big time.

 

[bp fick]

I've been thinking of getting a one row cultivator, like at TSC or others, to use with the tractor. Anyone have experience with these and the job they do at weed control? This will be the third year and I'm still fighting weeds big time.

Yes, I have the King Kutter sold at TSC. I like the implement much more as a field cultivator than a row cultivator. With the cultivator behind you on a 3 pt, it is more difficult than having the cultivator down at your feet, like in the old days with a Massey or a Cub.

 

[bp fick]

Any info you have on your deer fence, pics? I have to get one built and have seen many ways to go.

I use the cheapo 3" landscaping timbers from HD or Lowes. They sell them in spring for $1.99. We have a ton of them. Some are 3 years old and look like new. We use the 7' poly deer netting. Must have a 1000 feet of it. It's light, easy to handle, easy to store and dead easy to put up and take down. We use zip ties. We choose not to have it up during the winter. I think I'll get around 5 years out of it, easy.

It sure works, and that's the best part. I wait to put it up in spring until prep work is done and take it down quick in fall, for field cleanup work.

I also make the row ends a huge "gate" if you will. I just open up the ends of the gardens and can go in and dig potatoes, cultivate or what have you. It is working well.

 

[Triguy1]

Yes, I have the King Kutter sold at TSC. I like the implement much more as a field cultivator than a row cultivator. With the cultivator behind you on a 3 pt, it is more difficult than having the cultivator down at your feet, like in the old days with a Massey or a Cub.

I have been thinking that that would be a useful item to add to my arsenal. My wife thinks that I am crazy for getting all these implements before I have even scratched the ground.

Bp, I noticed that you said that you do organic. That is my intended route. Do you have a recommendation for organic seeds for a start up?

 

[TigerfaninAR]

We use the 7' poly deer netting. Must have a 1000 feet of it. It's light, easy to handle, easy to store and dead easy to put up and take down. We use zip ties. It is working well.

Mind me asking where you got your netting? What I've seen online looks in the 300 dollar range for 7' by 330ft. If that's the price, so be it, but looks steep.

 

[Triguy1]

Thanks to 60 deg. Day, finally got the plot mowed down, and the first till done. Ground was still quite wet on half of the area. So I just made it twice as long...

 

[Taylortractornut]

Memphis net and twine has a great selection of netting. I have 330 feet of crop netting for my climbing crops but order early or it back orderes.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

Lots of good ideas / info in here.
We are starting year #3 of gardening. Broke the sod on a roughly 35 x 70 plot with the biggest walk behind tiller I could get my hands on that first year. Last spring we upped things with a tractor and some gardening implements (wife still give me a hard time for buying a tractor for HER brithday). We had trouble keeping the patatoes hilled up, so I just got a tool-bar and hiller discs settup to add to the collection.
We have had huge trouble with assorted critters eating everything since the garden is at the far end of the poperty with wood to each side (where they hide when not munching on our veggies). We have been researching the options on deer netting / versus electric and have decided to try the electric fence first. In order to put this up and still have room to work the tractor, I just spent today clearing back the brush to widen the clearing around the garden.

 

[easygo]

Great thread gents. Since it's about gardening and I love to talk garden I will put in my word. We have a long narrow garden due to the lay of land in the yard. The two tilled beds are 10'x90' each with a 3' permanent (untilled) path between them. The path gets covered with newspaper then with wood chips every 2-3 years to keep the weeds out. I have the whole area fenced in due to deer having a good time eating my salad. The way I resolved having permanent fence is with removable "panels" on the narrow sides. That way I can drive the tractor through the garden for spreading horse manure (fall) and compost (spring) as well as till it up. I make a single shallower pass with the tiller in the fall to mix in the manure and a two deeper passes in the spring to get the compost in and prep the soil for planting. I also make my own compost from horse manure, discarded hay, some grass clippings, and all the plants that come out of the garden. It is amazing how much stuff you can throw on the compost pile over a year an it "cooks" down to about 1/2 to 1/3 of the original volume. We use all organic methods as a personal preference. Do it for fun and to eat and give away to friends and neighbors and the local community center.

 

[F250DSLPWR]

Check out thebayougardener.com. Don has a great garden and posts really nice videos of gardening and also using implements to garden.

 

[bp fick]

I have been thinking that that would be a useful item to add to my arsenal. My wife thinks that I am crazy for getting all these implements before I have even scratched the ground.

Bp, I noticed that you said that you do organic. That is my intended route. Do you have a recommendation for organic seeds for a start up?

Johnny's Seed.

 

[bp fick]

Mind me asking where you got your netting? What I've seen online looks in the 300 dollar range for 7' by 330ft. If that's the price, so be it, but looks steep.

$69 a 100' roll at Home Depot. That would equate to $250 a 330 ft roll.

A necessary cost of doing business in a deer infested area.