How to plant a garden?

[JDGreenGrass]

I know, it seems like a simple thing. But like a lot of things, simpler said than done. And if I'm going to try it, I'd like to do a competent job, or at least grow something edible.

I have a Kubota BX and a Mitsubishi MT372. No plows, no tiller, no nothing for ground work. I DO have about an acre of open field, although it has not been worked in over 30 years that I know of. I still need to get a fence up and I've got one more tree to cut and get the stump out.

A tiller is out of the question right now. Unless I can run up on a screaming deal:laughing. Most likely I will get the fence up this year, get the tree out, buy the equipment I need, and get ready for next spring. Maybe even some late summer/fall crops. Cabbage and turnips and collards. YUMMY!!

Any help/advice would be appreciated.

Inch by inch
Row by row
I'm gonna make this garden grow

All it takes is a rake and a hoe
And a piece of fertile ground

Inch by inch
Row by row
Someone bless these seeds I sow

Come and warm them from below
'Til the rains come tumbling down

(And there is more from The Garden Song by Maine's own, Dave Mallett):thumbsup: Give it a listen while you are strung out in your hammock on the porch. Magical.

 

[bp fick]

Inch by inch
Row by row
I'm gonna make this garden grow

All it takes is a rake and a hoe
And a piece of fertile ground

Inch by inch
Row by row
Someone bless these seeds I sow

Come and warm them from below
'Til the rains come tumbling down

(And there is more from The Garden Song by Maine's own, Dave Mallett):thumbsup: Give it a listen while you are strung out in your hammock on the porch. Magical.

Great post.
Let me encourage all beginning gardeners, it's what I do, encourage gardening.

Let me also say that my scale and garden size (and age) kind of demands a Kubota and implements, but I gotta keep saying this. Get a walk behind roto tiller. I have a 25 year old B&S that I have used and used and it tills like new. I know we all love our tractors and toys, but I would never part with my 'lil tiller as it still so dang handy and useful, even with a tractor. You can buy a new one for $300, a rear tine for twice that, or a used one off Craigs for half that or less.

If you're young and strong, you could put in a 50x100 garden and never need anything more. I did it for years and years. That just needs to be said.

 

[richamor]

I remember young and strong! But at 56 the back just ain't what it used to be. I ain't complaining, but it is what it is. I built 2 of the 4" square foot gardens today and we're gonna put the soil in tomorrow.

And bp, I love the picture.

 

[Don87]

A middle buster, and a one row cultivator will get you started ( my hard Pennsylvania ground turned out "ok"). Just keep working the ground.

Find some sort of tiller to use between the rows(I use a Stihl, and an unkown brand).

And BP...............There ain't no way, in this life or any other............that you or any one else will ever see me using a front tine tiller, to cultivate the amount of ground that you are. Call me lazy, or whatever, ..............but I bought my tractor and tiller for quite a few reasons..........and they are all in your pictures.

I commend your enthusiasm though.

And keep pushing the 'home gardening'........I try to get new people into it all the time. As well as 'home canning'..........It ain't that hard, and the benefits are astronomical.

 

[bp fick]

A middle buster, and a one row cultivator will get you started ( my hard Pennsylvania ground turned out "ok"). Just keep working the ground.

Find some sort of tiller to use between the rows(I use a Stihl, and an unkown brand).

And BP...............There ain't no way, in this life or any other............that you or any one else will ever see me using a front tine tiller, to cultivate the amount of ground that you are. Call me lazy, or whatever, ..............but I bought my tractor and tiller for quite a few reasons..........and they are all in your pictures.

I commend your enthusiasm though.

And keep pushing the 'home gardening'........I try to get new people into it all the time. As well as 'home canning'..........It ain't that hard, and the benefits are astronomical.

Hey Don,
Back in the day, when the body was young and strong and I was poor, my friend, but no more. Still, a high quality rear tine tiller or 2 wheel tractor is still able to do an amazing amount and is much easier on the arms and back. Even the old front tine tiller still has it's place. (just rarely)

You are also spot on with a middle buster/cultivator combo being about all one needs to get going. A 3 pt tiller would be great and little gang disk would be nice, but if you time your ground work to ground moisture just right, soil will work up fine with MB/cultivator combo and you don't have but $450 in the package. Plus, both tools have additional uses.

A couple years of compost into that soil and it'll work up so much easier and fluff right up for you.

Don't let money stop you from getting started. Use what you have and get going!!!

 

[bigdad]

A KK middle buster is only about $120-150 and will open up a nice patch and give you actual rows that you can use this year plus you can harvest your potatoes with it using your tractor!

Get a Middle buster this year and rip up what you want for a garden. Spend this year prepping and go for it next year. That'll kill the weed seeds and sod etc for the big one next year.

This year plant you tomatoes in black or red visquene plastic. The heat generated under the plastic will make the tomatoes thrive, hold the moisture and kill all the weed seeds, bugs and sod. Only way to fly!

BD

 

[MMH]

...You are also spot on with a middle buster/cultivator combo being about all one needs to get going...

I have teh middle buster & a cultivatoris not that expensive. So, If I would make a couple of passes w/ the middle buster, then go thru w/ a couple of passes would the soil be ready to plant? I'm in western PA, and have heavy clay. The soils not been worked before & has grass on it now.

Also, is the cultivator used to keep the weeds down? I have enough room/land I would want to plant it like a farm and not a garden where I would have to be out every week weeding by hand.

Any recommended reading on how to get started on this type of gardening would be appreciated!

 

[radioman]

many of the posters here are saying same thing I am gonna say-
Get a middle buster or tiller for your tractor. middle buster is faster, cheaper, but tiller does a really nice job. Since your have a feild that was worked before, you may not encounter as many rocks , but will encounter some. Keep the rows between plants wider then tractor, makes it easier to weed with tractor.

Plant want you know you like eating. potatoes is one of the easiest thing to grow. after your first year of planting , you will know what you need to change next year after you see your plants grow with pride! :thumbsup:

 

[bp fick]

I have teh middle buster & a cultivatoris not that expensive. So, If I would make a couple of passes w/ the middle buster, then go thru w/ a couple of passes would the soil be ready to plant? I'm in western PA, and have heavy clay. The soils not been worked before & has grass on it now.

Also, is the cultivator used to keep the weeds down? I have enough room/land I would want to plant it like a farm and not a garden where I would have to be out every week weeding by hand.

Any recommended reading on how to get started on this type of gardening would be appreciated!

The problem with clay based dirt is that it is mostly that: dirt, not yet soil. You'll need organic material to loosen and fluff that clay. In this case, a tiller does the best job of fluffing. As you build more compost, leaves, manure, straw, sawdust, etc, into that soil, it will breathe and not turn into brick so easily.

Clay is tricky to work to prevent clods as hard as bricks. Worked too dry and it is tough as iron, worked too wet and it is a mess of sticky lumps. Wait until the soil is on the drier side. I'd rather work on it dry than wet. Your main objective now is to be stock piling all the composting material you can get your hands on for working into the soil, whenever conditions are dry enough for you to so.

To prevent weeds from taking over a new garden, plant with thatch, plastic rolled out and pinned down, straw mulch, or anything that smothers the weeds. Who knows? Your garden spot may not be all that weedy. You never know.

A cultivator does more than clean weeds. It's main purpose is to oxygenate the soil and allow for root gas exchange. It also keeps the soil receptive to taking in rain moisture, rather than just pooling on a hard surface.

Your township public library will have a selection of great books for free checkout. I like the ones with lots of pictures. :thumbsup:

 

[bp fick]

many of the posters here are saying same thing I am gonna say-
Get a middle buster or tiller for your tractor. middle buster is faster, cheaper, but tiller does a really nice job. Since your have a feild that was worked before, you may not encounter as many rocks , but will encounter some. Keep the rows between plants wider then tractor, makes it easier to weed with tractor.

Plant want you know you like eating. potatoes is one of the easiest thing to grow. after your first year of planting , you will know what you need to change next year after you see your plants grow with pride! :thumbsup:

Excellent!!!!!!!!