Old field... to garden?

[couchsachraga]

Just below my barn is an old field. It's been a grassy field for decades, it started growing in with alder, willow, and red osher a bit about a two decades ago until I started mowing it again, first with an old Farmall Cub and cycle bar and then with a brush hog. It is a bit damp in spots at times (borders a stream), and the grass root system is very well developed. Good soil (well, for the Adirondacks!), no clay, definitely some rocks (some larger than others...)

I'd like to plant some corn and pumpkins there, nothing super elaborate, and a good distance from the stream (and really wet spots). Maybe 40x100 +-.

I have a Troy Built Rototiller I used to till my gardens up with - but it would take many, many passes to turn field in to garden. I have covered over a good 40x40 patch with a tarp this winter to start loosening things up though.

I also have a 60hp tractor (Deere 4520).

So... what implement would be most economical to help turn the field in to plantable garden? Yes, I could purchase a 60 or 72" tiller, but for the little use it would see I'm not sure it is worth the investment. I don't mind using one implement to get things started, then follow up with my Troy Built later if that's the best way to go.

I've tried reading up on different mold board plows, etc... but all I get is confused.

I do have quite a few implements already, but they are mostly earth-working (roads) - back blade, box blade, land plane and landscape rake to name a few.

Thank you for any ideas / suggestions!

 

[Ed of all trades]

If you try plowing and then your troy built I think you will find that it will be rough going. The plow will leave very rough ground for a tiller to follow. If you follow the plow with a disc it would be smother and you would not need the troy built, However if you buy a new plow and disc you have most likely paid for a 3ph tiller. You could also try a middle buster, but a 60hp tractor will pack the worked soil down pretty good and ........ I think with a 60 hp tractor you need a pto tiller or plow and disc.

 

[Don87]

A potato plow(middle buster), and a one row cultivator will work well for you.

Like this: CountyLine® Middle Buster - 2128228 | Tractor Supply Company

And this: CountyLine® "C" Tine Cultivator, 1 Row - 2128139 | Tractor Supply Company

With a 60hp tractor, you may need a little heavier duty, but if you are careful they should work fine.

 

[Ted Summey]

If you are ruling out the 3 pt tiller, then a turning plow and a disc harrow are the way to go. Using a walk behind tiller on plowed land is difficult so the disc is the way to work the plowed land. Both the plow and disc could be borrowed from a neighbor if you don't have one or both. A heavy drag behind the disc will help break the soil up if worked at the right moisture content. The land plane might work.

You will want the spot turned as soon as possible to allow any remaining freeze-thaw and rain to break the soil up some.

 

[couchsachraga]

Oh I've got some time to think - we typically have snow on the ground through April. By mid to late may the ground should be dry enough to work. Planting in late may to the middle of June is the norm. I've seen it snow (and stick to the ground) at the end (25th) of June before...

Thank you for the replies... I'll take a look at those suggestions... and perhaps rethink a 3ph tiller if I can't find used middle buster and C tine cultivators around.

 

[jenkinsph]

Is there any place you can rent a tiller or maybe have someone till it for you? I have a couple of retired neighbors and till up their garden plots free each year.

 

[couchsachraga]

Not that i know of... locally I'm one of the ones tilling gardens for retired neighbors... but that's with the Troy Bilt "horse", not a 3ph mounted tiller. It IS tempting to get one though, I must admit, though I"m not really sure how much use it would get unless I went looking for gardens... and that would require trailering.

I am wondering if just using the rippers on the Land Plane for a bunch of passes, then a bunch of passes with a cultivator might do the trick. It might be amusing using the cultivator with some corn for a bit too. I'm not likely to weed this particular garden, I have two others that are my "serious" gardens. My goal is really to grow some nice pumpkins for my kids and their friends, as well as get some of the corn out of my other gardens.

 

[Don87]

I would want to turn the ground fairly deep before putting the cultivator to it, otherwise it will break the tines on the cultivator. That's why I suggested the middle buster first.

TripleR has used this method succesfully, and although I tried it here, I just couldn't get the ground broken up enough for my liking(although I could have planted the way it was).

So I purchased a tiller.

 

[2458n]

A disc will run over the rocks without tearing up a plow.I would put some weight on a disc and make as many passes as needed for your seed bed. You said it with the; work with what you've got. Three point tillers get real pricey around spring.

 

[jenkinsph]

When I bought the 4520 cab back in 2009 I also picked up the 673 tiller and 1072 field cultivator (6ft). While waiting for this to arrive I built an 8ft landplane and spiked tooth harrow. I have used most of the arrangements you speak of and would say the tiller definately works the best. I have played with the cultivator a little but really would rather have my money back. I also have a new one row cultivator that I haven't assembled yet, so the jury is still out on it. I would say that this isn't a job the cultivators are designed for at any rate.

I would recommend a tiller or disk for this work as the best choice. If I had to use rippers on a landplane or boxblade initially then smoothing out the ground with a roller might help enough that you could use the Troybilt tiller. I think it would be tough to do though. I really think you would be better off doing more investigating to see if someone is available to till it for you.

 

[PeterK]

Here in Maine as well as in your neck OTW, Springtime is the best time to remove sod because the frost pushes it loose from the soil. It pretty easy to rip up a big section just after the snow and when the ground is still a little frosty. Trouble is that when you remove the sod, up comes any topsoil attached to the roots. So put it aside so that you can remove the field grass and roots once it dries a bit. Too cold to till for a while so I pile on the compoast and manure (all you really need for great pumpkins!) until things dry enough to till.

Hope this helps your approach, works for me!

 

[radioman]

well -- I was in your shoes the first time I setup the garden and destroyed the walk behind. Now I have a 3pt tiller and its the cats meow- Just kinda wished I had it sooner. If budget is really a concern - a middle buster will do it and its really not that expensive. In fact -- if you have metal fab skills - you might be able to rig up a middle buster plow on one of your boxblade rippers shank.
Using your boxblade with one rippers down will act like a subsoiler and will break up the roots for sure, but you still need to turn over the sod so it can kill off whatever is growing on it before tilling.
using a 3pt tiller will save you many steps and can do it in one shot -- although you most likely will get roots wrapped around the shaft the first few times you use it in virgin soil. Its all about money and time..

 

[koamfps]

Hire someone to come flip the dirt for you then wok it up:2cents:

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

As you said it's existing sod/weeds, you need to either plow/disk or till. (plow and till would be my preference) You need something that will 'chop' up the sod. A cultivator won't do that.

 

[mikehaugen]

I did my 40x80 garden with an Ariens 7020 rear tine tiller. It only took 3 (maybe 4) passes until I had the tines buried. Took me about 4 hours total. I think the horse is probably a heavier tiller and would be even better. This was in sod that had been a corn field probably 4 or 5 years prior, but still pretty compacted. The first year will be the worst, but after that it should be better, especially if you do it at the end of the season as well.

Last year I tried my 2 bottom moldboard and went over it with a pulverizer to smooth it out. It worked ok, and made the tilling easier. This year I plowed in the fall, and am waiting till spring to go over with the pulverizer if I even need to- looks like the weather has smoothed it out pretty well so far, we'll see. Then again, this winter has been strange, a lot of freeze-thaw cycles, snow... rain... snow and whatever.

 

[vtsnowedin]

The best thing as far as the soil preparation goes would be to roll it over with a plow. It puts the sod upside down where it rots releasing all the nutrients in the decaying root mass without killing all the worms or greatly decreasing the beneficial bacteria in the soil. A tiller chops up the weed plants into thousands of pieces and leaves plenty of them at the right depth to sprout up over night. Also Adirondack soil (read rocks with a few bits of earth in between) can be very hard on tiller teeth in new ground where you have no idea where the big ones are. A two bottom plow is probably as far as you should go and a one bottom might save time and do a better job as when you hit a rock with a two bottom it messes up two furrows for a one furrow rock. Play with your plow adjustments until you get them right and get a full roll over of the fresh sod with little or any grass showing in the finished work. Then let it dry till it will crumble when kicked and go over it with a disk harrow until you have a good seed bed. Probably need to harrow in some lime at that time depending on the soil test. Don't worry if it isn't perfect as next year you can roll it over again and getting a good job in old ground is much easier. And of course you will have picked out a lot of those rocks the plow found with your loader and won't have to deal with them again. Oh one last thing. Potatoes love to grow in fresh sod from new ground.

 

[crazyal]

Can you weld and do you own a welder? I'm seriously thinking of using the ripping shanks from a box blade/ grading scraper for the first few passes on virgin soil. I was just going to make a copy of the 4"x4" thick wall tube that holds the rippers to my scraper. It would be simple to make, cheap, and would handle the rocks better than a plow, disc, or tiller.

 

[couchsachraga]

Have I welded? Yes. Would I say I can? No! I've used a friends welder a few times now (stick), but keep threatening to get a MIG for all number of projects I have.

I'm going to ask around and see if anyone has a 3ph tiller, or if any of the rental places do (doubtful I'm sure), then ask around for old middle busters and subsoilers and such. Not much turning up right now, but we're a few months away from spring, so most of them are likely under a foot or more of snow.

 

[bigtiller]

Have I welded? Yes. Would I say I can? No! I've used a friends welder a few times now (stick), but keep threatening to get a MIG for all number of projects I have.

I'm going to ask around and see if anyone has a 3ph tiller, or if any of the rental places do (doubtful I'm sure), then ask around for old middle busters and subsoilers and such. Not much turning up right now, but we're a few months away from spring, so most of them are likely under a foot or more of snow.

Do a search on Craigs List. As time gets closer to planting, more and more adds will show up for hiring someone to till gardens. Your little 40x40 will be a breeze for a guy that knows what he is doing, and it will be easy on your pocket book.