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Prepping for a new garden, how to start, and DIY implements?

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4thGen
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Tractors Owned: 1955 Farmall Cub

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Location: Manchester CT

Prepping for a new garden, how to start, and DIY implements?

Postby 4thGen » Mon Oct 24, 2016 1:31 pm

I've got around 15,000 s/f to prep for next year's garden - I'd like to do corn and some row crops like lettuce, carrots, & beans, and I have a '55 Cub w/ touch control that I can use. I do have a walk-behind seed planter, but aside from a big rolling drum I have no drag-behind implements to actually prep and maintain the soil. I've got the rear lift arm assembly and draw bar but beyond that I'm lost and don't know what implements I actually need.

I do have plenty of scrap metal and the ability to weld, but I'm not sure what to start with and what might be a wasted effort. What implements should I buy or make?

Single or double point plow?
Middle busters?
Hillers?
Spring toothed cultivators?

----edit to add
Level, slightly sandy soil with weeds (no sod). Approximately 200'x75'

----edit #2
This section was cultivated yearly from 1917-2008 (I'm the 4th generation) and tilled again around 2012


Thanks~ :tractor:
Last edited by 4thGen on Mon Oct 24, 2016 5:56 pm, edited 4 times in total.

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Jim Becker
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Re: Prepping for a new garden, how to start, and DIY impleme

Postby Jim Becker » Mon Oct 24, 2016 1:48 pm

Depends as much or more on where you are than where you want to be.

What kind of soil? sand? clay and rocks?

What is there now? sod? weeds? briers? tree stumps? trees?

Dimensions of the plot? long and narrow? near square?

Eugene
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Re: Prepping for a new garden, how to start, and DIY impleme

Postby Eugene » Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:13 pm

I would start out with only a couple hundred square feet of garden space. Expand the garden space next spring and summer.

I would herbicide, burn down next years proposed garden. It's getting a bit late in the year before the first frost, but you might have enough time for the herbicide to kill off the grass or weeds.

I have been sowing forage radish in my garden plots. Forage radish drills holes in the soil, brings up nutrients from deep in the soil, and provides a cover crop which kills off.

Opinion. Rather than buying implements to fit the Cub, I would spend the money on a heavy duty, quality tiller. Tiller can turn up the soil and can be used between vegetable rows to eliminate weeds.

Check with your local University Extension Office for recommendations. If you haven't visited the Univ. Extension office or on line, you will be surprised at the available information.
I have an excuse. CRS.

4thGen
5+ Years
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Posts: 47
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 6:32 pm
Zip Code: 06040
Tractors Owned: 1955 Farmall Cub

54A Blade
C22 Sickle mower
189 Two-way plow
59 Woods belly mower
Location: Manchester CT

Re: Prepping for a new garden, how to start, and DIY impleme

Postby 4thGen » Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:55 pm

Jim Becker wrote:Depends as much or more on where you are than where you want to be.

What kind of soil? sand? clay and rocks?

What is there now? sod? weeds? briers? tree stumps? trees?

Dimensions of the plot? long and narrow? near square?


Updated OP with this info:
Level, slightly sandy soil with some weeds (no sod). Approximately 200'x75'

Eugene wrote:I would start out with only a couple hundred square feet of garden space. Expand the garden space next spring and summer.

I would herbicide, burn down next years proposed garden. It's getting a bit late in the year before the first frost, but you might have enough time for the herbicide to kill off the grass or weeds.

I have been sowing forage radish in my garden plots. Forage radish drills holes in the soil, brings up nutrients from deep in the soil, and provides a cover crop which kills off.

Opinion. Rather than buying implements to fit the Cub, I would spend the money on a heavy duty, quality tiller. Tiller can turn up the soil and can be used between vegetable rows to eliminate weeds.

Check with your local University Extension Office for recommendations. If you haven't visited the Univ. Extension office or on line, you will be surprised at the available information.


I've got a 40'x40' garden next to the house and have outgrown it over the past few years :mrgreen:

I have a 2gallon hand/pump sprayer that I can use. I also have an old Troy Pony that can fit between rows, it's the initial prep of the ground, and hilling, that I'm not sure how best to accomplish

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Don McCombs
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Re: Prepping for a new garden, how to start, and DIY impleme

Postby Don McCombs » Mon Oct 24, 2016 4:19 pm

For the first year (and maybe several after that), I would recommend finding someone locally with a compact tractor and tiller to till up your new garden space. Then you can purchase whatever implements you determine you need after that. There is a forum member in your hometown that maintains a good sized garden and may also be helpful. Since I hesitate to volunteer anyone without their consent, hopefully he sees this post. :D
Don McCombs
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Eugene
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Re: Prepping for a new garden, how to start, and DIY impleme

Postby Eugene » Mon Oct 24, 2016 4:42 pm

Don McCombs wrote:For the first year (and maybe several after that), I would recommend finding someone locally with a compact tractor and tiller to till up your new garden space.
Don makes a good point. It's frequently less expensive to have someone prep the ground than to purchase the tools and equipment for the task(s).
I have an excuse. CRS.

ScottyD'sdad
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Re: Prepping for a new garden, how to start, and DIY impleme

Postby ScottyD'sdad » Mon Oct 24, 2016 5:15 pm

I wouldn't use a herbicide to kill the weeds. IF you go through the work to grow crops, you don't need to eat herbicides. We ingest enough of that stuff, in the foods we buy. We now have traces of Roundup, in our urine.
i agree with Don, about hiring the initial tilling or plowing, instead of buying implements, right away.
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4thGen
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Posts: 47
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 6:32 pm
Zip Code: 06040
Tractors Owned: 1955 Farmall Cub

54A Blade
C22 Sickle mower
189 Two-way plow
59 Woods belly mower
Location: Manchester CT

Re: Prepping for a new garden, how to start, and DIY impleme

Postby 4thGen » Mon Oct 24, 2016 5:55 pm

I guess I should add that the land was cultivated on a yearly basis from 1917-2008, including a full till around 2012

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WaMoo
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Re: Prepping for a new garden, how to start, and DIY impleme

Postby WaMoo » Mon Oct 24, 2016 8:05 pm

ScottyD'sdad wrote:I wouldn't use a herbicide to kill the weeds. IF you go through the work to grow crops, you don't need to eat herbicides. We ingest enough of that stuff, in the foods we buy. We now have traces of Roundup, in our urine.


Nasty stuff. That's why we got our farm certified Organic.

We're planning a garden ourselves. We plowed it with the Cub. I'd never plowed before so it was quite an adventure!

Best of luck to you!
WaMoo - Dairy Farmer and U.S. Coast Guard (Retired)
Chewelah, WA
"I had rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world."
~George Washington

Eugene
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Re: Prepping for a new garden, how to start, and DIY impleme

Postby Eugene » Mon Oct 24, 2016 9:39 pm

Conduct soil tests. This is something that you can do during the late fall or winter months. Your local University Extension Office is the usual location for the kits.
I have an excuse. CRS.

leerenovations
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Re: Prepping for a new garden, how to start, and DIY impleme

Postby leerenovations » Mon Oct 24, 2016 10:08 pm

All I used for my small truck garden for a number of years is:
-Single bottom plow (adapted from a horse drawn plow)
- Disc ( again only the front 2 gangs from a larger disc, worked great).
- An old chain link walk through gate laid flat and hooked to drawbar with chains ( to crumble and level the field).

I used these three things to truck farm and small 10 acre farm with great result. A welder and an imagination can be a great thing ( as long as you don't start welding on junk to the tractor, ive saw a lot of that stuff).
Tractors are like watermelons: the RED is good and you throw away the GREEN.

Jim Becker
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Re: Prepping for a new garden, how to start, and DIY impleme

Postby Jim Becker » Tue Oct 25, 2016 12:15 am

If it is at least partly sandy and been tilled within the last 4 years, it shouldn't present much challenge in tillage.

Initial break each year:
Hiring somebody with heavier machine for a first year would help but shouldn't be necessary. Absent that, any of the Cub plows should be adequate to break the area.

Finish preparation:
A disk harrow should be able to get it mostly in shape after that. A tandem 4' disk or a wider single disk should work fine with your Cub. Something like a (peg or spring tooth) harrow or even the previously mentioned chain link fence will help break clods and smooth things out. Another option, you might be able to finish with the Troy Built. Maybe a combination of a disk and a quick pass with the Troy Built would be the best approach.

With a 200 foot length, you should be OK to use pull-behind implements. If the garden was much shorter, fully mounted implements would be a lot easier to work with. My garden is 200 feet long but I also have a lot of room to turn around beyond the ends of the 200 feet. Makes it pretty easy to use pull behind.

I agree with both the soil tests and minimizing chemical use.

Eugene
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Re: Prepping for a new garden, how to start, and DIY impleme

Postby Eugene » Tue Oct 25, 2016 1:24 am

Throwing out more thoughts and ideas. Every thing depends on availability.

I have disk harrows and peg toothed harrows that I drag behind a Cub Cadet/garden tractor. The disk harrow was originally for a 2 wheeled garden tractor. The peg toothed harrow was picked up from a scrap pile and cut down a bit.

I have several 2 wheeled garden tractors with plows. Two wheeled garden tractors can be purchased at auction for a few dollars, frequently they have several implements. Implements for 2 wheeled garden tractors can be easily attached to a Cub Cadet/garden tractor.

My favorite 2 wheeled garden tractor, with plow was purchased for $15-. I can plow the garden faster with the 2 wheeled garden tractor than it takes me to mount the 193 plow on my standard Cub.
I have an excuse. CRS.

outdoors4evr
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Re: Prepping for a new garden, how to start, and DIY impleme

Postby outdoors4evr » Tue Oct 25, 2016 7:52 am

184 w/ Creeper & 3-Point
IH 3160a Mower
IH Model 15 Tiller
IH-54 Blade

ParlowMillFarm
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Re: Prepping for a new garden, how to start, and DIY impleme

Postby ParlowMillFarm » Wed Oct 26, 2016 10:17 am

I had a small commercial garden 20 years and I started out with the same equipment as leerenovations. (fast hitch plow, and fast hitch cultivator with a section of chainlink fence witha section of a sill from a 1798 house dragging behind.)

It worked very well and over the years I snagged out all the items that would drive a Troybilt Pony crazy.

Add all the organic material you can get. I see you are in the northeast, which means you will have to add lime to get the ph up. Lots of lime (My hay guy said enough so it looks like snow).


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