Kubota L3400 Setting Up a Garden

   / Kubota L3400 Setting Up a Garden #1  

puttering

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Nov 9, 2011
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2007 Kubota 3400HST
I have a Kubota L3400 4wd. Last year we planted a small garden and had lots of fun with it. The weeds are terrible where we live and became a huge problem. We tried to manage it by hand but simply did not have the time to work it to make it look good and produced like it should have. I would appreciate any suggestions or advice on setting up a garden for this year and all the ways my tractor can be utilized to make it easier. I have a disk, front end loader, box blade. I am wondering if an attachment or attachments can be used to set up my rows and then routinely clean them with the tractor. Space is not a problem and we would like to have a larger garden. Looking to buy some attachments if any will make it easier.
 
   / Kubota L3400 Setting Up a Garden #2  
I have a similar weed problem and am going to try landscape cloth or plastic as a weed barrier this year. My shoulders are shot so weeding is not possible. I till with a 60 inch tiller and make hills with a 3pt blade at an angle which worked well. I am also replacing my 7ft deer fence netting with a heavier plastic so it won't tear so easy when the wind comes up.
I am very interested in the replies to this thread so you guys in the "know" please respond.
 
   / Kubota L3400 Setting Up a Garden #3  
Well not much is going to work to keep weeds in check in between plants except for hand weeding or hoeing unless you use plastic.

You could use a 3 point spring tine cultivater to weed if you have clearance over the plants to weed each side of the row or in between.


For years I used a walk behind tiller in between rows and planted on plastic.
My mulch layer along with my 3 point rototiller are my best investments :)
 

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   / Kubota L3400 Setting Up a Garden #4  
My best results came from using straw as a mulch. It keeps the ground moist, and can be tilled under in the fall. Put it on heavy, you don't want sunlight to be in contact with the ground. But be sure the ground has warmed sufficiently before the straw is put down.

If plastic is used(at least in my area) it will dry out the ground making more watering necessary. But the nice thing about black plastic is that it will warm the ground quickly enabling a person to plant up to 3 weeks earlier than usual.
 
   / Kubota L3400 Setting Up a Garden #5  
I always put my grass clippings on the garden if the grass is tall. It helps to keep the weeds from growing. I've used straw in the past also.
 
   / Kubota L3400 Setting Up a Garden #6  
I always put my grass clippings on the garden if the grass is tall. It helps to keep the weeds from growing. I've used straw in the past also.
Grass clippings work ok, but they need tended to with a rake occasionally or they will pack down very tightly causing water to run off the garden, and if the clippings get too close to the plant, they can actually choke the plant causing it to die.
 
   / Kubota L3400 Setting Up a Garden #7  
A hiller/bedder attachment will be easier to use than the blade when making your rows. A single row cultivator will help keep the middles clean until the plants get too big. The last time I cultivate, I often go back through the row with the hiller. This pushes soil back up to the plants and covers/kills a lot of weeds. I use a rear time rotary tiller when I can't get the tractor through the rows. We do have to do some handwork to stay ahead of the weeds, but we always cultivate first. That way the soil is loose and the hoeing is easier. My father in law used to wait for a "cultivating rain" which would tend to make less dust and the hoeing easier.

A hiller/ bedder and a small single row cultivator shouldn't be expensive.
 
   / Kubota L3400 Setting Up a Garden #8  
I always cleanup the garden debris in the Fall and rototil it then. In the early Spring when the weeds show I apply Roundup generic over the area and the surrounding area as well. When the ground dries out, I rototil using a 4' tiller. The tiller makes a small hill at its edge that I use to follow to make the row spacing for planting. (I used to measure and stake and run twine to make the rows nice and even). I use a small tiller to keep the soil clear of weeds and also a number of hand weeding tools as well. Keep up with the weeding. One year my wife tried to do the weeding but she said 'the weeds are too big to pull out' and I replied that they weren't always that big!
Weed blocker material laid down with holes cut for planting works as well as mulching.
Dennis
 
   / Kubota L3400 Setting Up a Garden #9  
I've grown commercially in 3 different states here in New England and never had a moisture retention issues using plastic. University level publication always point out the four major benefits of using plasticulture are warming the soil, weed control, increased crop yield, and moisture retention. Normally and when applied correctly more often than not when I slide my hand between the plastic and the soil it there will be condensation underneath the plastic. Most issues facing those grower using plastic usually lie with timing the condition of the soil when putting it down too dry some times but more often times too wet. Especially in the spring.

It can cause issues for growers in extremly hot climates though. Actually heating the ground temp too much . Researchers are always experimenting with other colors than black, like silver and white to reflect excessive heat and also find different colors seem to increase yields on certain crops.

http://extension.umass.edu/landscape/sites/landscape/files/publications/mulch_colored_plastic.pdf

Of course it is not naturally biodegradble and has to eventually be removed and disposed of somehow. I have tried double cropping on plastic film, planting on the same piece two season in a row. Seems to work ok the only thing is I see with that is there really isnt any other way to improve the current soil fertilization for the new season except by side dressing the rows or a liquid application directly to the planting.


I've been working with plastic in the field since the late 80's. Some of larger units can lay a drip at the same time and some also have built in bed shapers. There are bio degradable roll type mulches available now They cost more than conventional plastic and arent as strong. With my little unit I can lay out 2000 feet of plastic for less than the price of 12 bales of straw. :)

Organic mulches are terrific mediums for for soil building though. Thats the whole theory behind cover cropping. The biggest problem using straw in a garden I have experienced beyond the expense of course, is it provides a haven for mice and other small rodents. It provideds them a place to hide and they can wreck havoc with ripining crops, especially tomatoes.
 
   / Kubota L3400 Setting Up a Garden #10  
Welcome aboard, Puttering! This is a great site for all sorts of information.
We've had great luck using the Lumite black plastic mulch.
Moisture hasn't been a problem at all, but we put a drip irrigation tube under the plastic when we lay it.
My back is shot and I could never keep up with the weeds we used to grow.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/250453-disc-hiller-setting-lumite.html

Thanks for the link to the UMass article, DFB!

-Jim
 
 
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