Gardening prep question....need your advice please!

[kubota4me]

Lots of good info here. Had planned to do soil sample long time ago. That's really the best way to let you know where you are at. I think I will ease into the raised beds with as many as I can get built during the winter. Next year, I can add more. I will always use a hybrid system I think due to not being able to grow everything in raised beds. So some rows will be used. I like the idea of a chipper/ shredder. I believe in the long term, raised beds are in my body's best interest. I've had one back surgery, don't want anymore. Does anybody have good things to say about Husqvarna tillers? Troybilt doesn't seem to be like the old ones in quality. Troybilt is owned by a company that markets about 6 different brands. Thanks for your responses.

 

[oldballs]

Some TBN'ers use the little Mantis tiller which is light and good for weeding. Myself, I use lots of straw, mulch and a hoe....hoeing is peaceful. Another thought is that when summer heat gets tough to deal with, I garden at sunrise for two-three hours. Then come in and take a nap. And, as others have noted, I'd cut that garden in half to start with so you can get more ideas on your ability and need for various equipment or methods. My garden is 50 x 100 and produces more than me, my relatives and neighbors can consume as fresh produce. Storing potatoes and onions is easy for me however. As to a manual tiller, that's a tough call considering your situation. Maybe trade your "L" for a smaller "B" type Kubota tractor and get all the needed attachments. Cheers, Mike

 

[Chilly807]

We have a garden roughly 30 x 100, gives us 5 rows plus two square beds at each end for squash, cucumbers, etc. I use a 2 bottom plow to turn it with , and a 6.5 foot disc harrow to prepare the soil for rows. We have deer trouble too, or would have if we didn't fence it.
I take out the end poles each fall to get the tractor in to plow and disc. As soon as the garden is planted in the spring we replace the end poles and string wire for electric fence.
I have mixed feelings on raised beds. Getting the tiller in them might be a challenge in itself, and if the soil isn't turned at least 6 inches deep each year it'll slowly compact over time.
I think I'd sooner deal with rows and get a decent tiller to keep the weeds down between them. Although the Huskies aren't what they used to be, neither is anything else. Same with Troy-built. A old horse model sold here at an estate auction recently for $15, with a blown engine. Hindsight being what it is, I should have bought the dam* thing and put a new engine on it.

I picked up a 3-point hiller at the same auction, might need a little refinement to get it to work, I've never used one.

Sean

 

[corl]

Mulching around plants is a great alternative to weeding. I use about 200 cubic yards of mushroom compost every year- some tilled in and some mulch. Combined with every other row planting I don't spend more than an hour a week, if that, weeding and my garden is more than twice what you have planned.Most of my garden time is spent in soil preparation, planting and harvesting. Its hard to call tractor time labor as it always puts a smile on my face and saves my back.

 

[kubota4me]

Oldballs, thanks for the info. I have 16.4 acres and have used that L4400 for everything including pulling large trees. It has saved my butt a ton of work. I will look for something....don't know quite what it will be yet.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Have you ever heard of a prepper? Go out and look at some of the stats of how much land/garden space it takes to support a family if SHTF. I can, I stock dehydrated foods, freeze dried, band aids and bullets. Now do you get the drift??

This area will also contain a few fruit trees, so this space will seem not-so-big very quickly.

I hope I didn't offend Kubota4me.. Maybe I am misinterpreting this response. Wasn't my intent, just seemed like a lot of garden but as you say, if you are in the End of the world club, it may not be enough. One bad year can make family very hungry.

 

[woodlandfarms]

OK.. wait.. this garden is being established for EOTWAWKI. So right off the bat you need to take out gas powered maintenance in your planning. I would be looking at what you could get a horse or steer through pulling a plow. stay away from raised beds as watering will be a nightmare.

 

[RSKY]

I have a 150' x 50' garden that supplies my family and both my daughters. With the size you have I would use the row skipping method laying out your rows. Get somebody to disk it three or four times. Then get a tractor mounted 4' tiller to go between the rows. Then you can literally drive a golf cart between the rows to pick. Do a YouTube search for the cajungardener for more ideas.

 

[RSKY]

Also do a YouTube search for 'bucket gardening' and 'gutter gardening'. I'm going to try the buckets for some bush tomatoes and one strip of gutter for something else. Doing the gutter type at youngest daughter's house just to experiment.

 

[kubota4me]

I hope I didn't offend Kubota4me.. Maybe I am misinterpreting this response. Wasn't my intent, just seemed like a lot of garden but as you say, if you are in the End of the world club, it may not be enough. One bad year can make family very hungry.

No offense taken. Maybe I could have responded differently. My wife and I are very concerned about changing events in our country and the rest of the world and we want to come up with a plan that would allow us to live off our land plus whatever food we can store for long term...etc. rice, wheat berries, beans, etc. we would like to have at least one years worth of food if not more. We had read that the amount of garden it takes to feed a family for one year is a lot more than most people would ever guess, planning for a calorie intake of 1400 calories per day and a lot more if manual work is involved. So, my little 100' x 120' garden is not that terribly big when you consider 6 people to live off for potentially one year. Sorry, for not explaining my situation better.