A small farm.. where to start?

[Torrak]

Saltman - Good Eye! That shot was taken from West Valley in Yakima, looking towards the Cascade Mountains. If it had been taken from the North Field (higher elevation) you would see Mt. Adams and the actual Cascades.

Z-Michigan - Excellent info, thank you for clearing up the different types of equipment. I need to level and plant my backyard as well so I think buying a small rototiller would be the way to go! I could always drag chain link to break up clots later on. As for the write-off, our accountant told us if we produce, or even try to produce, then we can write off our tractor, feed for animals, etc. I just paid 16k for the tractor and would love to be able to use it as a write off.

Larry - We actually have 6.5 shares of pressurized irrigation.. enough to run about 15 sprinklers off hand line. I was planning on re-running the irrigation so I have more access than just 6 risers straight down the middle of the property.

Randy - I agree that 3 acres may be too much.. I think I will start this year with maybe a half acre or at the most an acre and see if I even enjoy this type of thing. It may turn out that I hate farming and will just focus on my chickens!

Thanks for the input everyone.. I certainly have some planning to do.

Joe

 

[scott_vt]

Randy - I agree that 3 acres may be too much.. I think I will start this year with maybe a half acre or at the most an acre and see if I even enjoy this type of thing. It may turn out that I hate farming and will just focus on my chickens!

Thanks for the input everyone.. I certainly have some planning to do.

Joe

Afternoon Joe,
I was just gettin ready to reply when I read your last reply on the second page. I dont have any experience doing anything that large, just a small garden for personal use and I was going to suggest the same as Randy. Go small and work your way bigger, I think you will have a better chance of success this way IMHO.

 

[flusher]

Hi all,

So, the wife and I have decided that this is the year to begin growing some veggies and I have absolutely no clue where to begin.

We own 9 acres, and plan on planting about 3 acres of various veggies such as corn, pumpkins, beans, etc. the other 6 will just be watered and mowed as usual.

Currently, all I own is a Kubota BX-24 sub compact with ag tires and 24 hp, and a brush hog style 48" mower.

What type of implements am I going to need to plant this? A disc? Rotatiller? Etc. What size disc (if I need one) would a BX-24 be able to pull? Etc.

Any input is appreciated!

Joe

If your 3 acres of veggie garden hasn't been worked lately, you might want to invest in a $140 King Kutter middle buster (aka potato plow) before you try rototilling and/or discing. I'm using a MB and a rototiller for a small garden and to put in the landscaping around my new house (see photo). My tractor is a 2005 Kubota B7510HST (21-hp engine) with the LA-302 FEL. Figure it'll take a day or so to plow 3 acres with your BX-24 and a MB. In rain softened soil my 7510 can cut furrows about a foot deep with the MB.

I bought a used Yanmar RS-1200 rototiller (4-ft wide) for $300 in Aug 2005. I'll smooth out the tilled areas with a homemade drag, a couple of tires chained behind my 18-hp Huskee riding ower. The 7510 has ag tires so I hesitate to use it to drag the tilled areas. The Huskee has turf tires which probably will work better in the tilled soil.

 

[thingy]

A day to plow up three acres with a potato plow?,,yeah,,if there would be 40 hours in a day maybe,,,if you're using a potato plow/middle buster,,,you ought to go ahead a spend 2-300 dollars on a single bottom turning plow,,it will go as deep or deeper,turn the dirt over,than go over it with tiller,,,other choice would be plow and than disk,,you can get it plantable with plow and disk. And I wouldn't start with much more than 1/2 acre,,,I plowed [with a single bottom turning plow],1/4 acre this past fall and it took me 6-7 hours,,your only taking 14 inches[in my case] at a time. Tilling is very slow too,,you'll need to go over ground at least twice,,and your tractor needs to be able to go slow,,mine has creeper gears and I don't move faster than a very slow walk,some tractors won't go slow enough,don't know anything about your tractor,just know you gotta go slow.
Money wise,,plow and disk,,plow 2-300,disc,4-500 maybe,,tiller will probably cost you 1,000 dollars or more now,by itself,,,course if your wanting a tax write off,all three,,plow it,disk it and than till it,,,your'll also need to cultivate between rows some how,I would think,,,,,thingy

 

[JMP1320]

My neighbor has a 6' JD rototiller for his 4700. He uses it for in between the trees rows in his nursery. The tiller works great. The only thing i noticed about it was the back "gaurd" of the tiller is made of pretty thin steal and has a lot of dents in it from rocks being kicked up at it. I would have thought JD would have put something a little more heavy duty back there. Anyways I think you should have the plowing and maybe even the disking hired out as Thingy metioned, then go over it with the rototiller. I wish i had open land like that I would attempt the samething. Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Z-Michigan - Excellent info, thank you for clearing up the different types of equipment. I need to level and plant my backyard as well so I think buying a small rototiller would be the way to go! I could always drag chain link to break up clots later on. As for the write-off, our accountant told us if we produce, or even try to produce, then we can write off our tractor, feed for animals, etc. I just paid 16k for the tractor and would love to be able to use it as a write off.

I only mentioned it because your first post made it sound like an automatic thing. My wife is an accountant and we've been discussing what we get to deduct - we are going to be growing and selling hay on a small scale. Since we're both professionals we tend to discuss the tax issues in painful detail! As long as you're getting advice from a CPA I'm sure you'll be fine.

 

[randy41]

hmmmm...i am a CPA and I don't think its the producing that counts but the selling to determine if you are trying to operate a successful business.
also...keep in mind that if you take write-offs on your tractor and then you sell it you may end up paying some of those taxes back.

 

[RalphVa]

Joe,

Toadhill gave you some good steers for equipment to break ground and to cultivate. Actually, one of those high wheel hand-push cultivators is what some use on fairly large gardens. If you want to make raised rows, the easiest way to do it is with disc hillers. Those potato plows will do it, too. Agri Supply sells what's called a "Keulavator" on which you can put 2 opposed discs to do a raised row between the wheels of the tractor. It'll be similar to my rig that I did with my 4010 (about same weight as your BX) from an old JD M diamond bar (can't show pics because I'm not at home right now).

3 acres is immense. Even folks doing commercial organic veggies generally only do as much as 2 acres. My garden is 20 rows at about 50' each, and they're all I can handle. For mine, I'm doing no till now. All the rows are now mulched and have plastic laid down between the rows (just because I had some old solar blanket from my pool and some erosion fencing that needed taken up). I just pull away mulch where I want to drop seed.

My garden is watered by soaker hoses laid down every row in the spring. Actually, with the no till now, I may be able to get by with leaving the hoses down. Right now, they've been taken up. I've PVC headers to which I attach the soaker hoses at one end of the rows. The PVC is fed by poly pipe running down the hill from rain tanks at the house. Also can pump water from a little stream through the poly.

I used a Gravely rotary plow to turn over the fescue that was down there. Also used it to make the first raised rows. Only got 13 rows then. With the more uniform spacing via the disc hillers, I got 20 rows in the same, approximately 80' width.

You MIGHT be able to turn ground with disc hiller type turned in the same direction. However, I think your tractor (and my 4010) are too light to stay in place with big discs turning the same direction. A moldboard plow will stand a better chance of holding itself in place, in furrow.

Ralph

 

[em14]

One of the very best resources you will ever find is your local Farm Extension Office. They have excellent resources at their finger tips for you. They have free most everything and lots of publications … use them! They also have seminars open to all comers.
Leo

 

[thingy]

High wheel push cultivators?,you ain't trying to tell him to push one of those old antique non motorized things to go between the rows on 3 acres are you?,,maybe its some other kinda thing you are talking about,,but I thought those things were throwed away when they invented a walk behind tiller 40 plus years ago?,,I know we did,,thingy