Bucket Bar for Preparing Soil to Plant

[CADplans]

I like the idea of no tilling. I do have some leaves I can compost into the garden. Last year was my first year growing a garden in the yard. I'vew had some great gardens at my old house. I think the horse manure I got from my neighbor wasn't mature. All my plants were stunted. I'm hoping this year will be better. Thinking of going to the county extension and getting my soil tested.

I think the "BEST" way to comment on this post is to say,, "
The leaves and manure are "Really Opening Up A CAN OF WORMS!!"

First, adding any organic matter that is low in nitrogen (like fallen leaves) will DEPLETE the nitrogen in the soil.
High carbon content organic matter needs a specific amount of nitrogen to decompose.
If the leaves are on top of the soil, the nitrogen will come from the surrounding air.
If the leaves are tilled into the soil, the air sourced nitrogen now becomes the soil based nitrogen.
YEP, the leaves ROB the soil (and your plants) of nitrogen.

Some organic matter ,, like fresh grass clippings, has adequate nitrogen to decompose,,
you can till FRESH clippings into the soil.
Sticks, and ANY form of wood (especially wood chips, and sawdust) is about the worst thing you can till into the soil.

Now,, manure,,
to get horse, or cow manure,, some product must be available to go into the animal,, for the manure to come out.

Hay is a common source of this product to be processed through the animal.

The problem that occurs is "weeds",, the animals do not like to eat most weeds,, SO,,,
the farmer that produces hay for sale is less likely to sell his hay if there is weeds.

The OTHER farmer down the road, has no weeds in the hay,,
GUESS which hay the horse lover is gonna buy for their prized "pet",,?
YEP, the low weed hay is the product the horse lover wants.

Well, there are several types of herbicides that control the broadleaf weeds, while allowing the grass to thrive.

The problem is that the herbicide will transport THROUGH the animal,, and YEP,,
will "CONTROL" the next batch of broadleaf plants the herbicide come into contact with.

The NEXT plants are virtually ANY garden plant, except corn, and grass.

The grass seed that blows into your garden will thrive on your expensive 10-10-10 fertilizer,,
AND the crops (EVERYTHING you want to grow) will wither, or die.

Some herbicides can last in the soil for a DECADE,, or MORE!!
Yep, the farmer gets great control of weeds in the hay,,
BUT,, your garden is OBLITERATED,, for possibly a decade!!

Some herbicides only last a few months,, but, the farmer has a choice,,
Weed control that lasts a few months for a cost of $X per acre
or
Weed control that lasts up to a decade for about $2X.

Only double the cost, get TEN times as long control??
Let's see,, 10 times the control, for only 2 times the cost,,
if you are the farmer, which would you buy?

Some people give up waiting for the herbicide to deplete,,
they even go as far as removing the top foot of garden, and replace the soil.

Using manure in the garden was a great way to enhance the garden,,
BEFORE the invention of modern, long lasting herbicides.

Adding manure to your prized garden is like giving a 5 year old a hand grenade.
everything may be OK,, but,, what if,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

No manure for my garden,, PERIOD.

 

[shooterdon]

$.20/can is not something that is typical and in fact may never be available. And a 50x50 garden is a hobby. I don’t grow hobby gardens.

This is so typical. The OP has a 50x50' hobby garden, and you recommend a $1600 solution that works for your large garden but is overkill for the OP's needs.

I cannot understand folks who give horrible advice because they do not try to understand the circumstances and needs of the person seeking advice. Doing what you do is not the best way for everyone.

BTW, not sure if there is a Walmart near you. Just checked online at my store, and the regular price of their canned veggies are $.44-.50/can. Even at full retail, I cannot see savings worth investing in the tools and effort to grow a garden and can what we use. But that is what works for us.

 

[JimRB]

I sell my horse manure compost to a few people. Some of the hay sources are no so keen on weed control. Other hay sources are super weed free. The manure, bedding and sometimes icky hay goes into a pile. After a month it is get hauled out to the compost pile. 6 months, a year, two years someone get that compost and a lot of worms. If worms are living in it it has properly composted. Weeds growing on the top of the compost. I spray for weeds once in a while. Maybe the whole property every 5-10 years. Some spot spraying where the horses do not like to eat. The last load I got rid of the worm farmer asked if the compost was organic. Heck no was the thought in my mind as I know some of my hay is sprayed for weeds. The horses get dewormed with Ivermectin and similar products. Nothing organic happening here, technically. Chemical minimalization, yes, but certified organic no.

The ramble was leading to I see folks say "Yippee I got a load of compost." I see steam rolling out of the compost when they dig in. OK, technically not steam but higher humidity than the surrounding air and it condenses out. I see an article that says that is not so bad. To me it seems that the compost is still composting. When I see earthworms I figure the compost is good to sell. I do know when I do my monthly move in the compost pile the fresh month old compost pile puts out some heat while the 6 months or older piles are fairly cool. I think of compost as soil amendments rather than fertilizer. Just stuff to help that clay not be so clay-like. Steam from Compost Not Always Bad

Some people like to grow their own vegetables because they taste better and may have less herbicides in them. Commercial industrial framing is often quite herbicide oriented. Gardening can also be a source of needed exercise and joy.

 

[jyoutz]

This is so typical. The OP has a 50x50' hobby garden, and you recommend a $1600 solution that works for your large garden but is overkill for the OP's needs.

I cannot understand folks who give horrible advice because they do not try to understand the circumstances and needs of the person seeking advice. Doing what you do is not the best way for everyone.

BTW, not sure if there is a Walmart near you. Just checked online at my store, and the regular price of their canned veggies are $.44-.50/can. Even at full retail, I cannot see savings worth investing in the tools and effort to grow a garden and can what we use. But that is what works for us.

A hobby gardener should pay someone with equipment to rip their soil occasionally, then prep the soil with a rototiller. And for 50x50 feet, a walk behind tiller is all that is needed. But I stand by my statement that a FEL is worthless for soil prep. If you want to buy all your veggies from Walmart in a can, go for it. Millions of us prefer to garden and grow our own.

 

[CalG]

We used to till and turn. But not any more. Compost dressing every season, winter rye when the growing season comes to a chilling end. Deep hardwood leaf mulch over everything but the rye while it is growing. I just put on some additional leaves over the rye grass today. It was near 40 degrees, foggy and almost raining. So I felt to do a bit of gardening. ;-)

Years back, I made a single shank ripper that plugs into the 2 inch trailer adapter on a 3pt utility attachment. (universal trailer mover). The shank is snitched from the box blade ;-) When breaking sod to make a new bed, the ripper gets pulled through the ground at max depth a few times every direction it can be pulled. That goes down about a foot to 16 inches. (gets most of the rocks up to where I can haul 'em off. ) It also lets me know how deep till ledge. Last time I used it was to put in a new row of purple asparagus. After that, it's compost, leaf mulch and earthworms. ;-) Gardens have been very productive under this method.

 

[jaydee325]

I use a Ratchet Rake for my gardening needs.

Agree that a tiller or some other methods would be faster, but that is not a requirement for me. I enjoy "playing" with my tractor and use of the Ratchet Rake and bucket to prep my small-ish garden gives me opportunity to work on my leveling skills with the loader bucket/Ratchet Rake as well.