Fall vs Spring Tilling of new garden

[Duffster]

Something to consider with your overgrown areas is to use roundup now and plow it under/till it after a couple weeks. You will have less weeds next spring in your corn.

That is what I am doing for my new garden next year.

Now I just have to get off my duff and spray it.

 

[IslandTractor]

Something to consider with your overgrown areas is to use roundup now and plow it under/till it after a couple weeks. You will have less weeds next spring in your corn.

This corn field is part of an old farm being managed by a conservation organization. It would take weeks of negotiating to be able to use a dread chemical on the field. I've already tilled about half the new land anyway so we're stuck for this year. Maybe I'll start working on that for next year. The weed situation was not bad this year however. Caterpillars and worms were a different matter. They got into nearly every ear of corn to some extent (again, no chemicals used and no one in the organization is smart enough yet about non chemical strategies for these things).

 

[Arkaybee]

If you live in an area where it may be too wet to work the soil as early as you would like, a useful practice is, after plowing/tilling in the fall, ridge up the soil where you would locate each row in the spring. Come spring the tops of these ridges will warm up faster and be dryer than otherwise. You can till the tops of these ridges and plant earlier and get earlier germination.
Fall is the time to apply lime if needed since it takes several months for the lime to dissolve and alter the pH.

Typically, in the spring, one would put down the pre-plant fertilizer (if needed) two weeks before seed planting, then till the ridges, so it will be well incorporated and dissolved.

All this gives an early jump on spring crops when you can do it.

HTH.

Arkaybee

 

[RalphVa]

Most people plow in the fall because that gives time for nature to even out the very uneven plowed ground before spring. If you're rototilling, think it won't make much difference. Problems with rototilling is that it really doesn't go very deep, leaves a hard surface layer where it goes down to and really destroys any underground paths made by the worms and smaller animals working the soil for you.

I plowed my garden ONCE. Since then (8 years ago), I've practiced no till. Just mulch the rows. Using mulch promotes worm action and negates need for cover crops, which require some more work to get rid of them.

I did rework the garden some when I got my JD and an old soil ripper (looks like what they call "cultivators" now). I ripped it all up in order to make new raised rows. Got 20 rows where I only had 13 before made with my Gravely rotary plow. Since making them about 5 years ago, I haven't touched them with a plow or cultivator.

Ralph

 

[Uncle Doug]

This corn field is part of an old farm being managed by a conservation organization. It would take weeks of negotiating to be able to use a dread chemical on the field. I've already tilled about half the new land anyway so we're stuck for this year. Maybe I'll start working on that for next year. The weed situation was not bad this year however. Caterpillars and worms were a different matter. They got into nearly every ear of corn to some extent (again, no chemicals used and no one in the organization is smart enough yet about non chemical strategies for these things).

Someone here on TBN gave me some good advice on the corn worms, It is a non chemical way but time consuming. With eye dropper put several drops of mineral oil into the tassle/silk area of the corn. This smothers the worms. But then the racoons find it.

 

[IslandTractor]

Thanks guys for all the suggestions. We are interested in reviving an abandon colonial era farm but don't have any really experienced farmers on the island. Lots of gardeners but that's kinda different. I'll share this advice with my colleagues and see what we can work out.

By the way, below are photos of the last farm vehicles to work the farm before a modern CUT showed up a few years ago. My favorite feature is the ballast which is a solid slab of granite bolted to the modified Model A right behind the operators seat. I also love the FEL.

 

[Qapla]

I will have to say that I found this thread a bit interesting. Mostly, because here in the area of Florida where we live what works for you is not the way here

We turn the soil shortly after the growing season while the hot summer sun can rot the vegitation. This makes it better when we plow/till for the fall planting. Then, in the late winter, we do it again.

That is the beauty of living where we can grow most of the year.

One of the things we also do is burn the field in the spring. We wait untill the grass/weeds have seeds, but before the seeds mature. After the field is burned, we turn it in and the whole process starts all over again.

 

[radioman]

islandtractor- I know EXACTLY what you mean about the grape vines. Its the wild grape vines that might have tiny purple grapes on it every other year on them. I have them ALL over the 1 acre property across the street. First year of tilling, I had a brand new craftsman tiller and it destroyed the bearings. After a couple years I ended up with kubota and bush hog tiller with slip clutch. Now I can till to my heart content and find that once I chop the vines the first year, it becomes brittle and eventually stop growing. There are still parts on the lot that have the vines growings, I would walk around every spring and use the hand loppers to cut them so they can dry out over the summer and become brittle and fall out of trees, branches etc after couple years. Tilling in the fall in the northeast really helps. If you have fall compost and put on garden, it helps to hold it in place and break down better and get rid of most of weeds for spring. When tilling- make sure you never do it wet or it will be a bear in the spring as it clumps up easy.

 

[IslandTractor]

Radioman I wish I'd seen your advice last year. Tilling in the grape vine roots this past spring was a nightmare even with a pretty powerful tiller. Those vines, at least when in moist muddy soil, were just tenacious and wrapped around the tiller as effectively as electrical cords. I spent much more time cleaning the vines off the tiller than I did actually tilling. Fall tilling in dry soil seems to be the answer so I am planning to finish all primary tilling this fall. I know others have suggested plowing first and that might have worked better this spring but the tiller seems fine now. I understand it might be nice to dig deeper with a plow but as the top soil here is only about six to twelve inches I am able to mix up most of it with two or three passes of the tiller. Besides, I don't own a plow.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Those vines, at least when in moist muddy soil, were just tenacious and wrapped around the tiller as effectively as electrical cords.QUOTE]

I've done the electrical chord thing.

That reminds me that I need to clean out my tiller. I'm always reminded that tilling is so much nicer when the ground has been brush hogged first. The problem arises when I haul my tractor to a friend or relative's house and I only bring the tiller.