I long for a big organic garden. There is about 3 acres open now for planting. I'm so excited that my Kubota L3700 with FEL (my first tractor) will be delivered in a couple of weeks. Every spare moment has been spent searching the internet for the right implements I need to cultivate the ground and get ready for a spring planting. Some of the words I have never heard before like harrow, so I am really new to this world.
Can you amazing experts please suggest the basic attachments and sizes I would need to get the job done? Missouri soil is a little rocky not rich. I am also searching for the right grapple since clearing will be hot on my list.
With appreciation,
Nature Girl
More than anything both your wallet and your soils are going to determine your purchases.
Soil testing will be in your best interest for your patch of ground and the biggest things are adding lime to bring the PH up to neutral and gypsum to break up your clay which I am sure you have plenty of.
Depending upon your time and ability to invest you may want to consider a 1 row raised bed former that will also lay black plastic down and bury the edges at the same time and this allows you to do several things after your ground is worked and brought to a near powder state when dry.
The bed will be shaped formed and the black plastic layed down and buried in one pass and you will have a full season weed barrier.
Adding gravel bank mason sand to the soil will aid in drainage and root growth especially if raised beds are used.
You can also make narrow raised beds and not use plastic weed barrier with the bed former.
Your tractor has enough power to build tall raised beds and it will aid in seed germination as well and the seed crop will overtake the weeds in the grpwth spurt and you will have few if any weeds to deal with when walking through the beds.
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Your tillage method will rule all as far as your soils condition and will determine how well your market garden will grow.
What you have to understand is that any ground that is tilled and retilled and retilled will have a layer of hardpan below the tillage depth that you use.
If the hardpan is not broken the soil above it will not allow soil amendments like lime and gypsum and man made fertiliser to penetrate below the hardpan layer.
Ideally you want a tillage method that will break through the hardpan every year to aid in soil aeration and to bury the crop residue.
You could purchase a good used one bottom plow and have the share replaced with a Weiss conservation tillage mini mold board plow share and break the hard pan layer below 14 inches and have excellent soil tilth using the Weiss mini moldboard plow share.
This would allow you to purchase a heavy 3 point hitch mounted disc harrow with ripper discs and break the ground further and level the seed bed in one pass.
And in this way the ground will be loose to build and form the beds in one pass if you use raised beds for plants and seedlings.
The use of raised beds will reduce any chance of drowning your plants from heavy rain fall and the beds will drain away the water.
The biggest advantage in raised beds is seed germination as the raised beds will be much warmer as they are higher and will absorm more heat quickly to aid in germination and normal growth during the growing season.
Heres a link for a supplier of raised bed equipment and other attachments.
Buckeye Tractor Co
Just curious but how far are you from Columbia, Mo. ?